About Angela
Angela Quintana Vega
Clinical Development Specialist • Writer • International Speaker • Mentor
Angela Quintana Vega is the author of Sciencegramers, a book that introduces students and young healthcare professionals to more than a hundred scientific and healthcare professions. The book was initially published in Spanish under the name of Cienciagramers.
Working in the pharmaceutical industry, she is especially interested in clinical trials, translational research, mentoring, and helping make scientific and medical information more understandable to everyone.
Beyond her professional work, Angela enjoys participating in educational and scientific initiatives such as talks, career fairs, and science communication articles that inspire curiosity, learning, and collaboration across healthcare and society.
Interview in "El Norte de Castilla" (2026)
Biography
Ángela Quintana is a Global Development Science Director at AstraZeneca, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, where she serves as the medical monitor for Phase III clinical trials in breast cancer.
She holds a MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Salamanca, a PhD in Translational Medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, a Master's degree in Clinical Trial Monitoring and Medical Affairs from CESIF (Barcelona, Spain), and a Postgraduate Certificate in Biotechnology Management from the Keck Graduate Institute (California, USA).
Ángela began her career with a research fellowship at Realco (Belgium), followed by a Medical Affairs internship at Novartis Diagnostics (later acquired by Grifols) near San Francisco, California. She then worked as a Project Coordinator at Genentech before joining Grifols in Barcelona as a Medical Affairs Associate.
Between 2015 and 2019, she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, where she coordinated dozens of immunotherapy clinical trials in breast cancer, melanoma, and urological and gynaecological cancers, while simultaneously completing her PhD on tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in triple-negative breast cancer.
She subsequently became a postdoctoral researcher, investigating immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced myositis, first at Vall d'Hebron and later as a visiting researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, collaborating with several Spanish hospitals and the Mayo Clinic.
Since joining AstraZeneca in 2021, she has led the scientific oversight of global Phase III breast cancer clinical trials, contributing to the development of innovative therapies for patients worldwide.
Alongside her work in drug development, Ángela has been dedicated to science communication since 2020. She writes articles and conducts interviews to raise awareness of the role of clinical research coordinators and the wide range of career opportunities across the life sciences and healthcare sectors.
In 2024, she published the Spanish book "Cienciagramers: Más de 100 profesiones a las que te puedes dedicar si te gustan las Ciencias de la Naturaleza y de la Salud", followed in 2026 by its English edition, Sciencegramers. Through these books, she aims to inspire young people to explore the many career paths available in science and healthcare.
Outside of science, Ángela is also an accomplished pianist, holding a Professional Diploma in Piano from the Conservatory of Valladolid, Spain. She has performed in numerous public venues, including hospitals, as she strongly believes in the healing power of music.
