Experience

Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research

• Switzerland
• Research Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Doctoral Research Scientist - Thomä lab

  • Sep 2017 - Present

  Project aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms of protein targeting by the CRL4(DCAF12) E3 ligase.• Engineered expression constructs of human proteins, including a novel system to enable the purification of the ~1 megadalton TRiC chaperonin from insect cells, which could previously only be extracted from tissue• Expressed and purified protein complexes up to 16 subunits from insect cells using HPLC systems• Prepared specimes for cryo-EM and analyzed cryo-EM data• Solved cryo-EM structures up to 2.8 Å resolution to explain how DCAF12 specifically targets its substrates, opening an avenue for the development of DCAF12-based biological drugs for targeted protein degradation• Established fluorescent systems for the characterization of protein-protein interfaces• Prepared specimens and collected and processed micrographs to obtain a negative-stain envelope of a protein complex• Ascribed a previously unknown role for the CRL4(DCAF12) E3 ubiquitin ligase in vivo, expanding the range of functions assigned to this type of enzymes• Presented research regularly at lab meetings, internal institute-wide symposia and international conferences• Produced two review articles (Pla-Prats C. and Thomä NH, Trends Cell Biol. 2022, Galli P. et al, Trends Pharm Sci) and a research article (Pla-Prats C. et al, EMBO J 2023) in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals• Mentored fellow students in scientific writing (Galli P. et al, Trends Pharm Sci) Show less

• Student Representative

  • 2020 - 2022

  • Elected to serve on the board of Student Representatives 2020-2022• Collaborated to devise and implement solutions for our PhD students. Focused on pressing issues like COVID measures, institutional support, and inclusivity• Helped organize conferences, talk series and internal events• Mediated between the FMI student body and administration• Mentored new PhD candidates



EMBL

• Germany
• Research Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Scientist - Galej lab

  • Mar 2017 - Jul 2017

  Project aimed at understanding how snRNAs are processed in vivo. • Helped establish a first expression system for the snRNA-processing Integrator complex, enabling the subsequent purification and solution of its molecular structure (Pfleiderer et al, Mol Cell 2021) • Cloned Integrator subunits from gDNA and tested their expression in HEK cells Project aimed at understanding how snRNAs are processed in vivo. • Helped establish a first expression system for the snRNA-processing Integrator complex, enabling the subsequent purification and solution of its molecular structure (Pfleiderer et al, Mol Cell 2021) • Cloned Integrator subunits from gDNA and tested their expression in HEK cells



The Institute of Cancer Research

• United Kingdom
• Research
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Scientist - Vannini lab

  • Sep 2016 - Feb 2017

  Project aimed at discovering the structural determinants of viral integration into human genomes. • Established a first expression system for a large gag-pol viral protein • Engineered expression constructs for a large viral protein and cloned them into expression vectors • Tested the expression of the constructs and optimized their expression in bacteria • Credited contribution (Abascal-Palacios G. et al, Nat Communs 2020) Project aimed at discovering the structural determinants of viral integration into human genomes. • Established a first expression system for a large gag-pol viral protein • Engineered expression constructs for a large viral protein and cloned them into expression vectors • Tested the expression of the constructs and optimized their expression in bacteria • Credited contribution (Abascal-Palacios G. et al, Nat Communs 2020)



CNIO - Spanish National Cancer Research Centre

• Spain
• Research Services
• 300 - 400 Employee

• MSc Researcher - Lietha lab

  • Feb 2016 - Jul 2016

  Project aimed at rationally developing a pharmacological drug against a protein involved in cancer progression • Expressed and purified a regulatory domain of the target protein from bacteria • Co-crystallized the domain with small molecules • Got introduced to X-Ray diffraction data analysis • Pushed forward the development of the drug from initial hits (Yen-Pon E. et al, ACS Chem Biol 2018) Project aimed at rationally developing a pharmacological drug against a protein involved in cancer progression • Expressed and purified a regulatory domain of the target protein from bacteria • Co-crystallized the domain with small molecules • Got introduced to X-Ray diffraction data analysis • Pushed forward the development of the drug from initial hits (Yen-Pon E. et al, ACS Chem Biol 2018)



Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas (CSIC)

• Biotechnology Research
• 100 - 200 Employee

• BSc Researcher - Fernández Tornero group

  • Jun 2014 - Aug 2014

  • Merit-based research internship awarded for excellent academic excellence during my BSc. • Purified transcription factor constructs from bacteria and tested their binding to DNA with EMSAs to identify regions involved in transcriptional regulation. • Got introduced to biological research techniques and bibliographical research. • Merit-based research internship awarded for excellent academic excellence during my BSc. • Purified transcription factor constructs from bacteria and tested their binding to DNA with EMSAs to identify regions involved in transcriptional regulation. • Got introduced to biological research techniques and bibliographical research.