My name is Laura and I’m a biotechnologist turned computational biologist. My main research interest is understanding biological systems, from plants to cancer, and I have approached this from both the wet and dry lab perspectives.
I studied Biotechnology at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville, and then did a Master’s in Genetics and Evolution at the Universidad de Granada. I got my PhD from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, where I worked on plant biotechnology and genetic resources, combining single-cell RNA sequencing and confocal microscopy techniques to reconstruct lateral root formation in Arabidopsis. As part of my PhD, I also had the chance to work as a visiting researcher at the Center of Organismal Studies (University of Heidelberg), in Germany.
Since 2023 I’ve been part of the Bioinformatics Unit at CNIO, where I apply omics techniques and machine learning to a range of cancer research projects. Most notably, I actively participate in the computational side of RENACER, a national network on brain metastasis, where we’re working on predicting drug sensitivity in brain metastasis patients to help guide therapeutic decisions and improve quality of life. Alongside my research, I also have the privilege to teach in several universities, something I love just as much as scientific research.
