E-Mail : ja2544@columbia.edu
Phone : (212) 854-9474
Curriculum Vitae: PDF

In 2003, I graduated in Biochemistry from the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain (1st National Award). I obtained my PhD degree after five years of research at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I (Complutense University). My Thesis work, which was supervised by Drs. Á. Martínez del Pozo and J. G. Gavilanes, dealt with the study of the mechanism of pore formation by a family of eukaryotic pore-forming toxins, the actinoporins from sea anemones. We employed a variety of biochemical and biophysical approximations (site-directed mutagenesis, infrared spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry, circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy…) to gain insight into the way actinoporins interact with lipid membranes and the subsequent conformational changes they experience.

In May 2008 I joined Prof. Julio Fernandez lab with the aim of learning the single-molecule force spectroscopy techniques by atomic force microscopy. These techniques have provided the means to study the influence of force in the reduction of disulfide bonds, both by chemicals and enzymes. My current research projects are focused on expanding those experiments to other chemical bonds. Hopefully, the results will increase our knowledge on the influence of force in chemical reactions.