My tasks are included in the healthcare and research areas, developed in the Hospital Universitario de Navarra and Navarrabiomed, respectively. In the first area I work as the the responsible of the Molecular Pathology Lab at the Department of Pathology (Hospital Universitario de Navarra, Servicio Navarro de Salud) where we analyze the validated biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of response to oncologic treatments of patients with different types of cancer (breast, lung and colorectal cancer, melanomas,brain tumours,...) from the public hospitals in Navarra (Hospital Complex of Navarra and Hospital Reina Sofía).
We also incorporate the analysis of new biomarkers by different methodologies and the results obtained at this lab are used for immediate clinical decision. In the research area I lead the Molecular Pathology research group in Navarrabiomed, composed by basic researchers, pathologists and clinicians devoted to find new epigenetic alterations with diagnostic, prognostic or predictive value in cancer, mainly breast, colorectal and gynaeocological cancers.
The epigenetic mechanisms we consider are gene hypermethylation, deregulation of miRNA expression, and acetylation of histones, and the technical approach include molecular techniques (global methylation and miRNA expression,pyrosequencing, ...) for the study of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and protein, and in vitro techniques, for the development of functional studies (proliferation, invasion, migration,...).
World's Top 2% Scientists (Stanford University)
I completed my undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences at the University of Navarra in 1988 and earned a PhD in Microbiology from the Center for Molecular Biology (CSIC-UAM) at the Autonomous University of Madrid in 1992. I then conducted postdoctoral research for three years in Professor Pascale Cossart’s laboratory at the Pasteur Institute, studying the genetics of Listeria monocytogenes actin-based motility. In 1997, I joined the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) as Professor of Microbiology and established my laboratory at the Center for Agrobiotechnology, focusing on the genetics of bacterial biofilm formation. I became Full Professor in 2008 and served as Director of the Center (2010–2013) and later as Director of Navarrabiomed (2015–2022).
As principal investigator, I have led nine consecutive projects funded by the Spanish Ministry and six European Union projects under the 6th, 7th, and Horizon Europe Framework Programmes. I have supervised 20 PhD students and 12 postdoctoral researchers. My current research focuses on biofilm formation in pathogenic bacteria, two-component sensory systems in Staphylococcus aureus, RNA-based transcriptional regulation, and recombinant phage development. My main contributions include identifying Bap proteins involved in amyloid-mediated biofilm formation, describing overlapping mRNA-based regulation processed by RNase III, demonstrating dispensability of a key two-component system for S. aureus growth, and defining the non-contiguous operon. In 2011, I co-founded RECOMBINA S.L., a biotechnology company focused on genetic engineering and veterinary vaccines.
My interest has always been focused on protein biochemistry and proteomics. My thesis work (awarded in 2005) was focused on the identification of biomarkers of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatocarcinoma using proteomics, obtaining three patents during this period.
During my postdoctoral stage (2006-10), I was involved in a Sixth Framework EU project (FP6) gaining extensive knowledge in proteogenomic strategies to improve the potency and safety of HSV-1 based-oncolytic vectors. As a complement of my scientific training, I completed a Master in Business Management of SMEs (2008). In 2011, I moved to Navarrabiomed Biomedical Research Center (Miguel Servet Foundation, Pamplona, Spain) to establish a research unit focused on the characterization of neurodegenerative proteinopathies dealing with protein expression profiling, multiomics, postranslation modifications, drug repositioning and protein-protein interactions involved in neurological syndromes.
Throughout my scientific career, I have contributed in more than 160 papers, 25 chapter books, and edited three books about cerebrospinal fluid and brain proteomics. I have more than 15 years of experience in leading, mentoring and coaching scientists at all levels of education, being Assistant Professor in several National Biomedical Masters, Associate Professor at Health Sciences Department (UPNA) and directing 8 PhD thesis and multiple master degrees’students.