EQUIPO
A nosa xente
Investigadores principais
Dra. Beatriz Pelaz, director of the BNT Lab, ERC grantee (Starting grant 2020), and Principal Researcher at the CiQUS.
Short CV: graduated in Chemistry from the University of Valladolid (2005) and Biochemistry from the University of Zaragoza (UZ, 2011); master’s degree in experimental organometallic chemistry from the University of Valladolid (2006); Completetd PhD studies at de la Fuente´s lab at INA(UZ) (2007-2012); postdoctoral researcher (2012-2013) and Humboldt Fellow (2014-2015) at Parak´s lab, Philipps-University of Marburg. In 2016 I moved to the CiQUS@USC with a JIN/RETOS project; later, I was awarded a Ramon y Cajal contract (2017 call). Currently, holding an Associate Profesor position in the Inorganic Chemistry Department of the USC.
Dr. Pablo del Pino, director of the BNT Lab, and Principal Researcher at the CIQUS.
Short CV: graduated in Physics from the University of Sevilla (2002); PhD studies in Molecular Biophysics at the Technische Universität München (2003-07; Director: Prof. Dr. Fritz G. Parak, †2020); postdoc researcher at Parak´s lab (CeNS@LMU, 2007-09); postdoc researcher at de la Fuente´s lab at INA (UZ) (2009-2012); ARAID researcher at INA (UZ) (2013); research associate at Parak´s lab at CIC biomaGUNE (2013-2015). In 20216 I moved to CIQUS as PI with a Ramon y Cajal contract (2016-2021, USC). Since 2021, I am an Associate Professor at the USC (Dept. of Particle Physics, Condensed Matter). Since 2016, I am also Associate Editor of the Journal of Nanobiotechnology.
Dra. Ester Polo, Principal Researcher at the CIQUS.
Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Zaragoza (UZ, 2006) and M.Sc. in Molecular and Cellular Biology (UZ, 2009). She carried out her PhD at the Institute of Nanoscience of Aragon (INA, UZ, 2013). In 2013 she joined the Center for BioNano Interactions (CBNI, University College Dublin) as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2017, she moved to the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the University of Santiago de Compostela, first with a Juan de la Cierva -Incorporación contract (2016 call) and later on with a Ramon y Cajal contract (2019 call). Since 2025, she is an Associate Professor at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department at USC. Her research interests are focused on the development of smart biomimetic nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
Investigadores posdoutorais
Giulia graduated in Chemistry in 2012 and she received her PhD (cum laudae) in Biotechnology (University of Perugia, 2017), discussing the thesis “Silica nanomaterials as multifunctional biodevices”, regarding the development of silica-based nanocomposites to be used as photodynamic therapy systems. Later, she received postdoc fellowships to continue her research work on the preparation of luminescent hybrid nanomaterials and smart-responsive nanostructured materials. In 2021, she joined BNT group to develop plasmonic nanocomposites as efficient contrast agents to detect drug-tolerant persister cancer cells (which is part of the EU-founded REAP project). She works in the synthesis & functionalization of bioimaging nanoprobes and their application in living model systems. Her expertise includes synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, photocatalysis, light-mediated energy transfer, up- and down-conversion, photodynamic and photothermal processes, time-resolved spectroscopy, and nanophotonics.
Dr. Cruz-Ortiz obtained his Ph.D. from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, in 2020. In the same year, he joined Dr. Carla E. Giacomelli’s research group as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Physical Chemistry Research in Cordoba (Argentina). He joined the BNT group in September 2024 with an MSCA postdoctoral fellowship. He is currently working on the DNA origami team at BNT with the goal of functionalizing DNA origami nanostructures with fluorescent DNA/AgNCs.
Dr. Mafalda Gonçalves earned her PhD in 2022 from the University of Porto (Portugal), researching the immunomodulatory potential of Fibrinogen-Magnesium biomaterials at i3S. In 2022, she conducted postdoctoral research at IMDEA Materials, followed by a 2023 role at U-Monitor startup as Scientist and Product Development Manager, and later as Junior Researcher at i3S. In February 2025, she secured an MSCA-PF fellowship (NANO-MAC) to join the BioNanoTools group at CiQUS. Currently, she is working on the development and characterization of lipid nanoparticles incorporating dexamethasone and other components for macrophage immunomodulation, targeting chronic inflammatory diseases.
Estudantes de doutoramento
FPU-PhD candidate student at the University of Santiago de Compostela since 2020.
Antía graduated in Biology from Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, where she also obtained her MSc. In Chemistry at the interface of Biology and Materials Science. She joined bionanotools group for her master’s thesis project, which focused on cellsomes and their interaction with 3D tissue models. Her PhD thesis focuses on DNA origami in the framework of the ERC-SPACING project.s.
Xunta de Galicia fellowship, PhD student at University of Santiago de Compostela since 2022.
Samuel obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at University of Zaragoza (2020) and carried out an interdisciplinary Master’s Degree in Chemistry, Biology, and Materials Science at the University of Santiago de Compostela (2022). He is currently doing a PhD in Materials Science which involves the synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles (Au, Pd…) and different metal-based (Zr, Ti…) MOFs and their surface functionalization. He is also really interested in the promising biological applications of nanotechnology.
Álvaro Durán Bravo
FPI
Álvaro Durán Bravo
FPI PhD student at University of Santiago de Compostela since 2022.
Alvaro graduated in Biotechnology (2020) at the University of Cadiz, working in the field of molecular biology and immunology for the end of his degree project. He obtained his master’s degree in Biomedicine (2021 in the INIBICA, working in pregnancy and metabolic syndrome. His PhD thesis focuses on biomimetic nanocarriers for targeting the immune system.
Grant PRE2021-099887 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ESF+.
Maria Aguilera Llavero
Xunta
Maria Aguilera Llavero
PhD student Xunta de Galicia fellowship. PhD student at the University of Santiago de Compostela since 2023, working on the DNA origami nanotechnology
Laura Sanchez Martinez
Xunta
Laura Sanchez Martinez
PhD student Xunta de Galicia fellowship, PhD student at University of Santiago de Compostela since 2023, working on DNA origami and MOF materials.
Nikolaos Liodakis
FPI
Nikolaos Liodakis
FPI PhD. student at the University of Santiago de Compostela since 2024.
Nikolaos graduated in Chemistry from the University of Crete in 2022 and also obtained his Master’s in Chemistry ( Advanced Materials and Physicalchemistry) from the University of Crete in 2024, where he worked with Metalphosphonates and their applications in corrosion inhibition. During this period, he also had an Erasmus+ scholarship for 3 months, working at the Bionanotools lab on the synthesis, characterization, and coating of porous materials (nanoMOFs and COFs) with nanoparticles. He is continuing his work in his Ph.D. research.
FPI contract associated with project DONAI (PID2022-142338OB-I00), funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ESF+.
Fatima Zerrouk
FPI
Fatima Zerrouk
I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences & Technology in Fez in 2020. Subsequently, I pursued and completed a Master’s degree in Chemical Science and the Valorization of Phosphates at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco (2022). After carrying out an interdisciplinary Master’s degree in Chemistry at the Interface with Biology and Materials Science at the University of Santiago de Compostela (2024), I am continuing the PhD studies focused on the synthesis and characterization of novel Metal-Organic Frameworks for drug delivery at CiQUS.
Grant PREP2023-000419 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ESF+.
Mar Cabello
FPI
Mar Cabello
Mar graduated with a Degree in Biotechnology from the IQS University, Ramon Llull, Spain. Then, she obtained a Master´s Degree in translational Research and Personalized Medicine at the University of Granada. She joined the group in 2025 with a FPI contract to work on biomimetic nanomaterials for drug delivery applications
FPI contract associated with project BIOTUNE (PID2023-151448NB-I00), funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ESF+.
Johan Farfan
Xunta
Johan Farfan
Xunta de Galicia fellowship, PhD student at University of Santiago de Compostela since 2025.
Johan graduated with a degree in Chemistry in 2020 from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, working in the field of analytical chemistry. He obtained a Master’s degree in Nanomedicine for Drug Delivery in 2024 from Université Paris Cité through the EMJMD NANOMED program, working on the development of polyplexes for siRNA delivery. His PhD thesis focuses on the development of functional DNA origami for biomedical applications.
Soledad Cisneros
Soledad Cisneros
Soledad works on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that incorporate membrane proteins extracted and solubilised with detergent, and on how this protein layer changes their uptake by lung cancer cells.
Antía Berredo
Antía Berredo
Antía graduated from the University of Santiago de Compostela, where she did her bachelor thesis in the BNT lab (2024/25). She works on the synthesis and activation of nanoscale covalent organic frameworks (COFs).
Estudantes de mestrado e grao
Nahia Ibaceta
TFM
Nahia Ibaceta
Paula Expósito
TFM
Paula Expósito
Laura Adamary Acosta Saldívar
Visiting
Laura Adamary Acosta Saldívar
Ángel David Molina Pérez
Visiting
Ángel David Molina Pérez
Carla Rodríguez Iglesias
TFG
Carla Rodríguez Iglesias
Antigos membros
Manuel graduated in Chemistry from Autonomous University of Nuevo León (2017) and he got a master’s degree in Materials Science from the Research Center of Advanced Materials (CIMAV-Monterrey) Mexico (2019) working with electrochemical synthesis of hierarchical nanostructures for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) applications. He completed his PhD thesis on the synthesis and characterisation of plasmonic-nanoMOFs composites as part of the HeatNMof project at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2024.
Antonio Gkoutzamanis
Estudante de doutoramento
Antonio Gkoutzamanis
Antonio graduated with a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Italy. For his master’s thesis, he completed a six-month Erasmus+ Traineeship at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Helsinki, where he worked on the organic synthesis of bisindole compounds with potential antileishmanial activity.
She is working on the framework of the ERC-SPACING project dedicated to the DNA origami-based nanoprinters project for ligand printing on nanoparticles since joining the BNT group in 2023 at USC-CIQUS. She obtained her BSc in Biology in 2014 (UCM, Spain) and MSc in Genetics and Molecular Biology in 2015 (UAM-UCM-UAH, Spain). She received her PhD cum laude in Biology in 2023 with the thesis “Fabrication of micro- and nanostructured surfaces to direct cell responses and inhibit bacterial infection.” Throughout her career, she has worked in various fields of biology, but in recent years she has focused on nanotechnology applied to life sciences. She specialized in the study of micro- and nano-scale biomimetic systems (i.e. nanofunctionalized surfaces, nanoparticles,..) for biomedical applications.
Dr. Josef Kopp
Investigador/a posdoutoral
Dr. Josef Kopp
Esperanza finished her degree in Chemistry in 2013 (UEX-Spain) and the M.Sc. in Biotechnology in 2014 (UGR-Spain). She moved to Santander to perform her Ph.D. (UC-Spain, 2016-2020) at the Nanomedicine group. Afterwards, as postdoc she joined Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI-Ireland) working under a European project in Nanotoxicology. She joined CiQUS-USC in June 2022 with a postdoctoral fellowship Margarita Salas and later on she was awarded a MSCA postdoctoral fellowship (2023). She is currently working on the DNA origami nanostructures for control the tailoring of the ligand on the nanoparticles surface.
Sajid completed his PhD from India in 2018 (Indian Council of Medical Research Fellowship) wherein he worked on iron-oxide and gold nanoparticle systems for cancer theranostics. Following this, he moved to Japan to undertake postdoctoral studies at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Ishikawa, Japan) wherein he worked on various zwitterionic polymeric materials for protein cryopreservation and protection. He joined CiQUS-USC in April 2022 with a postdoctoral fellowship and later on he was awarded a MSCA postdoctoral fellowship (2022).. He is presently working on developing bio-mimetic/inorganic hybrid systems for cancer theranostic applications
FPU Ph.D. student at the University of Santiago de Compostela since 2019.
Manuela graduated in Physics from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2018), where she had an Erasmus Scholarship for 9 months to study at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague. She got a master’s degree in Biomedical Physics from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2019) where she worked with mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) for the treatment of infection using hyperthermia. She is currently working on the synthesis, characterization, and functionalization of nanoMOFs for their application in biomedicine.
Enrica obtained her bachelor’s degrees in Health Biotechnologies from the University of Naples Federico II (2014) and her master’s degrees in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Milan – Bicocca (2017). She joined the BNT in 2018 as a student for the Erasmus+ traineeship, working on biomimetic nanosystems. Interested in this research line, she carried out her Ph.D. (2022) focusing on the design of cell-derived nanocarriers for stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems, underling the importance of plasmatic membrane coating technology for the development of functional and biocompatible nanoparticles. Currently, she is working on the ERC-SPACING project.
Martina Migliavacca joined the BNT in 2019 as PhD student (supervisors: Ester Polo & Beatriz Pelaz). She worked on biomimetic nanosystems applied to nanomedicine. Graduated in Biotechnology (2016) and has a master’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology (2018) from the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy).
He joined CiQUS-USC in Sept 2023 working on the SWIMMOT-EU project.
Dr. Naseeb Naseebullah
Investigador/a posdoutoralDr. Naseeb Naseebullah
Dr. Reza Taheri
Investigador/a posdoutoralDr. Reza Taheri
FPU doctoral student (Supervisors: Pablo del Pino and Pablo Taboada), joined the Bionanotools group in 2018. He works on the preparation and characterization of hybrid nanosystems formed by plasmonic or magnetic nanoparticles encapsulated in ZIF-8.
He graduated in chemistry from the National University of Distance Studies (UNED) in 2016 with an end-of-career award from the UNED Social Council. Master of Chemical Science and Technology (2017) at the UNED, doing the TFM in the Colloidal Chemistry group of the University of Vigo, his work dealt with the preparation and characterization of a SERS substrate.
Marta Pérez Maseda
Estudante de doutoramento
Marta Pérez Maseda
Marta Pérez Maseda -Graduated in Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela (2017). Her interest in biomaterials research began while he was doing a master’s degree in Materials Chemistry at the Jaume I University of Castellón (2019). In 2019, she joined the Bionanotools group, where she could begin her doctoral studies, directed by Beatriz Pelaz and Pablo del Pino, while enjoying a FPU scholarship. Her research was based on the functionalization of different metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with a wide variety of molecules, such as polymers, with the aim that these new compounds can be used in biomedical applications and its characterization.
Research Associate, SWIMMOT project, focusing on the synthesis & functionalization of magnetic nanomaterials and as well as the development of new biomimetic nanostructures and their application in living model systems. Short CV: graduated in Biology from University of Santiago de Compostela (2014); master degree in Neuroscience at University of Santiago de Compostela (2015); PhD in Molecular Medicine at the Health research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS) (2015-2021), granted with the Xunta de Galicia predoctoral fellowship (2018) under the supervision of Prof. José Castillo, Dr. Tomás Sobrino and Dr. Francisco Campos.
Dra. María Fernanda Navarro Poupard
Estudante de doutoramento
Dra. María Fernanda Navarro Poupard
She has a Bachelor´s Degree in Physics from the University of Guanajuato (Mexico, 2011), and a Master´s Degree in Materials Science from Tuskegee University (USA, 2015). After the completion of the masters, she pursued a doctoral degree at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) under the supervision of Pablo Taboada and Pablo del Pino. Her doctoral thesis (2021) work consisted in the synthesis and characterization of porous nanoparticles such as: calcium carbonate polymeric nanocapsules loaded with macromolecules and porous coordination polymers. Following her research interest in the synthesis of functional materials for bio-applications, she started (2021) as a postdoctoral researcher at the CiQUS (Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) where she has had the opportunity to participate in the SPACING (SPAtially-Controlled lIgand arraNGement by origami-based nanoprinters) EU project (H2020-EU.1.1., ERC-2020-StG-950421) in the group of Beatriz Pelaz and Pablo del Pino. Her research focused on the synthesis and characterization of functional porous nanomaterials for biological applications.
Elvira García Morales
Estudante de mestrado
Elvira García Morales
Elvira joined the group in 2021 for her Master in Chemistry at the interface with Biology and Materials Science. She worked on new strategies of using click chemistry as a cell labelling and tracking with nanoparticles, over 2D and 3D cell models.
Research Associate, SPACING project. He worked in design and synthesis of DNA origami nanostructures for tailor-made functionalization of nanosystems.
In 2002, I finished my degree in Biology at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). Later I belonged to the first promotion of the Higher Degree in Biotechnology at the USC (2005). In 2009, I obtained the Master in Biotechnological Engineering, and in 2011 I got my PhD in Biotechnology (USC). For 3 years (2012-2015) I formed part of Enzyme Research team at the RIKEN (Japan). Afterwards, I was postdoctoral researcher at Biomaterials & Drug Delivery and Natural Polymers and Biomimetics research groups [Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS)] for 4 years. Currently, I carry out the design and synthesis of DNA origami nanostructures for tailor-made functionalization of nanosystems.
Ramon y Cajal Resercher.
Graduated in Biology from the University of Vigo (2012). He obtained his Ph.D. from University College Dublin (UCD, 2017) focusing on the immunological impacts of the bio-nano interactions of nanomaterials with differing biomolecular surfaces and shapes, highlighting the differential shape-dependent modulation of antibody responses in rodent models. He worked as a Postdoc at the Center for Infectious Medicine in Karolinska Institutet (2021) depicting the phenotypical and functional landscape of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in different viral infections and cancer. In such contexts, the understanding of T cell exhaustion in tissue-resident cells was one of the main research interests. He joined BNT and CIQUS in 2021 (awarded a RyC contract 2022-call associated with the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department at USC), and works in developing approaches to understand the immunomodulatory capabilities of multiple novel nanomaterials with the aim of designing smart nano-structures capable of inducing specific T cell responses in vitro and ex vivo.
