Antonio Santos

Full professor

About myself: As Full Professor at the Department of Genetics, Physiology and Microbiology of the Complutense University of Madrid, my research line is mainly focused in yeast physiology and genetics. My current projects concern molecular, physiological and biotechnological aspects of the complex microbial communities inhabiting different environments such as vineyard soils, wine fermentations and wastewater treatment plants.

Contact: ansantos@ucm.es
Profiles: ResearchGate | Google Scholar | ORCID

Lucía Arregui

Associate professor

About myself: Throughout my teaching and research career, I've developed an intense research activity in the field of wastewater treatment processes and the ecology of aquatic environments. My doctoral thesis project dealt with the cytology and ultrastructure of the psychrophilic protist Euplotes focardii. From that moment until now, my studies have addressed the different problems existing in several natural and artificial aquatic environments with a special focus on the role of microorganisms in wastewater purification owning an especial interest in biofilm related processes.

Contact: arregui@ucm.es
Profiles: | ORCID |

Domingo Marquina

Full professor. Associate Dean for Students

About myself:  I received my undergraduate education at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), where I also undertook my PhD in fungal metabolism. Then, I joined a postdoctoral European grant at Fundación Caloustre Gulbenkian (Portugal), under the mentorship of Dra. Isabel Spencer-Martins, working in yeast taxonomy and physiology. Upon returning to UCM, I began my independent career, focusing my research on the biology of killer toxins in yeasts. Now, I work in the search of yeasts for improved winemaking and the development of biological tools for controlling biofouling in WWTPs. During 2019-20, I was Head of the UCM Research Results Transfer Office (OTRI). 

Contact: dommarq@ucm.es
Profiles: Google Scholar | ORCID

Ignacio Belda

Associate professor

About myself: With a research background in yeast physiology, I am currently interested in microbial interaction networks and their role in shaping the function and predictability of complex ecosystems. By integrating ecological and evolutionary theory across different levels of biological organization—from genomics to organisms and communities—I aim to understand and design microbial consortia, with a particular focus on the principles that govern community assembly and function.

Contact: ignaciobelda@ucm.es
Profiles: Google Scholar | ORCID | Twitter

Daniel A. Bravo

Tenured Lecturer

About myself: I completed my PhD at the Hospital Ramón y Cajal focusing on the genetic characterization of microcins, and defended it at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. I later carried out a postdoctoral stay at INIA (Madrid) on applied microbiology in food systems, while also coordinating and teaching Microbiology at Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio. Currently, I am a Tenured Lecturer at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, focusing on microbiological safety and microbial technology.

Contact: dbravo03@ucm.es
Profiles: UCM

Javier Ruiz

Assistant Professor

About myself: I am a Biologist and Microbiologist at Complutense University of Madrid. Since my first steps of my scientific career I´ve had a strong interest in evolution, finding yeasts as perfect models to study it at the genomic and phenomic levels.

Contact: javiru02@ucm.es
Profiles: ResearchGate | Google Scholar | ORCID | Twitter

Cristina Casero

Assistant Professor

About myself: With a background in microorganisms from extreme environments, I study how life connects and survives in Earth’s harshest regions. Cyanobacteria have been the nexus throughout my career, from my PhD on Atacama endoliths to my current Polar research. By exploring these resilient organisms, I investigate their molecular adaptations, the bioactive compounds they produce, and how dispersal vectors shape these remote ecosystems.

Contact: macase03@ucm.es
Profiles: ResearchGate | Google Scholar | ORCID 

Javier Vicente

Postdoctoral researcher

About myself: Biologist and microbiologist formed at the Complutense University of Madrid. My research focuses on yeast physiology, metabolism and genomics. I am particularly interested in transforming fundamental knowledge of biological mechanisms into practical biotechnological applications.

 

Contact: javievic@ucm.es
Profiles: ResearchGate | Google Scholar | ORCID | Twitter

Miguel de Celis

Postdoctoral Researcher (now at García-Palacios lab, ICA-CSIC)

About myself: Despite my microbiology formation, I am focused in microbial ecology, mainly of wastewater, giving a great importance to bioinformatic tools.

Contact: migueldc@ucm.es
Profiles: ResearchGate | Google Scholar | ORCID

Sergio Izquierdo Gea

PhD candidate

About myself: I began my research career in the field of molecular biology, with a focus on genetic engineering of yeasts for applications in biomedicine. After completing a project on transcriptional activation in bacteria using CRISPR systems, I am now pursuing my thesis project. The aim of this project is to investigate the ecological context of the non-conventional yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, with the ultimate goal of facilitating biotechnological applications of this microorganism. 

Contact: sergiz01@ucm.es

Belén Benítez-Domínguez

PhD candidate (now at Alvaro Sanchez lab, IBFG-CSIC)

About myself: I graduated in Biotechnology and worked with S. cerevisiae throughout my Bachelor and Thesis at the Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD). I am currently finishing my Msc in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology while working at the Microbial Interactions and Ecology Lab. Now I am working on my Master's Thesis, in which I will determine the role of the microorganism community composition and fermentation conditions in the metabolic profiling of wines.

Contact: belbendom@gmail.com
Profiles: Linkedin