Experience

Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

• Spain
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Associated Dean of External Relations , Faculty of Experimental Sciences. Professor.

  • Sep 2016 - Present

  Associated Dean of External Relations. Professor of Metabolic Biochemistry ( Biotecnoly Degree ) and professor of Drug Discovery and Development (Pharmacy Degree). Associated Dean of External Relations. Professor of Metabolic Biochemistry ( Biotecnoly Degree ) and professor of Drug Discovery and Development (Pharmacy Degree).



Kærtor Foundation

• Spain
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Scientific Advisor and Director of Drug Discovery Programs.

  • Dec 2017 - Present



GSK

• United Kingdom
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Director, Molecular Discovery Research

  • Jun 2010 - Sep 2016

  • Leadership Team member, supporting the scientific and administrative management of the site, a drug discovery facility with 55 permanent staff. Direct report to the site director (VP). • Head of a multidisciplinary team ( PhDs, graduated in biology/chemistry/pharmacy and technicians) with a broad set of skills and backgrounds. Main focus on in vitro assay development for cellular and biochemical assays and High Throughput Screening campaigns for targets from internal portfolio and external collaborations. From assay development to hit qualification. The team is also responsible for the implementation of new technologies and Basic Research projects • Core team member of an international matrix team committed to the worldwide implementation of phenotypic and disease relevant assays for early drug discovery. We coordinate the development and deployment of functional disease-relevant assay systems with a clear link to human diseases. The team also manages the multiple investments and strategies, within a working plan with three main pillars, reagents, compounds and technologies. • Project leader of two drug discovery programs in collaboration with Iowa University (mitochondrial fission, neurodegeneration) and Leicester University (cancer). Scientific and managerial responsibilities, including the design of the critical path, assay development and HTS completion, hit qualification strategy. • Chair of the Early Discovery Matrix team for neurosciences (neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and neuronal pathways). A decision making forum responsible for the coordination of activities and relationships between the therapeutic areas and the R&D groups. Also portfolio progression responsibilities, with commitment to project progression reviews and milestones accomplishment (two years). • Member of the team that evaluate the proposals for external collaborations with the Academia (GSK Discovery Fast Track challenge, Open Innovation). Show less



GSK

• United Kingdom
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Manager , Screening and Compound Profiling

  • 2008 - 2010

  • Project leader of a GPCRs receptor early discovery program (dislipidemia). Two Candidate molecules achieved. • Managerial responsibility of the progression of the whole internal HTS portfolio. • Responsible of the completion of 15-20 screening campaigns/year. Weekly based organization and management of technical and human resources. • Responsible of the mammalian cell culture team, including the management of more than 60 cell lines, manual and automated culture, microtiter plates seeding in miniaturized format of 384 and 1536 well-plates, scaling up of cell culture technologies (bioreactors, “cell factories”, select T robotic platform). • Leader of the implementation of methods and technologies for the identification of Allosteric Modulators, and Family B of GPCRs. This both areas of knowledge have been further explored worldwide in GSK for the identification of GPCR drugs with alternative and new mechanism of action. • Responsible of the implementation of the Aequorin and beta-arrestin assays in the site •Deputy of the Direction at the Environmental Health and Safety committee (to date). Show less



SmithKline Beecham Corporation

• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Associated Director, Screening

  • 2005 - 2008

  • Member of the site Leadership Team (to date). • Gained managerial and leadership skills to managing multidisciplinary teams with technology and scientific profiles. • Significant impact in the implementation of the first automated screening platforms and robotic systems to handling cells and system-based cellular HTS assays. Special mention deserves my role on the implementation of the FLIPR platforms with capacity to screen more than 150K compounds/day on a kinetic mode (intracellular detection of calcium mobilization with fluorescent proves). • I supervised the development and implementation of an automated system for the Quality Control of the HTS data.• Core team of several matrix teams focus to the implementation of new process and technologies (e.g. frozen cells for HTS, BacMam transduction technology).• Leader of the implementation of cAMP detection technology (HTRF and LANCE) worldwide. Show less

• Senior Scientist, File compounds screening

  • Mar 1997 - Mar 2005

  • Proficiency in screening big libraries of file compounds. As a screen manager I was responsible of the successfully completion of multiple screening campaigns. • Management of database and data analysis tools (i.e. Activity Base, Oracle, etc)• Responsible of the implementation of several technologies critical for building up the screening capacity at the site, e.g. GPCRs technology bundle (FLIPR, Aequorin, cAMP, beta-arrestin)• Project leader of a neurology project; lead declaration achieved.• Co-Director of Ph.D. work : "Intracellular signaling through the integrin VLA-4". Ph. D. work of Elena Fernandez. Presented in March 1999 in the Dep. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Autonomus University, Madrid. (“Apto Cum Laudem”)• 1999-One month working in the Screeening and Compound Profiling team of Smithkine Beecham at Upper Marion, Philadelphia Show less



SmithKline Beecham Corporation

• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Scientist-Natural Products Screening

  • 1992 - 1997

  • Natural products screening background, including assay development and screening of libraries of microbial extracts. Tracking of the biological activity throughout the process of microbial synthesis and chemical fractionation and purification. • Principal scientist and co-leader in the project “Adhesion molecules regulation, in collaboration with the” Princesa Hospital”, publish National health care system, Madrid, Spain. 1992-1994 • Leader of the “Ligand Fishing” project, focus to the de-orphanizing GPCRs, 1992-1995. Show less



Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Spanish National Health System

• Madrid Area, Spain

• Post-doc.

  • 1991 - 1992

  * Set up the experimental endocrinology laboratory (new in the Institute), under the supervision o Dr. Franco Sanchez-Franco, Medical Director of the site * Basci Research post-doctoral project "Regulation of IGF-I gene expression". * Set up the experimental endocrinology laboratory (new in the Institute), under the supervision o Dr. Franco Sanchez-Franco, Medical Director of the site * Basci Research post-doctoral project "Regulation of IGF-I gene expression".



Klinik fur Frauenheilkunde mit Poliklinik der Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany

• Erlangen, Germany

• Post-doc student

  • 1990 - 1991

  * Endocrinology Department. Project: "Physiological and pathophysiological role of CA 125 in ovarian function and ovarian carcinoma". * Set up the technology for the purification of CA125 tumour marker. I purified enough protein from human ascites fluid to allow subsequent in vitro assays to investigate its role in the development and progression of ovarian tumours (published) * Endocrinology Department. Project: "Physiological and pathophysiological role of CA 125 in ovarian function and ovarian carcinoma". * Set up the technology for the purification of CA125 tumour marker. I purified enough protein from human ascites fluid to allow subsequent in vitro assays to investigate its role in the development and progression of ovarian tumours (published)



Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Neuroendocrinology Department (Spanish National Health System).

• Madrid Area, Spain

• Ph.D student

  • 1986 - 1990

  Doctoral thesis on “Regulation of Expression and Release of Neuropeptides in the Central Nervous System. Qualification: Cum Laudem Doctoral thesis on “Regulation of Expression and Release of Neuropeptides in the Central Nervous System. Qualification: Cum Laudem



Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Neuroendocrinology Department Madrid, Spain. 1984-1986.

• Madrid Area, Spain

• Pre Doctoral Fellow

  • 1984 - 1986

  Basic Research, “Validation of hypothalamic and cerebrocortical neurons of fetal rat in primary culture”. Presentation of pre-doctoral work (“tesina”). Qualification: Cum Laudem Basic Research, “Validation of hypothalamic and cerebrocortical neurons of fetal rat in primary culture”. Presentation of pre-doctoral work (“tesina”). Qualification: Cum Laudem



Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

• Spain
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Pre Doctoral Fellow

  • 1983 - 1984

  Centro de Biología Molecular, Severo Ochoa. Basic Research. Animal Physiology Department. Project: "Regulation of phosporilation of proteins associated to tubulin". Centro de Biología Molecular, Severo Ochoa. Basic Research. Animal Physiology Department. Project: "Regulation of phosporilation of proteins associated to tubulin".