Members
Group Leader
Manuel Guzmán
Manuel Guzmán took his BSc (1986) and PhD (1990) in Biology from Madrid Complutense University. He is presently Full Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at that university. His PhD and postdoctoral research focused on the study of the regulation of liver and brain lipid metabolism. Since the late 1990s he has been mostly involved in the study of how the active components of cannabis (the cannabinoids) act in the body, with especial emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of that action and on understanding how cannabinoids control cell generation and death. This work has allowed characterizing new effects and signalling pathways evoked by cannabinoids, as well as putting forward new physiopathological implications derived from them.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Cristina Blázquez
Cristina studied Biology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1992-1997; Special Award). She obtained her PhD (Special Award) in 2001 working at the laboratory of Dr. Manuel Guzmán. Her PhD project was based on the regulation of ketogenesis in astrocytes. Later on, Cistina moved to Oxford University for a postdoctoral stay at the laboratory of Dr. Francesco Pezzella, where she focused on the study of the sub-cellular localization of VEGF receptor-2 in tumour cells. Subsequently she was awarded with a postdoctoral fellowship from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia at Dr. Manuel Guzmán´s laboratory to study the action of cannabinoids as anticancer agents. In 2004, she got an Assistant Professor position at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and later on, an Associate Professor position at the same department. In 2011 she became a Titular Professor, position that she currently holds.
Irene Maroto
Irene graduated in Biology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. During this period, she collaborated in the Cell Biology Department in a project about comparative neuroanatomy. She obtained an Erasmus Grant (2012-2013) for Utrecht University (The Netherlands). There she did her final project in the Virology Section, Infectious Diseases and Immunity Department in Veterinary Faculty. Between 2014 and 2016 she did her Master in Neuroscience at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and her Master’s Thesis in Neuronal Plasticity, Learning and Memory lab in Anatomy, Histology and Neuroscience Department in Medicine Faculty. In 2016, she joined the group with a FPU contract as a PhD student to study the identification and characterization of CB1 cannabinoid receptor subpopulations with neuroprotective activity. She defended her doctoral thesis in April 2021, and has since worked on the completion of her PhD project.
Investigadores predoctorales
Alba Hermoso
Alba graduated from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2018 with a degree in Biology. Her final degree project was carried out in the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid, focusing on the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 tool to correct genetic anomaly in Friedreich’s Ataxia. She completed her master´s degree in biochemistry, molecular biology and biomedicine (2019). Her final master´s project was based on the antisense oligonucleotides activity to reduce the levels of the APP protein in Alzheimer’s disease. Following that, she joined our group to work on her PhD project, in which she is currently investigating new interactors of the CB1 receptor.
Alicia Álvaro
Alicia graduated in Biochemistry at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2020. Then she did her master´s degree in Neuroscience at the same university. During this period she joined our group to perform her final master´s project. Currently she is doing her PhD project, focused on the study of the role of ubiquitination in CB1 receptor function.
Pablo Peña
Pablo obtained his BSc degree in Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona in 2021. He conducted his undergraduate thesis work at the laboratories of the Spanish Bank of Algae, an R&D center affiliated with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In 2022, he completed the interuniversity master’s program in Drug Discovery offered by the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Alcalá, and the CEU San Pablo University. He carried out his master’s thesis work at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the latter, in the laboratory of the Neuropharmacology group focused on addictions and degenerative disorders. Subsequently, he continued his research training in the laboratories of the Human Performance, Physical Activity, and Health group at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where he was hired through the INVESTIGO program for young researchers. In September 2023, he joined our research group with an FPI contract as a predoctoral researcher. In this capacity, he will be dedicated to the development of his doctoral thesis, which centers on the identification of novel interactors of the CB1 receptor.
Laboratory Technicians
Eva Resel
Eva graduated in Biology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2003. She joined our lab in January 2007 as part of the CIBERNED institution. Eva is the Lab Manager and also participates in our research line.
Carlos Montero
Carlos graduated in Biology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2013. In 2016, he joined the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department from this University thanks to a Research Assistant fellowship from Comunidad de Madrid. Later, in 2018, he was hired as Research Support Personal in the same department. During these years, he developed the work of Superior Technician taking part in several projects about the study of anti-infective factors in the lung. He joined our lab in December 2020 as a Research Support Personal, where he participates in the line of research “New CB1 receptor interactors”.