Born in the USA Spain 🙂

At the University of Salamanca. It equals to a BSc and a MSc in Biotechnology. It was very exclusive (max. 30 people per course), and the degree hold the highest mark cut-off in Spain. I am fond of having met all my colleagues and work with such passionate people. It was an amazing environment to learn.

Our degree had been created barely some years ago, and most laws did not even contemplate us. As an example, we could not work in positions such as Biology teacher or Biology Resident at a hospital. I wanted to change that, and I joined the now almost empty Association of Biotechnology of Salamanca -10 members-. After some months and new elections, I was chosen President. My plan for the next years would consist mainly on involving new people, engaging them in collaborating in activities and making them feel part of the Association. From that point, more things could be done. That would result to be the best decision I could have taken. Not only because it was a success, but also because thanks to that I have met many people and made many good friends.

In July, I did a small internship at the Jesus Uson Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre, in my hometown, Caceres, doing cell culture with stem cells and learning about how to apply them to animal models.

During my last year at the University of Salamanca, I kept studying and getting involved with the Association. We were slightly continuist (organized the II Conferences on Agricultural Transgenics, participated in the next edition of FEBiotec Divulga, etc.), while we focused on applying for private and public funding for a huge popularization event at the next year, the II Biotechnology Week, and searching for involvement of other biotechnologists. The year ended with 120 members.  At the end of the year, I was chosen Vice-President of the Spanish Federation of Biotechnologists -FEBiotec-. With the rest of the Executive Board, we focused on dealing with the Spanish Goverment, trying to change some laws, promoting the biotechnologists and coordinating projects and managing issues between the different regional entities.

Professionally, I realized that I was more interested in dry lab than wet lab, and I started reading about machine learning, and dusting off my old Statistics books.

Due to my work in the field, I was chosen worldwide as one of the 100 Leader of Tomorrow 2014 by the think-tank Global Biotech Revolution.

Sponsored by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, dependant of the Ministery of Economy and Competivity, the University of Salamanca, the Spanish Federation of Vegetal Physiology and the Spanish–Portuguese Agricultural Research Institute, it was one of the most important Biotech popularization events organized during 2014, Spanish National Year of Biotechnology. As the Project Manager, I lead a team of more than 50 people for its realization. We reached about 5.000 people.

I was employed through the Youth Employment Programme by the Spanish National Research Council, CSIC. I worked as a Specialist in Genomic and Proteomic Analysis and Diagnosis at the Proteomics Unit of the Cancer Research Center, in Salamanca, Spain. To me, it has been a great opportunity to grow and learn, to work as part of a group and collaborating with very different entities and laboratories. I am in charge of any bioinformatic analysis related to MS/MS data, following the ISO 9001:2015 rule. I have implemented new analyses, new protocols and new tools.

During this period, I have also participated in two Bioinformatics-related courses as a teacher, assisted to two Summer Schools, and I keep working for the Spanish Federation of Biotechnology, offering counselling to professionals and students. Nowadays I am doing some courses in Deep Learning, Bayesian Statistics, Big Data and Systems Biology. It is hard to keep up, but all of them are really interesting!