The biochemist Margarita Salas Falgueras is known for her great contributions to the DNA research. She discovered that biologic mechanisms to read the genetic information on the DNA follow only one direction, and she contributed to identify the stop codon that leads to the end of the protein synthesis. 

Together with her colleague Luis Blanco, they isolated and characterized the 29 phage DNA polymerase enzyme. This discovery has great impact on methods for DNA amplification.

She received the European Inventor Award 2019 in the Lifetime Achievement category, by the European Patent Office.