SHORT C.V: Degree in Biology, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain 1991. PhD at John Innes Center, Norwich, UK, Univ. of East Anglia (1997-1999; European Fellowship: oxidative stress in plants). Post-doctoral at Univ. Wageningen, (Netherlands, 1999). Associate researcher (1999-2003) at University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), Spain. Permanent position at UCLM as Associate Professor (2003- 2020) and Full Professor (2020—–). Since 2003, I was granted with competitive projects as IP: 8 National research projects (Spanish Government), 6 regional projects, 1 from Fundación Ramón Areces, 1 European project HORIZON-CL6-2022, and several contracts UCLM-national and international enterprises for collaborative research. Supervisor of 15 PhD students. Teaching in Biochemistry and Environmental Sciences degrees at UCLM several courses: Fundamentals of cell biology, Plant Physiology, Systems Biology. Active member of the International Commission of the Faculty since 2000, responsible of 5 ERASMUS agreements with European Universities, including Durham at UK, still active. Vice-chancellor of the National Society of Phytopathology since 2018. Active member of evaluating panels from the Spanish government, Austrian Science Foundation; NOW Research Council for Earth and Life Sciences (The Netherlands); National Science Foundation (USA); Austrian Science Fund (FWF); BARD Proposals US-4506-12 (Israel-USA). Associate Editor of Frontiers in Plant Science since 2019 and reviewer of several high impact Journals in the area of Plant sciences (Plant Journal, New Phytologist etc..).
MAIN FOCUS ON MY LAB: The laboratory aims to understand the molecular mechanisms and bases of plant cell reprogramming into new feeding organs, known as galls. This process is induced by a specialized group of plant-endoparasitic nematodes, root-knot nematodes (RKNs), which presumably hijack plant developmental pathways for their own benefit. Identifying the stem cells responsible for the development of giant cells (nematode-feeding cells inside the galls) and their molecular characterization is also a crucial objective. These findings can aid in the identification and design of biotechnology-based tools, together with biopesticides or soil amendments, for integrated nematode management.
