ChemBioVIII - Reunión Bienal GEQB-RSEQ

Dr. Ana Beloqui is a multidisciplinary researcher whose work spans chemistry, enzymology, nanotechnology, and applied polymer chemistry. She leads the PolyZymes Lab at POLYMAT Institute (Spain), where she has pioneered a research line focused on combining proteins and polymers to create advanced functional materials. These hybrids are meticulously designed to enhance the stability of functional proteins and expand their use in applications such as sensing, therapeutics, and bioremediation. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with the "Best Young Group Leader" award by the Group of Chemical Biology of the Spanish Royal Chemical Society.

Natalia Baranova obtained her PhD from the University of the Basque Country under the supervision of Prof. Ralf Richter, working at the interface of biophysics and membrane-associated processes. She then joined the Institute of Science and Technology Austria in the group of Prof. Martin Loose, where her postdoctoral research was supported by long-term EMBO and HFSP fellowships. Afterwards, she continued her career at the University of Vienna with Prof. Christoph Rademacher, receiving a Marie Jahoda Professorship Transition grant to begin her independent research. Throughout her training, she has worked in laboratories supported by ERC funding and developed expertise in advanced microscopy, molecular engineering and synthetic biology. Natalia is now establishing her group at CIC biomaGUNE, supported by Ramón y Cajal and Ikerbasque Fellow grants. She has published in high-impact journals and secured national and EU funding. Her research focuses on reverse engineering molecular assemblies to understand their design principles and explore their application to societal needs. Current projects address peptidoglycan synthesis, host–pathogen interactions and high-resolution microscopy of the glycocalyx.

Natalia Baranova obtained her PhD from the University of the Basque Country under the supervision of Prof. Ralf Richter, working at the interface of biophysics and membrane-associated processes. She then joined the Institute of Science and Technology Austria in the group of Prof. Martin Loose, where her postdoctoral research was supported by long-term EMBO and HFSP fellowships. Afterwards, she continued her career at the University of Vienna with Prof. Christoph Rademacher, receiving a Marie Jahoda Professorship Transition grant to begin her independent research. Throughout her training, she has worked in laboratories supported by ERC funding and developed expertise in advanced microscopy, molecular engineering and synthetic biology. Natalia is now establishing her group at CIC biomaGUNE, supported by Ramón y Cajal and Ikerbasque Fellow grants. She has published in high-impact journals and secured national and EU funding. Her research focuses on reverse engineering molecular assemblies to understand their design principles and explore their application to societal needs. Current projects address peptidoglycan synthesis, host–pathogen interactions and high-resolution microscopy of the glycocalyx.

Dr. Ana Beloqui is a multidisciplinary researcher whose work spans chemistry, enzymology, nanotechnology, and applied polymer chemistry. She leads the PolyZymes Lab at POLYMAT Institute (Spain), where she has pioneered a research line focused on combining proteins and polymers to create advanced functional materials. These hybrids are meticulously designed to enhance the stability of functional proteins and expand their use in applications such as sensing, therapeutics, and bioremediation. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with the "Best Young Group Leader" award by the Group of Chemical Biology of the Spanish Royal Chemical Society.

Dr Ganeko Bernardo-Seisdedos is a Research Fellow at the University of Deusto, where he leads a new research line focused on the biophysical and structural characterisation of the ALS-linked proteins CHCHD10 and TDP-43, aiming to develop theragnostic chaperones against pathological aggregation. His work combines NMR spectroscopy, molecular modeling, mutational analysis, and cellular assays to understand how protein instability drives neurodegeneration. Alongside this effort, he is involved in projects applying ³¹P-NMR phosphoromics to analyse metabolic and energetic dysregulation in patient-derived biofluids, with the goal of identifying molecular markers for precision medicine in ALS and related disorders. He earned his PhD in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine at UPV/EHU (2015), where he resolved the calcium-dependent gating mechanism of Kv7.2 potassium channels at atomic resolution. Before joining Deusto, he worked at ATLAS Molecular Pharma, developing an NMR-based platform for pharmacological chaperone discovery and contributing to patents for porphyria and prion disease therapeutics.

Daniel Bojar is an associate professor in bioinformatics at the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine & the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, focusing on AI and data science in glycobiology. He obtained his PhD in mammalian synthetic biology at ETH Zurich and continued his postdoctoral training in computational biology at MIT & Harvard University. His group develops and applies methods to discover sequence-to-function associations and biological roles of glycans via a plethora of approaches. Daniel was awarded a Branco Weiss Fellowship - Society in Science, as well as an ERC Starting Grant, and was recognised as a "Rising Star" by the journal Advanced Science. He was also featured on the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list for work in Science & Healthcare.

Marcelo Calderón is IKERBASQUE Research Professor and leader of the Responsive Polymers for Therapeutics Group at POLYMAT. His team develops polymer materials that sense environmental triggers and respond at the site of action as innovative therapeutic and diagnostic tools in biomedicine. Their materials have been applied in imaging, tumor ablation by hyperthermia, capture and quantification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), wound healing, and dermal/mucosal drug delivery.

Isabella C. Felli is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florence (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy) and a leading researcher at CERM/CIRMMP, a European reference infrastructure for magnetic resonance. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering contributions to biomolecular NMR spectroscopy, particularly in the study of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and other complex or highly flexible systems that challenge traditional structural biology approaches. Her work focuses on developing innovative heteronuclear NMR methodologies, including advanced 13C-detection strategies that enhance sensitivity and resolution for proteins with low proton density or dynamic regions. These tools have provided new insights into conformational ensembles, disorder-to-order transitions, and transient interactions relevant to cell signaling and neurodegeneration. Prof. Felli has authored numerous high-impact publications, led international collaborations, and contributed to major European projects in magnetic resonance. Her research continues to expand the capabilities of NMR for characterizing challenging biomolecules with high biological and therapeutic relevance.

Gonzalo Jiménez-Osés received his PhD in Chemistry from the Universidad de La Rioja in 2007, working on asymmetric organic synthesis, then moved to Universidad de Zaragoza as a lecturer to work on metal catalysis, and then to University of California Los Angeles, to work with Ken Houk as a postdoctoral researcher on computational chemistry and enzyme design. He started his independent career as a Ramon y Cajal research fellow in 2015 back in University of La Rioja and joined CIC BioGUNE in 2019 as Principal Investigator of the Computational Chemistry Group. In September 2020 he was promoted to Ikerbasque Research Associate and in 2023 to Ikerbasque Research Professor. He is also a lecturer on metabolic chemistry in Deusto University. His research is highly collaborative and cross-disciplinary and uses multiscale computer simulations and wet lab validation to predict and understand complex chemical and biological processes, with special focus on protein design, bioorthogonal chemistry and molecular recognition.

Fernando López Gallego is IKERBASQUE Professor and leads the heterogeneous biocatalysis group (www.flg802.wixsite.com/flopezgallego) at the center for cooperative research in biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE). Previously, he was ARAID researcher at the University of Zaragoza (2017-2019), junior IKERBASQUE researcher (2014-2017) at CIC biomaGUNE, junior technologist at REPSOL technology center (2013) and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota (2007-2010). He developed his predoctoral studies at the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP-CSIC) (2002-2007) where he graduated as PhD in molecular biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid. His line of research consists in the development of biocatalysts based on enzymes supported on solid materials to develop new technologies in the field of sustainable chemistry and biomedicine.

María del Puerto Morales es investigadora científica del Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICMM/CSIC) desde 2008. Sus actividades de investigación se centran en el área de la nanotecnología, en particular, en la síntesis y caracterización de nanopartículas magnéticas para aplicaciones biomédicas, tanto en diagnóstico como en terapia. Es autora de 7 capítulos de libros, 3 patentes, 200 artículos científicos con 8000 citas (h=45) y ha dirigido 3 tesis doctorales. Ha sido investigadora responsable del CSIC de dos proyectos de investigación europeos, uno para el desarrollo de nanopartículas para la detección y tratamiento del cáncer de mama y de páncreas (Multifun 2011-2015) y otro para el desarrollo de métodos de normalización y estandarización de nanopartículas magnéticas para aplicaciones biomédicas (NanoMag 2013-2017).

Carlos Romero-Nieto is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM, Spain), where he leads a research group focused on the design and synthesis of functional molecular and supramolecular systems with applications in sensing, bioimaging, and materials science. His work explores how rational molecular engineering and photophysical modulation can be used to create tailored optical and redox properties, enabling smart probes and responsive molecular devices. A significant part of his research focuses on phosphorus-containing organic molecules and their integration into multifunctional architectures, including fluorescent sensors, theragnostic platforms, and molecular logic systems. His group combines synthetic chemistry with spectroscopy, computational design, and biological testing to bridge molecular innovation and real-world applicability. Prof. Romero-Nieto has published extensively in high-impact journals and participates in national and international collaborative projects. His contributions demonstrate how molecular design can translate into advanced tools for diagnostics, catalysis, and next-generation functional materials.

How did life arise on Earth? This question lies at the heart of my research, from probing the stability of primordial proteins and the chemistry of early oceans to exploring how simple molecules evolved into self-organizing cells. My group combines chemistry, biophysics, and biology to understand how the flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins underpins biological complexity. Using ancestral protein reconstruction and in vitro evolution, we decode molecular history to uncover the design rules that guided life’s emergence. These principles not only shed light on life’s origins but also enable the engineering of proteins with enhanced stability, activity, and novel functions for industrial, medical, and environmental applications.

Andreas Walther is a Professor for Macromolecular Materials and Systems at the Department of Chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz (Germany), as well as a Max Planck Research Fellow at the MPI for Polymer Research. His research interests focus on developing life-like materials and systems that integrate dynamic processes and principles of chemical intelligence inspired by the basic principles of life. He was appointed to his present position in Mainz in 2020 with the prestigious support of the Gutenberg Research College. Andreas Walther is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant and of an ERC Consolidator Grant. He was a co-founder of the DFG Cluster of Excellence on "Living, Adaptive and Energy-Autonomous Materials Systems" (livMatS).