Facultad de Ciencias

-Jun. 2005: Graduated in Physics (Solid State Physics) UAM.

-Jul. 2006: Master of Biophysics (UAM), Postgraduate Diploma in Education (CAP) UCM.

-Jun. 2014: PhD in Condensed Matter Physics and Nanotechnology, (Department of Condensed Matter Physics, UAM). My thesis "Characterization of the mechanical properties of bacteriophages by atomic forces microscopy" was supervised by Dr. P. J. de Pablo and awarded with Sobresaliente Cum Laude score. As a result, 4 unprecedented approaches were fully developed and characterized: 1) first exhaustive physical description and characterization of the viral capsid stability along maturation (Nat Commun 2014; Nanoscale 2014). 2) development, test and description of novel AFM scanning methods and theory approximations to reveal physical properties of viral shells (Ultramicroscopy 2012, Nanoscale 2013;). 3) pioneer measurement of the internal pressure of viral capsids directly with AFM (Small 2012), stablishing a new standard in single particle measurement techniques. 4) the first time the charge of different viruses is quantified at the single particle level (Nanoscale 2015). I did short stays in 2 prestigious Universities in USA (Purdue University and Carnegie Mellon University). Publications: in 14 articles and 2 journal covers.

-Sept. 2014- Sept. 2016: I was a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. B. Dragnea (Indiana University, USA). I lead 2 projects which aimed to understand changes in the mechanical and physicochemical properties of two different biological systems: viral icosahedral cages and bioahesives, resulting in 3 novel contributions: 1) first validation of the mechanical properties of icosahedral capsids as a function of the chemistry of the environment in which they are immersed (J Phys Chem B 2016; Phys Rev Lett 2017). 2) pioneer unravelling plasticity signature in viral particles (ACS Nano 2019). 3) comprehensive description of the physicochemical properties of bioadhesives from bacteria (mBio 2018). Publications: 4 articles.

-Jan. 2017- Jan 2021: I joined the group of Dr. C. San Martín (CNB-CSIC) under Juan de la Cierva 2015 (Training) and Juan de la Cierva 2017 (Incorporation) contracts. I carried out a project focused on the characterization of the structure of the core and stability of human adenovirus type 5 (HAdV-C5) mutants by single particle cryo-EM, Cryo-ET and biophysical techniques (NAR 2019; PNAS 2020, Sci Adv 2021), contributing to keep the group at the forefront of adenovirus structure studies. I was PI of a project funded by INSTRUCT-ERIC. Publication: 6 articles and 3 book chapters.

-Jan. 2021- Dec 2022: I am Profesor Ayudante Doctor at UAM where I has been established a new research line focus on nanoparticles characterization and building an AFM combined with TIRF for the characterization of nanoparticles. I am PI of the project SI3/PJI/2021-00216 and Co-PI of TED2021-129937B-I00. Publication: 2 articles.

-Jan. 2023-present:   I am RyC researcher at UAM.  In recent years, an effort has been devoted to the development of biosynthetic nanoparticles and nano protein cages for nanotechnological, biomedicine and biomedical applications. The design and development of nanoparticles involves not only the use of fabrication techniques, but also appropriate characterization techniques that allow the tracking of a particle in situ. The proper correlation between its optical (fluorescence) and physical properties (size, electrostatic charge, diffusion, and adhesion to the surface, nanomechanics) is key to determine the behavior of the nanoparticle. Using AFM+TIRF, and other biophysical techniques, I am interested in a simultaneous characterization of optical (fluorescence) and physical properties in liquid media of individual synthetic and biological nanoparticles.