María Muñoz San Martín graduated in Biotechnology in 2013 by Universidad de León. She completed the Master Degree in Applied Microbiology at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona in 2014, where she developed her master's thesis in the Genetics and Microbiology department. She began her doctoral thesis entitled "Role of miRNAs in multiple sclerosis: Study of miRNAs in cerebrospinal fluid in each clinical subtype" in the Neurodegeneration and Neuroinflammation group of the Girona Biomedical Research Institute in 2016. During PhD, she performed two training stays at Trinity College in Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
María joined the Rada-Iglesias laboratory at IBBTEC in December 2020, and she will defend her thesis in early 2021.
Transcriptional regulation in development and congenital disease
Research lines
The major interest of our laboratory is to uncover the main genetic and epigenetic factors that allow the deployment of specific gene expression profiles as vertebrate developmental programs unroll. Our goal is to provide a deep mechanistic understanding of the non-coding genomic space that is dynamically and specifically used during mammalian embryogenesis, which is fundamental to reveal the molecular basis of human congenital diseases. More specifically, by functionally and mechanistically characterizing developmental enhancers, my laboratory aims at:
- Uncovering transcriptional regulatory principles orchestrating mammalian embryogenesis.
- Elucidating the genetic and epigenetic basis of human congenital diseases.
Funding
- "Transcriptional Regulation during vertebrate Embryonic Patterning: from genomics to mechanism" – STAR2 Programme (Universidad de Cantabria; Banco Santander) - 2018/2023 – IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "Embo Young Investigator Program (YIP)" – EMBO – 2018/2020 – IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "Mechanistic characterization of poised enhancer function during the induction of major anterior neural regulatory loci" - German Research Foundation (DFG) - 2017/2020 – IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "Identification and characterization of major stem cell regulators within the epidermis" - German Research Foundation (DFG) – 2017/2021 – IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "A novel etiological mechanism for Branchio-Oculo-Facial Syndrome (BOFS) with implications for the current understanding of human neurocristopathies" - Else Kroner Fresenius Foundation - 2017/2019 - IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "Functional and mechanistic characterization of Foxd3 during mouse peri-implantation transitions" – German Research Foundation (DFG) - 2016/2019 – IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "A systems biology approach to characterize non-coding genetic variants associated with human disease" – University of Cologne Excellence Program – 2014/2017 - IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "Bioinformatic and molecular characterization of non-coding genetic variants associated with craniofacial abnormalities" - Fritz Thyssen Foundation – 2014/2015 - IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
- "Molecular mechanisms and functional relevance of poised developmental enhancers during embryonic stem cell differentiation" - German Research Foundation (DFG) – 2013/2016 – IP: Alvaro Rada Iglesias
