Nueva etapa...

I am a veterinarian and a molecular microbiologist with an extensive experience in the area of probiotics and microbiome. Over the last 10 years I’ve been working as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer for the School of Biosciences at University of Surrey, investigating how probiotics interact with innate immune cells and teaching various subjects in the area of animal infectious diseases, food microbiology (milk, meat, fish, honey, eggs…) and food security (e.g. environmental and animal production aspects). During this time I was also the programme director for Veterinary Biosciences BSc for nearly 8 years. Previously, I worked as a researcher for the Spanish National Research Council (Salamanca and Santander), National Research Council of Canada (Montreal), University of Groningen (The Netherlands), University College Dublin and Technological University Dublin (Ireland). 

My current research focuses on optimizing the use of probiotic bacteria such as Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) to tackle infectious diseases and inflammatory disorders in humans and animals. Thanks to my collaboration with virologists and immunologists at the School of Biosciences I have discovered that LAB induce antiviral responses via cytosolic nucleic acid sensors (Gutierrez-Merino et al., 2020. Gut Microbes). I have also published that LAB isolated antagonize intracellular pathogenic bacteria as a consequence of their antimicrobial activity and competitive phagocytic responses (Bravo et al., 2021. Appl Environ Microbiol; Bravo et al., 2019. Front Microbiol). Very recently I have directed my attention to the study of the microbiome of beehives as an indicator of the health of the honeybees and their surrounding environment (Santorelli et al. 2023. Environ Microbiome).

If you wonder about my private life… I like nature and sports so when I have some time, which is not a lot due to my professional and family commitments (a parent of 3 daughters)* I should say this is also fun… why not???* I enjoy hiking, gardening, running and cycling. I also love listening to folk, rock and country music and watching rugby. If we go further in my past, I was born and raised in Madrid, Spain, so I’m very proud of being “Madrileño”. When I’m asked if I support Real Madrid or Atletico de Madrid, my response would be “neither of them”. I am a brand new Rayo Vallecano fan. I’m also proud of the region from my parents, grandparents and great-grand parents come from. It is in the west of Spain, the Atlantic part of Spain (not all Spain is Mediterranean) and is called “Leon”, where the first example of European Parliamentarism took place (approved by UNESCO). In this region we also have one of the oldest universities in Europe (Salamanca). A beautiful city to visit indeed…

Long, long, long time ago I graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Too long I would say. After some practical work at abattoirs and the Zoological Park of Madrid (I know this is a very random selection of practicals) I was offered to do a PhD in Microbiology and since then I’ve been working as a scientist. Somehow, this opportunity to become a new academic at the Vet School is closing the circle, so I’m very much looking forward to working with my new colleagues!