2024

March 15, 2024. OUR FIRST GROUP ACTIVITY. We work on a team building activity how to be stronger as a team and go cooking together!! After a session were we discuss how to improve as a team members, we put this in practice in the kitckhen academy in alcobendas!! Check our photo gallery 

March 7, 2024. OUTREACHT EVENT: Our group is at Madrid es ciencia outreach fair at IFEMA (Madrid, Spain). We showed a plant performing the photosynthesis showing bubbles in the water, how to develop model bio-hybrids based on a board game and how we can use our reasearch to made a solar cells. This activity is part of our outreach mission now! Check our photo gallery. 

March 1, 2024. WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER: Angelo Alonzo Beratto. Angelo started as a Postdoctoral researcher in our group supported by Chilean research ministry´s fellowship. We are excited excited to see you starting this project! Check Team member section. 

February 12, 2024. LAB MOVING! Our group is growing and we are in a bigger lab now! A nice opportunity to clean and organize all the stuff properly. Proud of our work! Now we have a nice space to work on!! Check our photo gallery

February 8 and 9, 2024. OUTREACT EVENT. Participation on the woman and girl in science day. Sara visited Vedruna de Carabanchel and Gabriel García Marquez high schools in Madrid showing how to facing challenges can shape you. Check our photo gallery

February 1, 2024. FIRST GROUP ANNIVERSARY! One year ago, we started our journey as a group. We set up the lab together, started new projects, and grew as a group! Now we are stronger and have all the energy to show the basic mechanisms of photosynthesis!  Check our photo gallery 

2023

December 14, 2023. CONGRESS ATTENDANCE: Our group participates at the Early stage researcher´s workshop at IMDEA Nanocience. Asier, Teresa and Enrique atended as participants. Claudia and Gonzalo presented they work with a poster. Bpth defended their work very nice. CLAUDIA WAS AWARDED WITH THE BEST POSTER PRIZE! Congrats Claudia!! Check our photo gallery and in the media section. 

November 20, 2023. WELCOME OUR NEW GROUP MEMBER:  Asier García (master student). Asier will do his master thesis with us. He is studying a master on physics of condensed matter and biological systems. We are looking forward to working with you! Check Team member section. 

November 8, 2023. OUTREACH EVENT: Our group participates in the science week at IMDEA. We have the opportunity to show our science to high school students from Colegio de Estudiantes! We showed the relevance of our research and how our daily work is, and we even finished with a DNA extraction from a banana fruit! Check our photo gallery.

October 20, 2023. WELCOME OUR NEW GROUP MEMBER:  Teresa Espinosa (master student). Teresa will do her master thesis in our group. She is studying a master on physics of condensed matter and biological systems. We are looking forward to working with you! Check Team member section. 

October 17, 2023. POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDED TO ANGELO ALONZO BERATTO. Angelo Alonzo Beratto was awarded with a postdoctoral grant from Chile to perform his postdoctoral research in our group! This grant from the research and development national agency from Chile will suport Angelo to work in his proyect on protein based surface functionalization. CONGRATS ANGELO!! We are looking forward to welcome you in our group. 

October 15, 2023. WELCOME OUR NEW GROUP MEMBER: Enrique Cristóbal (Bachelor student). Asier will do his bachelor thesis  with us. He is studying a bachelor degree in Chemistry. We are looking forward to working with you! Check Team member section. 

October 1, 2023. Claudia and Gonzalo have started in the group their PhD thesis! They will continue with us performing research in protein dynamics at engineered model photosystems. Now as a PhD students. We wish you the best of the luck in your research projects! Check Team member section. 

September 11, 2023. Claudia and Gonzalo defended their master thesis!! They did great work in the lab annd defeded it even better!! We are very proud and you! Check our photo gallery. 

August 29, 2023. CONGRESS ATTENDANCE: We present our work at the European Photobiology Congress  (ESP) in Lyon (France).  It was a great opportunity to meet people working in photosynthesis and be more aware of challenges their are facing. We are sure, we can solve them by using our model photosystems. Check our photo gallery. 

August 15, 2023. WELCOME OUR NEW GROUP MEMBER:  Sebastian Mesa (PhD student). Sebastian will do her master thesis in our group. She is studying a master on physics of condensed matter and biological systems. We are looking forward to working with you! Check Team member section.  Check Team member section. 

July 27, 2023. Project funded! In the Leonardo program from BBVA foundation. The project is to optimize photochemical conversion based on strategic combination of engineered proteins and redox active molecules (40 K Euros). This grant will allow us to explore novel avenues in assembly development for charge accumulation and its use for the generation of solar fuels efficiently at IMDEA Nanoscience research institute (Madrid, Spain). To know more on the call click here. 

June 29, 2023. CONGRESS ATTENDANCE: We present our work at the Spanish Biophysical Society (SBE) congress in Catalonia (Spain). Sara discusses on the development of model photosystems for studying function of protein dynamics in photosystem light harvesting functions. Great opportunity to discuss ideas with biophysics community. Check our photo gallery. 

June 9, 2023. Book chapter out! Check out our contribution in protein and peptide inorganic nanoparticles as theranostic vehicles which is included in Functional materials in biomecilar application book. For the full text click here

May 19, 2023. OUTREACH EVENT: Nanociencia to go outreach at IMDEA Nanociencia. Our group participates in the Nanociencia to Go event that brings students from UAM University from the University for Adults program. All the group members made an excellent performance explaining our research and our daily life. We even performed an in situ DNA extraction experiment by extracting the DNA from bananas. We even gave them the extracted DNA as a present! Check our photo gallery. 

May 9, 2023. Prize awarded! Antalgenics award of the Spanish Society of Biophysics (SBE). For our contributions in photoactive bio-hybrid engineering and photobiology fields. Check our photo gallery. 

April 18, 2023.  CONGRESS ATTENDANCE: We present our work at dynamic photobiology EMBO workshop.  In a selected talk, Sara discusses on the correlation between protein dynamics and photosystem´s light harvesting functions. Great opportunity to discuss ideas with photobiology community. 

March 24, 2023. OUTREACH EVENT: The group visited the Madrid es ciencia science fair at IFEMA. Time to talk with other researchers and research groups and enjoy the science together in this excellent outreach event! Check our photo gallery. 

March 22, 2023. Sara received a grant diploma from La Caixa Foundation in the 2022 Fellowship Awards Ceremony.   

February 21, 2023. INVITED SEMINAR AT IMDEA NANOSCIENCE. Sara discusses protein-promoted excited state modulation. Opportunity to show our work to the whole IMDEA community. 

February 21, 2023. Our lab is now fully running. We did a group lunch to celeberate together. Now we are ready to develop interesting research on bio-engineered nanophotonics!  Check our photo gallery. 

February 10, 2023. OUTREACH EVENT: We visited Zunzunegui BHI high school on the day of women and girls in science. In this outreach event, we show how challenges can shape you when you face them. 

February 6, 2023. WELCOME OUR NEW GROUP MEMBER: Upasana Das (research assistant). Upasana has started as a research assistant in our group. We are excited excited to see you starting this project! Check Team member section. 

January 15, 2023. WELCOME OUR NEW GROUP MEMBERS: Gonzalo Pérez and Claudia Florez (master students). Gonzalo and Claudia have started as master students in our group. They are studying the master of Biological science at the University Autonomous of Madrid. We are looking forward to working with you! Check Team member section. 

2022

December 7, 2022. Invited seminar in the nanotechnology and nanoscience introductory course for bachelor students in La Coruña (Spain). This initiative organized by the University of Coruña to introduce first- and second-year students to the nanoscience and nanotechnology. Thanks, Moises Canle, for the invitation.

October 7, 2022. Project funded!! In the Ecological and digital transition call by Spanish ministry of science. Our project on sustainable H2 production with new 2D bio-hybrid photocatalysts based on Earth abundant and environmentally friendly resources has been founded (172 k Euros).  To know more on the call click here.

September 30, 2022. OUTREACH EVENT: Sara participates in La Noche de la Investigación outreach event in Madrid (Spain). Great opportunity to show what we do in the lab to the society in the Caixa Forum (Madrid, Spain).

July 21, 2022. New paper out in JACS. Check out action mechanism hydrogenase and polymer dots assembly and its performance for solar driven hydrogen evolution. For the full text click here. 

July 17, 2022.  CONGRESS ATTENDANCE: Sara presents at IUPAC photochemistry symposium in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Sara discusses on excited state modulation based on induced protein conformational changes. Great opportunity to meet photochemistry community and share ideas. Check our photo gallery. 

April 1, 2022. Grant awarded! In the Junior Leader incoming call by La Caixa Foundation. Our project in on-demand photochemical energy conversion in bio-hybrids with proteins and nanoclusters in synergy is being funded (300 K Euros). This grant gives the support to explore novel research ideas to develop photosystems that perform efficient light conversion at IMDEA Nanoscience research institute (Madrid, Spain). To know more on the call click here. 

March 1, 2022. OUTREACHT EVENT: Our group is at Madrid es ciencia outreach fair at IFEMA (Madrid, Spain). This is a science fair in Madrid (Spain) where different research institutes, and universities presents scientific approaches. We were presenting how to made a solar cell and time-resolved resolution of waves!

January 17, 2022. New paper out in Advanced Functional Materials. Discover how designed bio-hybrids can help overcoming challenges in emission performance of deep-red light emitting diodes. For full text click here.