People

Toni Gabaldón, Principal Investigator

ICREA Research professor, group leader at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC), and associate professor at the UPF. He leads the comparative genomics groups. His main research interests are in the fields of genomics and evolution with significant contributions to the understanding of how genes, pathways, biological organisms and communities evolve and perform their functions.

Marina Marcet-Houben, Research Engineer

I use phylogenomics and comparative genomics tools in order to study how different organisms have evolved. I am specially interested in fungal species and have worked on topics related to horizontal gene transfer, whole genome duplication and hybridization.

Hrant Hovhannisyan, Postdoctoral Researcher

The main goal of my PhD project is to shed light on host-pathogen interactions between humans and different Candida species and investigate mechanisms of pathogenicity emergence in hybrid yeasts using methods of comparative transcriptomics.

Miquel Àngel Schikora, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

Bioinformatician using genomics to tackle biomedical challenges, such as the emergence of drug resistance in microbes.

Olfat Khannous, Predoctoral researcher

Biotechnologist with expertise in Bioinformatics and passionate of scientific diffusion. Currenlty working in the development and implementation of computational tools for metagenomics in a diagnostic context. Highly interested in Genomics and Biomedical research in general.

Juan Carlos Núñez Rodríguez, Predoctoral Researcher

My interests are focused on studying which traits determine the most important phenotypic changes in Candida spp. Such as pathogenicity, adherence, stress response or studying the processes of acquiring resistance to antifungal drugs.

Giacomo Mutti, Predoctoral researcher

Bioinformatics master student with background in biology. I’m mainly interested in evolutionary biology and I am keen on using different programming resources and statistics to unravel genome evolution and phylogenomics questions.

Martina Cardinali, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

I am a Bioinformatician with a great interest in genomics, NGS data analysis, and biomedical research. My current research focuses on studying the human microbiome in health and disease in order to identify condition-specific patterns.

Moisès Bernabeu, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

I am interested in unravelling the events that occurred in the transition from the prokaryotic to eukaryotic cell. Using phylogenomic data sets we search for the distances between species groups which are interesting for these events. This work is complemented by the study of the distribution of these branches’ lengths.

Saioa Manzano, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

Biochemist and Computational Biologist very interested in metagenomics and evolutionary biology. I am currently working on characterizing the relative timing of the process of eukaryogenesis.

Dániel Májer, Full-stack developer

Full-stack developer with a specialization in the development of applications and data management within the field of bioinformatics.

Álvaro Redondo del Río, Predoctoral researcher

Interested in the analysis of microbiomes, specialized in bioinformatics seeking to develop analysis and visualisation tools for ‘omic data

Sara Peregrina Cabredo, Predoctoral researcher

Bioinformatician with a background in biochemistry and molecular biology with a strong interest in metagenomic data analysis, matching learning and biomedical research. I am now analyzing and contrasting oral microbiome data from healthy people and patients in disease.

Mrinalini Parmar, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

My research curiosity is in understanding how microbes that reside in harmony within humans interact with various internal and external stimuli that may cause changes and become virulent. These concepts may in turn be beneficial to human health once deciphered.

Vladislav Biriukov, Predoctoral Researcher

PhD student at the University of Barcelona with interests in genomics and its applications in biomedical research. My current research focuses on studying mutation events occurring in Candida species.

Islam Ahaik, Predoctoral researcher

My passion lies in understanding the mechanisms behind antifungal resistance in Candida species and exploring innovative approaches to combat it. Additionally, I am highly interested in the application of natural compounds as potential antifungal agents

Arnau Albert Sanchez, Web-developer

I’m a web developer that likes to code in Python, Js and PHP.
Passionate about making UI.

Mariana López Matas, Management Assistant

I am a biologist specialized in laboratory and project management.
My main aim is to facilitate the advancement of scientific projects from the management point of view.
I like to support researchers in everything they need by sharing my knowledge and promoting a good atmosphere in the group.

Cecilia García, Research Assistant

Anastasia Sukhorukova, Master student

Bioinformatics bachelor’s degree student skilled in Python and R. Passionate about genomics, evolutionary biology and biomedical research. Currently focused on the study of the human microbiome.

ALICIA BARCALA, LABORATORY TECHNICIAN

I’m clinical biochemist passionate about microbiology, mycology and parasitology, interested in understanding how microbes develop resistance and tolerance to drugs and its impact in human health and the environment, supporting all members of the group and also learning from them, through my work as a lab technician.

Tamara Brkic, Master student

My main objective is neuroscience, with a newly found interest in microbiology. This has led me to contemplate the direction of my PhD, and I find myself drawn to researching the microbiome and the gut-brain axis. I am very interested in enhancing my bioinformatics knowledge, as my interests involve data-driven insights into neural and microbial systems alongside experimental techniques to uncover fundamental biological mechanisms. My goal is to pursue a career that balances both wet lab research and computational analysis.

LAURA McCLUSKEY, Bioinformatician

Bioinformatician working on a variety of projects including metagenomics and plant genomics. I am excited to explore the use of more machine learning techniques within the group.

MIREIA LABRADOR, RESEARCH ASSISTANT/LAB MANAGER

Biotechnologist with a PhD in Genetics, specialized in yeast genomics and transcriptomics. I focus on ensuring everything in the lab runs smoothl, from scientific workflows to day-to-day operations. I also support the team in the development of new scientific technologies.

ALEJANDRA CAVERO, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

I’m a first-year student in Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory, currently doing my first internship. I’m interested in experimental biomedical research, especially in microbiology, molecular genetics and biotechnology. I aim to learn new methodologies, gain practical skills, and grow professionally in the biomedical field.

Yanira Deana Paninka, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

Driven by a deep interest in molecular biology, I aim to understand the cellular and genetic mechanisms underlying human health and disease. I’m passionate about research that leads to innovative treatments, especially in areas like cancer, pharmacology, and nutrition, with the goal of improving lives through science.

Serena Galiè, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

I am a Biotechnologist with a PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism. My main research focus is exploring the microbiome-host interactions in human diseases, combining multi-omics data analysis with bacterial culturing and molecular dissection of the microbial-host crosstalk with in vitro gut models.