Research lines

Designer gene regulation: disclosing design principles and programming new functions in living cells.

We engineer synthetic gene circuits aimed at (re-)programming living cells with repurposed and de novo designed regulatory elements. We are especially appealed by RNA-based control mechanisms. We use bacteria as model organisms for foundational systems and synthetic biology. We also focus on plants as organisms with environmental impact. In addition, we develop computational models at different levels of intracellular organization (molecular, genetic, and genomic) to understand in a quantitative way the bases of gene regulation. Of particular interest is the study of how cells manage the stochasticity underlying gene expression programs.


Diagnostics and biocomputing: detecting infectious agents and genetic biomarkers with engineered molecular systems.

We engineer biomolecular systems able to recognize specific nucleic acids. We mainly focus on CRISPR-based detection methods, exploiting different nucleases. In addition, we explore the use of cell-free expression systems and stimulus-responsive nanomaterials to develop novel strategies for biocomputing, with the aim of processing molecular information with precision in vitro. We apply these systems to detect viruses, bacteria, and genetic (e.g., cancer) biomarkers from clinical and environmental samples.


Virus engineering and evolution: re-programming naturally occurring nanobiostructures and molecular automata.

We engineer genetic cassettes encoding viruses and virus-based nanoparticles following a sequence-structure-function paradigm. We exploit cell-free expression systems to produce viral particles for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. We mainly focus on bacteriophages and plant viruses, as elements that can act against human pathogens with controlled one-health risk. In addition, we study how viruses and, in general, genetically encoded molecular automata evolve. We use time-dependent probabilistic mathematical models to describe complex dynamic patterns. We also examine virus-host interactions in terms of networks.

Current funding

Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo, 2023-2026).

Spanish Ministry of Science (Prueba de Concepto, 2022-2024).

Spanish Ministry of Science (I+D Conocimiento, 2022-2025).

Former funding

CSIC-EU (PTI Salud Global, NextGenerationEU, 2021-2023).

Generalitat Valenciana (Expresiones Interes Covid-19, 2022-2023).

Generalitat Valenciana (Junior Investigator, 2020-2022).

European Commission (H2020-MSCA-ITN, 2019-2022).

University of Valencia (VLC-Biomed, 2021).

CSIC (Cuenta la Ciencia, 2021).

CRUE-Banco Santander (Supera Covid-19, 2020-2021).

Spanish Ministry of Science (I+D Conocimiento, 2019-2021).

Spanish Ministry of Economy (I+D Excelencia, 2016-2018).

Generalitat Valenciana (Grupos Emergentes, 2016-2017).

BBVA Foundation (Leonardo, 2015-2016).

Spanish Ministry of Economy (Explora, 2015-2016).

CSIC (Intramural Inicio, 2014-2015).