I completed my degree on Agricultural Engineering at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Spain, in 2006, doing my fourth year in the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium as part of the ERASMUS program. After this, I did my Master in Plant and Forest Biotechnology (2007), followed by a PhD in Biotechnology and Genetic Resources of
Plants and Associated Microorganisms in the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (CBGP), Madrid, Spain (2013). During my PhD I did an internship in the Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA. In October 2013, I joined Phil Poole’s lab as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, where I am currently working. I have also been appointed as a non-stipendiary lecturer in Biological Sciences by The Queen’s College in 2016.

As a microbiologist, the main focus of my research is a process called Biological Nitrogen Fixation, undertaken by soil bacteria as a way to provide nitrogen to legume plants, which is the basis of crop rotation worldwide. I became a member of CERU in December 2014, being part of the Working Group of the Oxford Constituency since it was established and becoming Vice-Director in December 2015 and director in December 2017.

Javier is a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in Structural Bioinformatics in Prof Dan Rigden’s group at the University of Liverpool.

His career started at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where he gained his degree in Physics, and specialized in Theoretical Physics. He then started working in the group led by Prof. Conxita Solans at the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain), a Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) centre. While working there, he obtained an MSc in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology awarded by the Universitat de Barcelona, with a work on Self-Assembly of Cationic Surfactants. It was at this stage that he definitely oriented his career towards Computational Science.

After finishing his MSc, he moved to the UK, where he pursued his PhD degree under the supervision of Dr Alessandro Patti at the University of Manchester with an EPSRC funded computational study on polymer nanocomposites. During those years, he also had the opportunity to spend three months in Prof. Josep Bonet’s group at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona, Spain) with a project on Rheology of polymer nanocomposites funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry. His first postdoc focused on the computational study of organic semiconductors, materials of great interest for industries producing technologies such as solar cells, flexible displays and other optoelectronic devices.

His current work in the field of Bioinformatics is allowing him to contribute with the development of computational tools for the prediction of the structural conformation of proteins, a fundamental factor that highly determines their function.

Julio is a Commercialisation Associate at Cambridge Enterprise Limited, the technology transfer office and commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge. As part of his role he deals with the identification, strategic management and commercialisation of fast-moving technologies arising from academic research; and facilitates consultancy projects with academic staff who share their expertise with external clients worldwide for societal benefit.

Before joining Cambridge Enterprise, Julio worked for Highlight Therapeutics, an immune-oncology, clinical-stage spin-off from Spain’s National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO). Prior to this, he was based in the UK as an industry-sponsored postdoc in novel drug delivery technologies at NoWCADD (a translational centre established by AstraZeneca at the University of Manchester), having also gained experience of technology transfer during his PhD as an Enterprise Associate at Manchester Innovation Factory Limited (formerly UMIP).

Julio holds a BSc/MSc in Biotechnology from the Pablo de Olavide University (Spain), and a PhD in Nanoscience and Pharmacy from the University of Manchester as part of the North West Nanoscience Doctoral Training Centre (NowNANO DTC). During his time at Manchester, he completed the “Management Leadership Development Programme for Researchers”, an Institute of Leadership and Management accredited course (Level 5 Award) for engaging and managing teams to delivering results. Research-wise, he is still involved with Manchester as an Honorary Research Fellow of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Julio have authored and co-authored 13 academic papers so far, having also contributed to IP consolidation in industry and academia.

I am fully qualified in laboratory clinical analysis. I started working in private sector laboratories in Madrid, Spain where I also had extensive administration and leadership duties.

I moved from the private sector to the NHS in UK.   Whilst I was working, I studied for the HNC in Applied Biology and then Biomedical Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University.  I also completed several in-house courses. As a result, I passed the scientific oral examination in the pathology specialised area of haematology, which lead to me becoming a member of the IBMS and officially state registered with HCPC, (Health and Care Professions Council).

Whilst I was working in the NHS Pathology profession, I was promoted to Advanced BMS which allowed me to have greater leadership roles. I also studied for a Master of Pathological Science degree from Sheffield Hallam University, where  I got involved at SHU in a project research in optimisation of 9AA matrix application by sublimation for the detection of metabolites in gastric cancer FFPE TMAs/tissues sessions using MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry.

To further my knowledge and experience, I also took the opportunity to visit various NHS organisations whilst working in the UK, this gave me extra insight and ideas of ways to improve an organisation.

Following my extensive professional career, I decided to take a slightly different career pathway by continuing to study and complete a Leadership and Management course from Institute of Biomedical Science and a Foundation of Leadership and Management within an Organisation from MMU. Both courses were extremely beneficial to my career progression and very informative.

I am currently keeping updated in leadership/management and industrial psychology courses, which is all part of my continued professional development.

Also, I am a member of Society of Spanish Researchers in United Kingdom,SRUK/CERU, where I gradually got involved in the organisation as Deputy Treasurer. Currently I hold the post of Treasurer within organisation.

Beatriz Castejón Vega graduated in Biochemistry from the Universidad de Sevilla (2014) and then, she obtained a Master’s Degree in Biology and Cancer Clinics in Universidad de Salamanca (2015). She is currently finishing her PhD in Health Science at the Universidad de Sevilla. Beatriz has been doing a 7 month-research stay in the University of Bristol under the supervision of Dr. Jon Lane. Her research focus on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of two rare diseases called Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff with the view of finding treatments to stop them.

I graduated in Electronic Engineering at University Carlos III of Madrid. After undertaking a MSc in Analogue and Digital IC Design at Imperial College London, I worked in Industry for 3 years in several roles on Consultancy and Telecommunication. In 2017 I started my PhD at Imperial College London, as part of the Centre of Bio-Inspired Technology. My work focuses on the development of nano-scale sensors capable of “filming” what’s happening inside a DNA amplification reaction. This technology has the potential to improve early diagnosis of a wide range of diseases – from Breast Cancer to Zika.

I became member of SRUK in summer 2017, and since then I am deeply involved in several initiatives that aim to promote Science and Engineering among both the new generations and the wider society.

Graduated as a Biologist (speciality Biomedicine) and as a Biochemist from the Universitat de Barcelona in 2005, I moved to Cadiz where I did a MSc in Biotechnology in 2009, followed by a PhD in Microbial Biotechnology. For my thesis, I optimized the process of sulphide removal in wastewater treatment plants utilizing already present bacterial community. I moved to the UK in 2013, where I collaborated with the Cancer Research groups at the University of Bangor, and worked in Industry. In January 2015 I was awarded a PhD Summa Cum Laude, and I started my first postdoctoral position at University of Bangor. I studied drug sensitivity in mismatch repair proteins; errors in DNA replication lead to accumulation of mutations and potentially cancer, Mismatch Repair is the main DNA repair pathway during DNA replication and for the maintenance of microsatellite stability. I am currently a Research Fellow at the Genome Damage and Stability Centre in University of Sussex, studying a protein complex involved in structural maintenance of chromosomes, which has roles in DNA replication, homologous recombination, other yet unknown functions and is essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity. Next, I aim to continue my career outside of academia and for that, the skills I gained through my active involvement with SRUK/CERU are invaluable.

I graduated in Biochemistry from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2015, after completing summer stays abroad at Universität Zürich and Karolinska Institutet. I then moved to University College London to study Neuroscience, first as an MSc (funded by Fundaciò La Caixa) and currently as a PhD under the supervision of Prof. David Attwell (funded by Wellcome Trust). My research focuses on how the immune cells of the brain are involved in Alzheimer’s disease, and in particular on the role of the potassium channel Kcnk13. I am also passionate about science communication, public engagement and science policy. To get in touch, find me on @pablotres14.

Berta is currently working in the Biodiversity Informatics department at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London), where she develops applications related to their botanical and mycological collections.

Her main background is in life sciences. She carried out a BSc in Biology and a PhD in Plant Physiology – she studied how plants use zinc to cope with fungal diseases.

She enjoys creating stuff. During her Bachelor’s, she followed some subjects related to programming and she was curious to learn more about it. That led her, later on, to pursue formal education on informatics and so her current position at Kew. Another of her interests is plastic arts and she uses part of her free time in drawing and painting.

She joined SRUK in 2018 because she much believes in the importance of science for society and wanted to contribute to spreading this message and support the scientific community.

I studied Biochemistry in “Universidad Autónoma de Madrid” from 2011 to 2015, with an Erasmus year abroad in “Uppsala Universitet”, Sweden. After graduating in 2015, I moved to Cambridge to start a PhD in Epigenetics in Professor Wolf Reik’s group in the Babraham Institute. During my PhD, y developed a novel high-throughput CRISPR screen to identify regulators of early embryonic transcription. Since January 2020, I work at GlaxoSmithKlein (GSK), in Stevenage, as part of the Functional Genomics team, where I continue to implement CRISPR screens for drug target identification.

I joined SRUK in 2016 and have been involved in the organisation of events for the Cambridge Constituency as a member of the working group since 2018 and as director since October 2019.

I graduated with a Master in Biology at Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, and then completed a placement as a research assistant at the Institute for Research and Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Science (IMIDRA) in Madrid, focused in the Waste Management and Soil Remediation Department.

I continued my professional career in ecology as a research assistant at Oxford University, and I am currently working as a Junior research scientist in a biotech company called The Native Antigen Company.

I am interested in agroecology and native breeds in danger extinction and ecosystems conservation. I became a member of CERU in March 2017 in Oxford Constituency and in June 2019 I became Director of the Oxford Constituency.

I’m a pharmacist graduated from the Universitat de Barcelona. After earning considerable experience in several community pharmacies, a year in a hospital pharmacy in Paris, and a short but intense internship in a pharmaceutical industry, I realized my career path was in research. I’m currently doing the PhD in the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, University of Bradford, a drug discovery project focused on developing new therapeutics by targeting aldehyde dehydrogenase imbalances to treat sight-threatening ocular diseases. The project is based on an international collaboration between University of Bradford, UCL – Institute of Opthalmology in London and the L V Prasad Eye Institutes in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar in India.

I’m a very proactive person who enjoys a good conversation. I joined CERU to have the opportunity to meet people who is/has been in the same position that I am right now and so be able to learn from their experiences. I am also very interested in all the work CERU does, with special emphasis in the Woman Equity & Research activities.

We are currently a small group of Spanish people in the University of Bradford. Their support was much appreciated, especially at the beginning, and our regular (and casual) meetings on campus to have lunch and talk about research, hobbies or just everyday life are of great value. I think that being able to translate that relaxed and friendly environment into the constituency board would be helpful for many reasons, especially when having to come up with new ideas!

Alba holds a degree in Biology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and got her PhD in Neuroscience at the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona studying the role of Neuronal Pentraxin 1, a protein known to be involved in apoptotic cell death, in Alzheimer’s disease.

Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher at the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology (University of Edinburgh) where she is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of accurate cell division by structurally and biochemically characterising key regulators of mitosis. Alba is passionate about science communication so when she became a member of SRUK in 2015 she soon joined the SRUK Press Department to bridge the gap between researchers, the media and lay audiences. For the same reason she is also a member of the Press Gang of the School of Biological Sciences (University of Edinburgh).

Alba is now the Director of the SRUK-Scotland Constituency and a project lead of Engage Nepal with Science, a project in collaboration with the Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology (RIBB, Nepal) that works with Nepalese communities spreading the culture of engaging with science to empower, inspire and build confidence in STEM.

I graduated in Pharmacy from University of Valencia in 2013 after completing a year internship at La Nueva Fe hospital, Valencia, and a summer research project at Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCT) in Krakow. I started to explore the reproduction field as a career and studied my master’s in Biotechnology and Assisted Human Reproduction from the University of Valencia and the prestigious Valencian Institute of Infertility (IVI). I moved to the UK back in 2015 to start my PhD adventure at the University of Birmingham. My PhD was focused in developing new methods for sperm DNA damage quantitation in the area of andrology which I successfully completed in March of 2020. Whilst writing my thesis I started working as a Research Assistant at University of Warwick in January 2019 developing 3D culture models for the study of miscarriage. In May 2020, I accepted a position as a Research Associate in the Birmingham Women’s Hospital in a clinical trial to test the potential benefits of a combined vitamin and mineral supplement in men with poor sperm DNA quality in our recurrent miscarriage population.

I remember very well joining SRUK/CERU Midlands, it was back in 2015 at the Christmas dinner! Since then, I have been a member, secretary in 2018, and director in 2019.

Erik Rodriguez Vazquez is the founder of The Last Puzzle Piece Ltd, an Innovation consultancy that helps companies and research institutions on the development of emerging technologies and their application on the market.

Erik holds a degree in Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering by the University of León (ULE) since 2010. After his studies, he joined an international awarded aerospace consultancy company named GesNaer Consulting developing new concepts for the industry.

As an innovator he decided to step into design & development medical devices, being awarded from The Council & The City and Guilds of London Institute for his collaboration with Midatech previously known as Q-Chip.

Before founding The Last Puzzle Piece, Erik decided to join Zeal Innovation in 2014 to help on the research, design and development of new products and technologies, holding international awards as the “winner of a Red Dot Design Award” or “Industrial Design Winner” on the K-Design Award.

In addition to be an innovator, Erik inspires new generations as a speaker about emerging technologies to entrepreneurs and young generations as part of the “Bristol Digital Cities 2018”.  He also collaborates with marine biologist conservationists off-shore and underwater with new surveys to explore sustainable technologies for future generations.

I’m a chemoinformatician, mixing computer science and chemistry in my research. I currently work as a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Sheffield, as part of a Marie Curie project against Alzheimer’s diesease (D3i4AD). I originally studied Biology in Madrid and decided, when I was finishing, to focus on bioinformatics. So I went to Bonn to do the Life Science Informatics masters. There I was introduced into chemoinformatics by Prof. Jurgen Bajorath, with whom I did my master’s thesis and then my PhD.

Research Fellow – Translational Laboratory for Cardiovascular Imaging and Therapy
Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC)
Eduardo Oliver received his PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Valencia. In 2010 he started working as a postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London where he investigated on the search for new therapeutic targets on pulmonary hypertension. Thanks to his work, in 2016 receives the Young Investigator Award of the European Federation of Pharmacology (EPHAR). Currently, Eduardo is a researcher at the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Madrid thanks to a Research Fellow from the COFUND Marie Sklodwska-Curie actions. Eduardo is also an external professor of the Master’s Degree on Research and Rational Use of Medicines at the University of Valencia since 2013.
During the six years living in the UK, Eduardo played a significant role in the conception and development of SRUK/CERU. He is a founding member and since its formal foundation in 2012, he has been part of the board of directors and various committees, some of which he has launched. He was President between 2015-2016, year in which numerous initiatives were developed. He is also one of the components of the Science Policy committee that developed and presented the Report of Recommendations on R&D in Spain for the General Elections of 2015, he has participated in public debates and written opinion articles in the press about science policy and diplomacy.

 I am from Madrid, where most of my career has developed. After obtaining a Biology degree at the University Autonoma, I joined The Foundation for the Study of Viral Hepatitis, focusing my PhD in Hepatitis C virus infections and non-viral related hepatitis. After a short stay in Dr. Rey-Campos lab´s in the Centre for Biological Research, I moved to Prof. Juan Ortín´s lab at the National Biotechnology Centre as a “Juan de la Cierva” and “Sara Borrell” postdoctoral researcher where I further developed my career in the field of RNA viruses, in particular Influenza virus and its interaction with a cellular protein, Staufen1, involved in the traffic and translation regulation of both viral and non viral mRNAs in the cell. In a mainly predominant DNA world, I find RNA a much more fascinating and versatile molecule. Currently I am studying protein-RNA interactions that take place during the RNA splicing process in S. cerevisiae in Prof. Jean Beggs’ lab (Edinburgh).