Team

 Ingenious Minds, Compassionate Hearts: Our Team's Journey to Defeat Pediatric Nervous System Tumors 

Miguel F. Segura, PhD

   Head of the Neural tumors Lab

Graduated in Biochemistry at the University of the Balearic Islands, in Mallorca, Spain. After obtaining my PhD in molecular neurobiology from the University of Lleida with an FPU predoctoral fellowship, Dr. Segura joined the Department of Pathology at the NYU School of Medicine, New York (USA) in 2007. He had first a postdoctoral fellowship from the Alfonso Martín Escudero Foundation and then another one from the National Cancer Institute. In 2012, I was recruited at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute through the Miguel Servet I program to apply his scientific experience to the field of pediatric cancer. In 2017 he obtained the tenure position (Miguel Servet II program) and now, Dr. Segura is the Head of the Neural Tumor Laboratory. 



Maria J Pérez, PhD

Senior Researcher/Project Manager



I graduated in Biochemistry at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), in Mallorca, Spain and I got my PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Lleida (2006). Later, I moved to New York where I did my postdoc stays in Columbia University (Dr. AH Kotmmann) and in New York University (Dr. SJ Burden). I joined the Laboratory of Neural Tumors in 2022. Currently, I am working on drug development testing new compounds that could be used in pediatric solid tumors and participating in the “first in child” Phase I clinical trial with ABTL0812in pediatric tumors"


Ariadna Boloix, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher




I am a postdoctoral researcher and I am leading a project focused on the development of RNA-based nanomedicine for the treatment of neuroblastoma. I'm graduated in pharmacy (2013, Unviersity of Barcelona), and during my doctoral thesis (2019, VHIR-University Autonoma of Barcelona) I gained expertise in nanomaterials as drug delivery systems. I'm passionate in entrepreneurship and technology transfer to explore innovative ways to translate our research into applications for the benefit of society.​



Khloud Elsharawy, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher


I graduated from the Faculty of Science, Damietta University, Egypt in 2011. I granted my PhD degree in 2021 through a collaborative scholarship program at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. In 2023, I was recruited by VHIR Institute in​ Barcelona, Spain, to lead research efforts dedicated to develop new epigenetic therapies for the treatment pediatric brain tumors. 



Adrià Molero, Msc

PhD student


I graduated in Biology at the University of Barcelona in 2020. Next, I was enrolled in a master’s degree in Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona where I contributed to the characterization of a novel autophagy inhibitor for lung cancer treatment. In 2021, I started my PhD program in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine at Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) working on the development and characterizationof the epigenetic landscape of metastatic neuroblastoma models.


 


Marta Miera, Msc

PhD student


I am a Biomedical Sciences graduate by University of Barcelona. I hold a Master’s degree in Translational Biomedical Research by Autonomous University of Barcelona. For my master’s thesis, I worked in a drug development project aimed at finding novel compounds targeting the TSPAN1 protein for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. In 2023, I joined The laboratory of Neural Tumors, to do my PhD on the development of epigenetic therapies for the treatment of pediatric tumors of the nervous system.





Paula Cabré, Msc

Lab Technnician

 

I graduated in Biology at the University of Barcelona in 2021. Afterwards, I was enrolled in a master’s degree in Microbiology at the University of Barcelona. In 2023, I joined the group of Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) as a Laboratory Technician.



Ana Bautista

Lab Technnician student


In 2024, I joined the group of Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) as a Laboratory Technician student.





Masters' students

Eline Ryckaert (September 2023-March 2024)

Eline is working assessing the safety and efficacy of ABTL0812 in combination with immunotherapeutic agents using neuroblastoma immunocompetent preclinical models.

Paula Ruiz (October 2023-July 2024)

Her project will focus on generating a model to discover potential response biomarkers to new epigenetic therapies targeting the chromatin remodeler complex SWI/SNF​ on generating a model to discover potential response biomarkers to new epigenetic therapies targeting the chromatin remodeler complex SWI/SNF.


Gal·la Farreny (October 2023-July 2024)

Gal·la participates in a project aimed to characterize the expression patterns of CAR-T target antigens in brain-tumor datasets and their variation in response to different treatment regimens. This information will be used to develop personalized CAR-T therapies for brain tumors by selecting the most appropriate CAR-T type and treatment timing for each patient.



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