World's Top 2% Scientists (Stanford University)
I completed my bachelor's studies in Biological Sciences at the University of Navarra in 1988. Subsequently, I earned my PhD in Microbiology at the Center for Molecular Biology (CSIC-UAM) of the Autonomous University of Madrid in 1992. Afterwards, I spent three years conducting research in the laboratory of Professor Pascale Cossart at the Pasteur Institute, focusing especially on the actin-based motility genetics of Listeria monocytogenes. In 1997 I returned to Spain as a microbiology professor at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) in Pamplona. The following year, in 1998, I obtained a permanent academic position in microbiology and began my research line dedicated to the study of bacterial biofilm formation at the Institute of Agro-Bio Technology, a mixed center between UPNA/CSIC. In 2008, I obtained a Chair in Microbiology through the habilitation process and, at the end of 2015, assumed the position of director of Navarrabiomed, a recently created biomedical research center located in Pamplona. I have always been aware of the need and importance of transferring research results to society. Therefore, in 2011 I co-founded the biotechnology company RECOMBINA S.L. (Pamplona). I have been Principal Investigator in nine consecutive nationally funded projects, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, as well as in four European Union grants (6th and 7th Framework Programs). Throughout my career, I have supervised 19 PhD students; several of whom currently lead their own research groups. Currently, the Microbial Pathogenesis Unit is currently focused on investigating: The global function of the sensory system of two components in Staphylococcus aureus.
The c-di-GMP sensory network in Salmonella enteritidis. The regulation of transcription
through overlapping mRNA of neighboring genes and its degradation mediated by RNase III. The synthesis of the components of the biofilm matrix. Among the key findings of our work are:
The identification of a protein family, called Bap, that promotes biofilm formation in various bacterial species through the adoption of an amyloid conformation. The finding that the two-component sensory system is dispensable for the growth of S. aureus under laboratory conditions. The demonstration of a mechanism of transcriptional control in bacteria based on the overlap of mRNAs from neighboring genes and their consequent digestion by RNase III activity. The identification of a new genetic organization in bacteria, which we have called discontiguous operon.
