Beatriz Lora Maroto obtained her MS degree from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in 2000 and her PhD from UNED in 2003 in stereoselective organic synthesis with Extraordinary Prize. She carried out postdoctoral research at University of California, Santa Barbara, in the group of Prof. B. H. Lipshutz.

After that, she returned to UCM, where she continued doing research in the development of chiral synthetic tools (catalysts, reactives, synthetic intermediates, etc.), thanks to a Juan de la Cierva contract. She is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry and belongs to the “Organic Dyes for Photonic Materials” group at UCM, since 2013.

Her current research interest is focused on the development of smart organic molecular dyes as key materials for photonic and biophotonic applications.

Valérie Heitz is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Strasbourg. She obtained her PhD degree with J.-P. Sauvage in 1992. After post-doctoral studies with Pr. A. Harriman (University of Austin) she was appointed assistant professor at the University of Strasbourg. Since 2010, she is the leader of the Laboratoire de Synthèse des Assemblages Moléculaires Multifonctionnels (LSAMM). Her main interests include supramolecular coordination chemistry, design of stimuli-response systems such as tweezers, macrocycles and cages, photosensitizers for one and two-photon photodynamic therapy and bifunctional molecules for theranostic applications.