CArlos del Fresno Sánchez, PhD

Principal Investigator

After graduating in Biology by the Complutense University of Madrid (1998 – 2003), I performed my doctorate at the Research Unit of La Paz Hospital studying molecular aspects related to endotoxin tolerance, a process by which patients suffering from systemic bacterial infections fail to mount a proper inflammatory response. During this period, I performed two stays in Italy as short training rotations, visiting in 2005 the Mario Negri Institute (Milan) and in 2006 the University of Brescia (Brescia). In 2007 I obtained my PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine, awarded with an Extraordinary Prize by the Autonomous University of Madrid.

I continued my research career with a Sara Borrell scholarship granted by the ISCIII to carry out a postdoctoral stay at the National Center for Biotechnology (CNB) (2009 – 2012). To complement my training during this stage, I performed a one-year rotation (2011) at the Center for Biological Research (CIB). In this period, I studied molecular and cellular mechanisms activated by cells of the innate immune system involved in the response to bacterial and fungal infections.

In January 2013 I was recruited by the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) as a senior postdoctoral researcher, with the aim of studying the communication between different types of innate immune cells in the context of infections and cancer. The success of these investigations led me to be awarded by the Spanish Association Against Cancer with an “AECC Investigator” contract (2017 – 2020).

Since January 2021, I lead an independent group as a Miguel Servet researcher at the Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPAZ), where we study how the modulation of innate immune responses can be harnessed against pathologies of different etiology such as cancer and infections.

Throughout my professional career, I have participated in 22 funded research projects, contributing to 56 indexed scientific publications, 11 of them as corresponding author.

Luna Cordeiro Minute, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

In 2015, after concluding a Master in Medical Biotechnology with focus on Immunology I initiated my PhD in Cancer Immunotherapy at Professor Ignacio Melero’s Lab at CIMA (Navarra, Spain). My thesis focused on mechanisms underlying immunogenic cell death mediated by NK and T cells and side effects related to cancer immunotherapy.

In 2020, I joined the Experimental Immunopathology Lab headed by Dr Cecilia Garlanda at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan. As a junior Post-Doc, I studied the role of an innate immune receptor on the crosstalk between dendritic cells and T cells.

In 2023, I returned to Spain to join the Immunomodulation Lab, part of the Innate Response Group, at IdiPaz, with a Sara Borrell postdoctoral contract funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. My project aims to develop new strategies of cancer immunotherapy based on mucosal bacterial vaccines.

Pablo Mata Martínez

PhD student

After graduating in Biotechnology by the University CEU San Pablo of Madrid (2012-2017), I moved to Asturias where I studied a Master in Biomedicine and Molecular Oncology. I performed my master thesis at the University of Oviedo studying the effects of immunomodulatory drugs as a treatment for multiple myeloma. During this period I also performed a short-stay at the National Center of Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) studying the role of stress kinases in liver cancer.

I continued my scientific career as university graduate at the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) where I was involved for two years in the study of immune response as well as cellular and molecular mechanisms implicated in the origin and progression of different tumor types such as brain, skin and colon cancer, using mouse and cellular models. During this time (2019-2021), I achieved 2 different publications and 6 different posters in national and international congress.

In November 2021 I Joined to Immunomodulation Lab at the Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPAZ) as a PhD student. During my thesis I will try to deciper the mechanisms involved against tumor progression as a consequence of the administration of a tumoral proteoglycan. Since my joined to the group, I have achieved a publication and an oral communication in a national congress both as first author.

Laura Bravo Robles

Ph Student

I am graduated in Biology by the Autonomous University of Madrid. I performed my final degree project at the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) studying the role of the protein scaffold Sur8/SHOC2 in a mouse model of skin cancer. In 2022-2023 I performed a master’s degree in Genetics and Cell Biology organized jointly by the Autonomous University of Madrid, Complutense University of Madrid and Alcalá University. 

Since November 2022 I joined the Immunomodulation Lab at the Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPAZ) to perform my PhD about cancer immunotherapy through mucosae based on innate immune memory. 

Jaime Fernández Pascual

Lab technician

I am Jaime Fernández Pascual currently being 22 years old, the technician from the immunomodulation lab with few experience and lots of energy.

I have to say that I deviated my trajectory just a bit to work and learn about anatomopathology, cytology, histology and animal experimentation. Previously, I was in baccalaureate with the purpose of entering in physiotherapy, therefore my intentions were, since the beginning, to study more about anatomy and biomechanics, even so I had a passion for animals and so I had once the goal to be a veterinary. At the end I chose not to be in the university, falling in love with this part of the biology and the life in the laboratory.

Gülçe Bıçakcıoğlu

Master student

I graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey, Department of Genetics and Bioengineering in 2020. I completed my education with a focus on protein engineering. After a one-year hiatus, I started my master’s degree in Integrated Immunology at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. My first two semesters were spent mainly with clinical immunology courses and laboratories. In my third semester in October 2022, I started my internship at the Immunomodulation Laboratory at Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPAZ) under the supervision of Carlos Del Fresno Sánchez until the end of December 2022. I am starting to write my master’s thesis on innate immune memory and Polyfunctional Immune Fluid Biopsy here.

Olivia Fernández

PhD student

I am graduated in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Havana (Havana, Cuba), since 2019. I did my final degree work in the Immunoregulation Division of the Center of Molecular Immunology (Havana, Cuba) studying the immunophenotype in peripheral blood and ascitic fluid samples of patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma, with focus on the myeloid lineage cells. I worked at this center from 2019 to 2023. In this period I performed studies related to cancer immunotherapy, tumor immunology and the effect of conventional chemotherapy regimens on circulating myeloid immune cells in patients with solid tumors. 

In September 2023 I moved to Spain to study the Master’s degree in Immunology Research at the Complutense University of Madrid. Since February 2024, while finishing my master studies, I joined the Immunomodulation Lab of the Hospital La Paz Health Research Institute (IdiPAZ) to perform my PhD about the mechanisms and cellular and molecular components of the innate immune system that may be associated with tumor development and progression and/or response to cancer immunotherapy. 

Álvaro Miranda de Larra Sandoica

Final degree student

My journey towards clinical investigation started when I was 16 years old, and I was amidst a one year academic experience in Washington DC. It might sound random, but I was watching TV with some friends and a bank commercial came along, saying that their interests in your debt would be headed towards investigating rare diseases. It was in that day that I decided to study biotechnology, because I could not comprehend how young children could suffer before experiencing life.

Six years later, I was graduating from Biotechnology in Madrid, and looking for some practical experience in the field of investigation. And it was thanks to IdiPAZ, Asociacion Española Contra el Cancer (AECC), and Dr Carlos del Fresno, that I was given the opportunity to fulfil my dreams.

For that I will always be grateful, because also, thanks to them, and their amazing bioinformatics team, I could continue my fight against diseases. One never forgets where they come from, and their first jobs, and I am happy to say that my work with this team was my first.

Marta Bergón Gutiérrez

Master Student

After completing my degree in Biology with a specialization in sanitary science by the Complutense University of Madrid (2017-2021), I performed a summer extracurricular stay in the Immunomodulation laboratory led by Carlos del Fresno at the Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPAZ). After this stay, I began to work in this lab 1 year. Following this, I began a master in Molecular Biomedicine at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).

Currently, I am finalizing my Master project on heat killed bacteria induced-trained immunity and how it could he harnessed under pathophysiological conditions of clinical interest.

Gabriela Zapata Fernández

Final degree Student

I am a Health Biology student at the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH), and I am currently finishing my degree. I have been awarded a scholarship by the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), which led me to work at the Immunomodulation lab led by Carlos del Fresno at Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPaz).

Rubén García León

Summer practices student

I am a 4th year biomedicine student at the Francisco de Vitoria University. I have always been interested in research, that is why I decided to apply for the scholarship of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, so I could start researching as soon as possible. However, it is not the only thing I am passionate about. I am currently a monitor of a scout group in Guadalajara, in which I have been a member for more than 15 years. In addition, I love sports, whether it’s hiking the highest mountain ranges in Spain like the Pyrenees, or climbing, running… We have to try to have objectives and goals that we are really passionate about in order to be happy, that’s a little bit my philosophy of life.