We protect your health through science
Investigation
Immune Pathogenesis and Viral Reservoir
Research Lines
Content with Investigacion .
Legionella
Desde su creación hasta la actualidad, La Unidad de Legionella tiene como principal función dar apoyo científico-técnico a la Administración General del Estado, a las Comunidades Autónomas y al Sistema Nacional de Salud en el campo de la prevención y control de la legionelosis, así como llevar a cabo investigaciones científicas en el contexto de la legionelosis. Además, la Unidad de Legionella también actúa como Laboratorio de Referencia de España frente al European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), siendo miembro de la red europea de vigilancia de la legionelosis, “European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet). Finalmente, la unidad también realiza una actividad docente, participando en cursos de formación especializada, así como en Máster Universitarios.
Principales líneas de investigación
Vigilancia microbiológica
Búsqueda de marcadores moleculares con capacidad de predecir el riesgo de una instalación de provocar legionelosis. Factores de virulencia de Legionella spp.
Estudio de la capacidad formadora de biofilms de Legionella spp. Colonización y dispersión.
Búsqueda de marcadores fenotípicos capaces de discriminar especies del Género Legionella; grupos y subgrupos de Legionella pneumophila.
Diferentes estructuras de biofilms en función de la cepa formadora de Legionella pneumophila. En verde la biomasa bacteriana, en rojo el exopolisacárido de la matriz extracelular.
Apoyo al Sistema Nacional de Salud de la Unidad de Legionella
La Unidad de Legionella tambien desarrolla actividades con el fin de proporcionar asistencia al sistema nacional de salud a traves de la oferta disponible en la cartera de servicios del CNM, así como a través de programas de vigilancia microbiológica.
Research projects
Content with Investigacion .
1: Título del proyecto: Búsqueda de biomarcadores de patogenicidad en Legionella spp con interés predictivo de riesgo de infección.
Investigador principal: Fernando González Camacho
Entidad financiadora: ISCIII (AESI). Referencia: MPY 341/22
Periodo: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2025
Publications
Infectivity of Post-Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis patients to sand flies: revisiting a proof of concept in the context of the Kala-azar Elimination Program in the Indian subcontinent.
7. Molina R, Ghosh D, Carrillo E, Monnerat S, Bern C, Mondal D, Alvar J. Infectivity of Post-Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis patients to sand flies: revisiting a proof of concept in the context of the Kala-azar Elimination Program in the Indian subcontinent. Clin Infect Dis 2017, 65:
PUBMED DOIPrevalence and molecular characterization of Strongyloides stercoralis, Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., and Blastocystis spp. isolates in schoolchildren in Cubal, Central Angola
2. Dacal E, Saugar JM, de Lucio A, Hernández de Mingo M, Robinson E, Aznar Ruiz de Alegría ML, Espasa M, Ninda A, Gandasegui J, Sulleiro E, Moreno M, Salvador F, Molina I, Rodríguez E, Carmena D. 2018. Prevalence and molecular characterization of Strongyloides stercoralis, Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., and Blastocystis spp. isolates in schoolchildren in Cubal, Central Angola. Parasites and Vectors, 11: 67.
PUBMED DOIMolecular diversity and frequency of the diarrheagenic enteric protozoan Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in a hospital setting in Northern Spain.
3. Azcona-Gutiérrez JM, de Lucio A, Hernández-de-Mingo M, García-García C, Soria-Blanco LM, Morales L, Aguilera M, Fuentes I, Carmena D. 2017. Molecular diversity and frequency of the diarrheagenic enteric protozoan Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in a hospital setting in Northern Spain. PLoS One, 12: e0178575.
PUBMED DOIDetection of zoonotic protozoa Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis suihominis in wild boars from Spain. Zoonoses Public Health
4. Calero-Bernal, R., Pérez-Martín, J.E., Reina, D., Serrano, F.J., Frontera, E., Fuentes, I, Dubey, J.P., 2016. Detection of zoonotic protozoa Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis suihominis in wild boars from Spain. Zoonoses Public Health. 63:346-50
PUBMED DOIEpidemiological and clinical profile of adult patients with Blastocystis sp. infection in Barcelona, Spain.
5. Salvador F, Sulleiro E, Sánchez-Montalvá A, Alonso C, Santos J, Fuentes I, Molina I. 2016; Epidemiological and clinical profile of adult patients with Blastocystis sp. infection in Barcelona, Spain. Parasit Vectors; 9:548.
PUBMED DOIPrevalence and genetic diversity of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. among schoolchildren in a rural area of the Amhara Region, North-West Ethiopia
6. de Lucio A, Amor-Aramendía A, Bailo B, Saugar JM, Anegagrie M, Arroyo A, López-Quintana B, Zewdie D, Ayehubizu Z, Yizengaw E, Abera B, Yimer M, Mulu W, Hailu T, Herrador Z, Fuentes I, Carmena D. 2016. Prevalence and genetic diversity of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. among schoolchildren in a rural area of the Amhara Region, North-West Ethiopia. PLoS One 11: e0159992.
PUBMED DOIPrevalence and genotype identification of Toxoplasma gondii in wild animals from southwestern Spain.
8. Calero-Bernal R, Saugar JM, Frontera E, Pérez-Martín JE, Habela MA, Serrano FJ, Reina D, Fuentes I. 2015. Prevalence and genotype identification of Toxoplasma gondii in wild animals from southwestern Spain. J Wildl Dis, 51:233-8.
PUBMED DOIHigh SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load and Low CCL5 Expression Levels in the Upper Respiratory Tract Are Associated With COVID-19 Severity.
4. Pérez-García F, Martin-Vicente M, Rojas-García RL, Castilla-García L, Muñoz-Gomez MJ, Hervás-Fernández I, González-Ventosa V, Vidal-Alcántara EJ, Cuadros-González J, Bermejo-Martin JF (‡), Resino S (‡ *), Martínez I (‡). High SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load and Low CCL5 Expression Levels in the Upper Respiratory Tract Are Associated With COVID-19 Severity. J Infect Dis 2022; 225(6):977-982 (A; FI= 7.76; Q1, Infectious Diseases; JCR 2021). PMID: 34910814 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiab604.
PUBMED DOIContent with Investigacion .
-
Horacio Gil Gil
Research Scientist
ORCID code: 0000-0002-7114-6686
Degree in Veterinary Medicine in 1995 and PhD in Veterinary Medicine in 2002 from the University of Zaragoza. He did his PhD thesis at NEIKER Tecknalia (Derio, Vizcaya) and the National Center for Microbiology of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CNM-ISCIII, Majadahonda, Madrid) on the biological cycle of Lyme disease in the Basque Country. After that, he developed his postdoctoral training in different aspects of the pathogenesis of tularemia at the Center for Infectious Diseases, Stony Brook University, New York (USA) for 3 years. In December 2005, he joined the Reference and Research Laboratory in Special Pathogens of the CNM-ISCIII where he developed diagnostic, reference and research activities, in Bartonella, Leptospira and pathogens of interest in bioterrorism. Between 2014-2016 he participated in the European Program for the Training of Microbiologists in Public Health (EUPHEM), organized by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. During this program, he participated in an international mission for the investigation of a cholera outbreak in Ghana, proposed by the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Diseases in Hamburg (Germany). In December 2016, he worked as a laboratory consultant for the World Health Organization at their office in Phnom Penh (Cambodia). Subsequently, he worked one year with Médecins Sans Frontières as director and quality manager of the TB laboratory in Nukus (Uzbekistan).
In 2019, he joined the HIV Variability and Biology Unit at CNM-ISCIII, where he developed different reference and research activities, including his contribution to the molecular epidemiological surveillance of HIV-1 in Spain and the study of HIV-1 antiretroviral resistance. Since September 2022 he has been leading the Human Papillomavirus Unit at the CNM-ISCIII. -
Alicia Inés García Señán
Predoctoral Student UNED
Degree in Pharmacy in 2013 from the Complutense University of Madrid. She completed specialized health training in Microbiology and Parasitology at the Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Salamanca (2014-2018). During this period he studied a master's degree in Tropical Diseases at the University of Salamanca (2016). She has developed her professional activity as a clinical microbiologist at the Hospital de Santa Bárbara (Soria) (2018), Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebrón (Barcelona) (2019-2022), and Hospital Central de la Defensa (Gómez Ulla) C.S.V.E, since 2022. In September 2024 she has started PhD studies at the Human Papillomavirus Unit of the CNM-ISCIII.
-
Manuela Rodríguez Vargas
Técnico de Laboratorio
List of staff
Additional Information
Contact Information
María Teresa Coiras
918223782
mcoiras@isciii.es
generic email: pirv.isciii@gmail.com
Scientific Societies
• Spanis Society for Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC).
• AIDS Study Group (GeSIDA) of SEIMC.
• PIRV is member of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC, group CB21/13/00015).
Other links
You can follow the activity of our group in Twitter (X), Instagram and Linkedin.
Collaboration in other projects
Project Title: Rectal microbiota as a factor associated with vulnerability to repeated sexually transmitted infections. Microsex Studio
Principal investigators: Vicente Estrada Pérez (San Carlos Clinical Hospital)
Financing agency: Strategic Action in Health (AES) 2023
Participating entities: San Carlos Clinical Hospital, ISCIII
Duration: 01/01/2024-12/31/2026. Contract/project file: PI23/01545
Project title: Prospective, observational, longitudinal, multicenter study to evaluate clinical efficacy, safety and immunogenicity developed in individuals with Philadelphia-negative Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms treated with JAK inhibitors after receiving full vaccination with Adjuvanted Herpes Zoster Subunit vaccine (Shingrix)
Principal investigators: Valentín García Gutiérrez (Hospital Univ Ramón y Cajal)
Funding agency: GSK Glaxo Smithkline
Participating entities: IRYCIS, ISCIII
Duration: 01/01/2024 – 12/31/2024
Project title: Infection in Solid Organ Transplant recipients: correlation with immune function. Identification of predictive biomarkers and feasibility evaluation with CD45RAneg cell therapy
Principal investigators: Alejandro Luna de Abia, Jesús Fortún (Univ Ramón y Cajal Hospital)
Financing agency: Strategic Health Action (AES) 2023
Participating entities: IRYCIS, ISCIII
Duration: 01/01/2024-12/31/2026
Contract/project file: PI23/01924
Project title: Evaluation of the levels of the System associated with BLyS in patients with post-infectious syndromes and dysautonomic alterations of the heart rhythm
Principal researcher: Pablo Guisado
Funding agency: Spanish Society of Internal Medicine SEMI.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Quironsalud Research Institute for Research and Innovation
Duration 2023-2025
Project title: HIV Open Science (dissemination project)
Principal researcher: Eva Poveda
Financing agency: Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), Call for aid for the Promotion of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Culture.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Fundación Biomédica Galicia Sur, IrsiCaixa, Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Hospital de la Princesa, Fundación Imagina Más, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS), Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)
Duration 2023-2024
Contract/project file: 17715
Project title: Identification of immunological biomarkers associated with the cellular and humoral immune response related to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with HIV (Annual renewal).
Principal investigator: Rafael Rodríguez Rosado
Funding agency: Alfonso X El Sabio University-Santander Universities. XIII Call for Research Projects.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Severo Ochoa University Hospital
Duration 04/01/2023 – 04/01/2024
Contract/project file: 1,013,006
Project title: Clinical and microbiological impact of the monkeypox virus outbreak in patients in Spain (2022): multicenter project MONKPOX-ESP22, Work package 4, virological research.
Principal researcher: Anabel Negredo (WP4 coordinator); Maria Paz Sánchez Seco (general coordinator)
Financing agency: CIBERINFEC/CIBERESP ISCIII Strategic Action.
Participating entities: ISCIII
Duration July 2022 - May 2023
Contract/project file: MONKPOX-ESP22
Project title: Biomarkers and underlying immunopathological mechanisms of post COVID-19 condition.
Principal investigator: Gemma Moncunill Piñas (IP); Marta Massanella (coIP); María Teresa Coiras López (co-PI)
Financing agency: CIBERINFEC Strategic Action.
Participating entities: ISCIII, IS-Global, IrsiCaixa
Duration 07/28/2022-07/29/2024
Contract/project file: IM22/INF/5
Project title: Identification of immunological biomarkers associated with the cellular and humoral immune response related to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with HIV.
Principal investigator: Rafael Rodríguez Rosado
Funding agency: Alfonso X El Sabio University-Santander Universities. XIII Call for Research Projects.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Severo Ochoa University Hospital
Duration 04/01/2022 – 04/01/2023
Contract/project file: 1,013,006
Project title: Characterization of the immune response developed after vaccination with COVID-19 in patients with hematological malignancies.
Principal researcher: Valentín García Gutiérrez
Funding agency: Ministry of Science and Innovation, PI21 - Health research projects (AES 2021). Health research project modality.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital
Duration 01/01/2022 – 12/31/2024
Contract/project file: PI21_00877
Contact Information
María Teresa Coiras
918223782
mcoiras@isciii.es
generic email: pirv.isciii@gmail.com
Scientific Societies
• Spanis Society for Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC).
• AIDS Study Group (GeSIDA) of SEIMC.
• PIRV is member of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC, group CB21/13/00015).
Other links
You can follow the activity of our group in Twitter (X), Instagram and Linkedin.
Collaboration in other projects
Project Title: Rectal microbiota as a factor associated with vulnerability to repeated sexually transmitted infections. Microsex Studio
Principal investigators: Vicente Estrada Pérez (San Carlos Clinical Hospital)
Financing agency: Strategic Action in Health (AES) 2023
Participating entities: San Carlos Clinical Hospital, ISCIII
Duration: 01/01/2024-12/31/2026. Contract/project file: PI23/01545
Project title: Prospective, observational, longitudinal, multicenter study to evaluate clinical efficacy, safety and immunogenicity developed in individuals with Philadelphia-negative Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms treated with JAK inhibitors after receiving full vaccination with Adjuvanted Herpes Zoster Subunit vaccine (Shingrix)
Principal investigators: Valentín García Gutiérrez (Hospital Univ Ramón y Cajal)
Funding agency: GSK Glaxo Smithkline
Participating entities: IRYCIS, ISCIII
Duration: 01/01/2024 – 12/31/2024
Project title: Infection in Solid Organ Transplant recipients: correlation with immune function. Identification of predictive biomarkers and feasibility evaluation with CD45RAneg cell therapy
Principal investigators: Alejandro Luna de Abia, Jesús Fortún (Univ Ramón y Cajal Hospital)
Financing agency: Strategic Health Action (AES) 2023
Participating entities: IRYCIS, ISCIII
Duration: 01/01/2024-12/31/2026
Contract/project file: PI23/01924
Project title: Evaluation of the levels of the System associated with BLyS in patients with post-infectious syndromes and dysautonomic alterations of the heart rhythm
Principal researcher: Pablo Guisado
Funding agency: Spanish Society of Internal Medicine SEMI.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Quironsalud Research Institute for Research and Innovation
Duration 2023-2025
Project title: HIV Open Science (dissemination project)
Principal researcher: Eva Poveda
Financing agency: Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), Call for aid for the Promotion of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Culture.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Fundación Biomédica Galicia Sur, IrsiCaixa, Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Hospital de la Princesa, Fundación Imagina Más, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS), Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)
Duration 2023-2024
Contract/project file: 17715
Project title: Identification of immunological biomarkers associated with the cellular and humoral immune response related to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with HIV (Annual renewal).
Principal investigator: Rafael Rodríguez Rosado
Funding agency: Alfonso X El Sabio University-Santander Universities. XIII Call for Research Projects.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Severo Ochoa University Hospital
Duration 04/01/2023 – 04/01/2024
Contract/project file: 1,013,006
Project title: Clinical and microbiological impact of the monkeypox virus outbreak in patients in Spain (2022): multicenter project MONKPOX-ESP22, Work package 4, virological research.
Principal researcher: Anabel Negredo (WP4 coordinator); Maria Paz Sánchez Seco (general coordinator)
Financing agency: CIBERINFEC/CIBERESP ISCIII Strategic Action.
Participating entities: ISCIII
Duration July 2022 - May 2023
Contract/project file: MONKPOX-ESP22
Project title: Biomarkers and underlying immunopathological mechanisms of post COVID-19 condition.
Principal investigator: Gemma Moncunill Piñas (IP); Marta Massanella (coIP); María Teresa Coiras López (co-PI)
Financing agency: CIBERINFEC Strategic Action.
Participating entities: ISCIII, IS-Global, IrsiCaixa
Duration 07/28/2022-07/29/2024
Contract/project file: IM22/INF/5
Project title: Identification of immunological biomarkers associated with the cellular and humoral immune response related to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with HIV.
Principal investigator: Rafael Rodríguez Rosado
Funding agency: Alfonso X El Sabio University-Santander Universities. XIII Call for Research Projects.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Severo Ochoa University Hospital
Duration 04/01/2022 – 04/01/2023
Contract/project file: 1,013,006
Project title: Characterization of the immune response developed after vaccination with COVID-19 in patients with hematological malignancies.
Principal researcher: Valentín García Gutiérrez
Funding agency: Ministry of Science and Innovation, PI21 - Health research projects (AES 2021). Health research project modality.
Participating entities: ISCIII, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital
Duration 01/01/2022 – 12/31/2024
Contract/project file: PI21_00877