Marta Robledo holds a PhD in Microbiology and Genetics from the University of Salamanca. After completing her postdoctoral research at the Centre for Synthetic Microbiology (Marburg University, Germany) and at the Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC, Granada), she joined the IBBTEC in 2017. Currently, Dr. Robledo leads research and transfer projects thanks to a “Ramón y Cajal" contract. 

Her research focuses on the systematic study of bacterial adaptive strategies that enable survival and progression in changing environments, with particular emphasis on bacterial colonization and infection of eukaryotic organisms. Throughout her scientific career, she has uncovered crucial molecular mechanisms in the rhizobia-legume symbiosis, identified non-coding sRNAs that regulate key prokaryotic functions such as the cell cycle, and discovered novel proteins involved in riboregulation, like a single- and doble-stranded nuclease. She also contributed to the development of biopesticides, bioinoculants and a new methodology based on target DNA delivery into specific cells for biotechnological purposes, enabling genetic interventions in complex natural communities.  These works have been published in top-ranked journals of the field (PNAS, NAR, mBIO, Plos Genetics…) and she has obtained competitive projects both from private and public founding agencies. In 2022, she received the prestigious “Antonio J. Palomares" Researcher Award from the Spanish Society for Nitrogen fixation for her relevant contributions to the field of beneficial plant-microorganisms.

Her current research lines include the development of targeted control methods against human and plant pathogens such as EHEC and Xylella fastidiosa, particularly within complex bacterial communities, as well as the development of plant biostimulants based on functional dynamics, genomics, RNomics and structure of the seed symbiotic microbiome.​