We protect your health through science
Investigation
Bacterial Taxonomy
Research Lines
Content with Investigacion .
Serología
El laboratorio de Arbovirus y Enfermedades Víricas Importadas (AEVI) del CNM desarrolla su trabajo dentro de la línea de investigación “Virus emergentes transmitidos por vector y/o reservorio, de importancia en salud pública”, que se sustenta en las áreas de epidemiología molecular, desarrollo metodológico, detección en vectores y reservorios y, otros aspectos relacionados con estas zoonosis con una aplicación clara hacia la investigación, prevención, preparación, control y respuesta a las amenazas o brotes causados por estos virus.
Arbovirus como Dengue, Chikungunya o Zika son virus endémicos en todo el cordón tropical/sub-tropical del planeta en continua expansión a latitudes más lejanas debido al calentamiento global y a la dispersión y colonización de nuevos hábitats llevada a cabo por sus vectores artrópodos y son transportados a otras zonas del planeta a través de pacientes virémicos por lo que si, como ocurre en España, se cuenta con vectores transmisores establecidos, se puede propiciar el establecimiento de circulación autóctona. Además de estos virus exóticos, en España circulan endémicamente los arbovirus Toscana, West Nile y el virus de la Fiebre hemorrágica de Crimea-Congo, entre otros.
La OMS elaboró un listado en 2019 con las 10 amenazas para la Salud Global que consideraron más importantes, entre las que se encuentran los virus Dengue, Ébola y Zika. El principal temor es que la falta de preparación cause una epidemia. Además, algunos de estos virus como Dengue y Chikungunya son considerados también “Enfermedades Tropicales Desatendidas” que ponen en peligro la salud de muchas personas en países empobrecidos sin que se estudien con los recursos necesarios.
La importancia para la salud pública de estos patógenos, y la necesidad de prepararse frente a ellos, se refleja también en la lista de actividades prioritarias de investigación y desarrollo de la OMS que actualmente incluye, entre otros, el Ébola, el virus de la Fiebre Hemorrágica de Crimea Congo, el virus de Zika y la enfermedad por el virus de Nipah, debido a la amenaza que suponen para la Salud Pública por su potencial epidémico o porque no hay medidas de control suficientes. Además del peligro real que representan en zonas endémicas, algunos de los virus mencionados (Ébola, Zika, West Nile, Crimea-Congo y Dengue) han supuesto, y continúan siendo, una amenaza para nuestro país habiendo producido casos esporádicos o brotes localizados de infección autóctona. El riesgo para España de las enfermedades transmitidas por vectores está aumentando de manera muy clara como se ha podido observar en los últimos años, y la previsión es que siga aumentando.
Todos estos virus son virus zoonóticos emergentes y nuestro grupo de investigación lleva décadas trabajando en diferentes aspectos en relación con estos patógenos. El riesgo de emergencia y expansión de estos virus se basa de sus ciclos complejos de transmisión, por lo que nuestros estudios se basan tanto en el ser humano, como en los reservorios y los vectores que los transmiten. De esta base, parten transversalmente las líneas de actuación que van enfocadas a estudios de epidemiología molecular, desarrollo metodológico, detección de virus en vectores y hospedadores, caracterización de los mismos y estudios de competencia vectorial, con una aplicación dirigida hacia la investigación, prevención y respuesta a las amenazas o brotes causados por estos virus. El trabajo que desarrollamos se articula en torno a 3 objetivos principales:
Objetivo 1. Búsqueda y caracterización de virus emergentes en vectores y/o reservorios. Se lleva a cabo mediante herramientas moleculares incluyendo las nuevas estrategias de NGS, de virus emergentes en vectores y reservorios. De los virus detectados se realiza una caracterización molecular y serológica, llevando a cabo estudios de epidemiología molecular y de relaciones genéticas y antigénicas con virus relacionados.
Objetivo 2. Desarrollo metodológico para detección, identificación y caracterización de virus emergentes. Los métodos desarrollados pueden transferirse al SNS, explotarse comercialmente y/o utilizarse en la Cartera de Servicios del CNM. Estos desarrollos moleculares, y/o serológicos, refuerzan al CNM en su papel como Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia de Zoonosis, con un aporte de herramientas útiles y necesarias para la detección y caracterización de estos agentes. De igual forma, el desarrollo de herramientas tipo flujo lateral, las denominadas “Point Of Care” es una de las necesidades que pretendemos dar solución.
Objetivo 3. Eco-epidemiología de viriasis emergentes. Debido a los complejos ciclos biológicos de los arbovirus, el estudio de las especies de vectores implicados en nuestro país, así como el origen y evolución de los agentes circulantes, es crucial a la hora de entenderlos y responder a las amenazas que generan. Para ello estudiamos la presencia de estos virus tanto en muestras humanas como de vectores y posibles hospedadores, lo que nos permite, con un enfoque de “Una Salud”, entender los mecanismos que controlan su circulación y que puedan estar implicados en su patogenicidad.
Research projects
Content with Investigacion .
Proyectos en los que el Laboratorio ha participado como IP en los últimos años
- "La Coordinación de actividades de investigación en el CNM para realizar una respuesta integradora frente a la pandemia por SARS-CoV2 en España"
- “Estudio ENE_COVID_SENIOR: Prospective study to establish the immune status in the elderly after receiving a full course of vaccination”
- “Respuesta inmune frente a la infección por SARS-CoV-2: efecto en vacunados naive y en seropositivos frente a las variantes más transmisibles y relevancia de la genética del hospedador”.
- “Estudio de Seroprevalencia de Crimea-Congo”
Proyectos como colaboradores científicos
- “Multi-center, Adaptive, Randomized Clinical Trial of Convalescent Plasma Therapy Versus Standard of Care for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Patients”
- “Investigación y vigilancia integrada de los arbovirus emergentes West nile, toscana y dengue en algunas zonas de España”
- “Análisis epidemiológico y virológico de los agentes virales incluidos en la vacuna triple vírica: nuevos retos”
- “Estudio de Seroprevalencia de Crimea-Congo en poblaciones de riesgo”
- “Estudio ENE_COVID_SENIOR II: Prospective study to establish the immune status in the elderly after receiving a full course of vaccination”
Estudios relevantes
- “2º estudio de seroprevalencia en España”
- “Estudio Nacional de sero-epidemiología de la infección por SARS-Cov-2 en España, Estudio ENE-COVID”
- “A Phase 2, Comparative, Randomised, Adaptive Trial to Evaluate the immunogenicity against SARS-Cov2 and safety of boosted vaccination with COMIRNATY in subjects having received prime vaccination with VAXZERIA”. Estudio CombiVacs.
- “Estudio de respuesta de inmunogenicidad de las vacunas autorizadas contra la COVID-19 en sujetos que han recibido previamente una vacuna experimental”
- “Prospective study to establish the immune status in the elderly after receiving a full course of vaccination. ENE-COVID SENIOR I y II”
- “Estudio de Seroprevalencia de Crimea-Congo en grupos de riesgo”
Convenios y contratos de los últimos años
-“Estudio de sensibilidad y la especificidad clínica del ensayo Access SARS-CoV-2 IgG en el instrumento access2 de Beckman Coulter”
“Evaluación de ensayos de serología mediante la técnica de quimioluminiscencia flash con el analizador liaison XL”
“ENE-COVID SENIOR II Prospective study to establish the immune status in the elderly after receiving a full course of vaccination.”
Publications
Nrf2 plays a protective role against intravascular hemolysis-mediated acute kidney injury.
Rubio-Navarro A, Vázquez-Carballo C, Guerrero-Hue M, García-Caballero C, Herencia C, Gutierrez E, Yuste C, Sevillano A, Praga M, Egea J, Cannata P, Cortegano I, de Andrés B, Gaspar ML, Cadenas S, Michalska P, León R, Ortiz, A, Egido J, Moreno JA. Front Pharmacol. 2019; 10: 740.
PUBMED DOIPodocytes as new cellular targets of hemoglobin toxicity in massive intravascular hemolysis.
Rubio-Navarro A, Sanchez-Niño MD, Guerrero-Hue M, García-Caballero C, Gutiérrez E, Yuste C, Sevillano A, Praga M, Egea J, Román E, Cannata P, Ortega R, Cortegano I, de Andrés B, Gaspar ML, Cadenas S, Ortiz A, Egido J, Moreno JA. Podocytes as new cellular targets of hemoglobin toxicity in massive intravascular hemolysis. 2018. J.Pathol. 244(3):296-310.
PUBMED DOISpatially-restricted JAG1-Notch signaling in the human thymus provides permissive microenvironments for dendritic cell development.
Martín Gayo, E., González-García, S., García-León, M., Murcia-Ceballos, A., Alcain, J., García-Peydró, M., Allende, L., de Andrés, B., Gaspar, ML. and Toribio, ML. J.Exp.Med. (2017) 214:3361-3379
PUBMED DOIThe formation of titan cells in Cryptococcus neoformans depends on the mouse strain and correlates with induction of Th2-type responses
García-Barbazán, I., Trevijano-Contador, N., Rueda, C., de Andrés, B., Pérez-Tavárez, R., Herrero-Fernández, I., Gaspar ML., and Zaragoza, O. Cellular Microbiology (2015) 18:111-124
PUBMED DOIContent with Investigacion .
-
Javier García Pérez
Investigador Doctor
ORCID code: 0000-0001-7551-7803
Graduated in Biochemistry (1999) and Molecular Biology (2000) from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), he obtained a predoctoral fellowship “ISCIII” in the AIDS Immunopathology laboratory, where he developed new techniques based on recombinant viruses. His doctoral thesis focused on the application of this technological development to the study of the replicative capacity of HIV-1 and its resistance to antiretroviral drugs, obtaining the degree of Doctor of Science from the UAM in 2007.
Thanks to a short postdoc in 2008 and several stays between 2009 and 2015 at the Viral Pathogenesis Unit of the Institut Pasteur in Paris he extended his training in the study of HIV-1 envelope and tropism. Between 2015 and 2019 he rejoins the AIDS Immunopathology Unit at ISCIII, focusing his work on the study of the functional capacity of founder viruses, as well as variants of the virus with interest in Public Health due to its recent expansion in our country. He is currently leading a project on the study of a mutation in transportin 3 observed in patients with a very rare muscular dystrophy (LGMDD2) that confers protection against HIV-1 infection.
During the last 5 years he combines this activity in HIV-1 with the participation and leadership of different clinical trials and studies investigating the immunity generated in people vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Since 2024 he is a “Investigador Doctor fuera de Convenio” at the Spanish National Centre of Microbiology and he currently coordinates together with Dr. Francisco Díez Fuertes the AIDS Immunopathology Unit.
-
Francisco Díez Fuertes
Investigador Doctor Indefinido
ORCID code: 0000-0003-2413-9229
Degree in Biology from the University of León, PhD specialized in molecular virology from the Complutense University of Madrid in 2010 and master's degree in bioinformatics and computational biology from the same university in 2012. He has done research stays at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (USA) in 2010, Nebraska Center for Virology (USA) in 2011, Institut Pasteur (France) in 2013 and J. Craig Venter Institute (USA) in 2015-2016.
He joined the AIDS Immunopathology Unit in 2013 with a contract from the “Sara Borrell” postdoctoral program. After a period at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute in Barcelona he rejoins the AIDS Immunopathology Unit in 2020 as a PhD researcher.
His lines of research have focused on the genomic and transcriptomic characterization of extreme phenotypes in HIV-1 infection, including long-term non-progressors and elite controllers. He collaborates with other laboratories of the center in the analysis of outbreaks caused by viruses with interest in Public Health, as well as in evolutionary studies on genomic epidemiology. Since 2020 he has led different clinical studies on COVID-19. Currently, he combines omics sciences with different bioinformatics tools to answer different scientific questions in the field of virology, especially in HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 research. He currently coordinates together with Dr. Javier García Pérez the AIDS Immunopathology Unit.
-
Nuria González Fernández
Investigadora Contratada indefinida
ORCID code: 0000-0002-0087-5144
She completed her PhD in 2007 (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), focused on the development of an envelope recombinant virus system to characterize HIV-1 tropism, as well as on the study of the role of the chemokine CXCL12 in virus propagation at the infectious synapse. Part of this work was carried out in the laboratory of Dr. Quentin Sattentau at the University of Oxford.
During her postdoctoral period, she expanded her research on the mechanisms of HIV entry and specialized in the study of the neutralizing response. She developed a system to measure neutralizing activity, which has been used in clinical trials of HIV vaccine candidates. During a stay at the Vaccine Research Center, NIH (USA), she acquired experience in various techniques for the characterization of broadly neutralizing antibodies, leading to new collaborations and research projects, which she is currently developing in the AIDS Immunopathology Unit of the Carlos III Health Institute.
She has participated in research networks such as EAVI2020 (co-PI), CIBERINFEC, RIS and EUROPRISE (EU). Since 2014 she is a professor of the Master in Microbiology applied to Public Health and Infectious Diseases Research at the University of the University of Alcalá and, since 2023, of the Master in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection at the University Rey Juan Carlos.
-
Mercedes Bermejo Herrero
Investigadora post-doctoral contratada
ORCID code: 0000-0001-9909-8578
Degree and PhD in Biological Sciences (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) from the Autonoma University of Madrid. Her doctoral thesis studied the expression of CXCR4 and SDF-1/CXCL12 in lymphocytes and dendritic cells and their implications in HIV-1 infection.
She has completed internships in various laboratories: the Immunology Department of the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid, the Research Center of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid (where she was head of the flow cytometry service) and is currently at the CNM (National Research Center) of the Carlos III Health Institute.
Her research interests have focused on the study of HIV biology and its interaction with the immune system. She has currently participated in clinical trials, CombiVacs and ENE-Covid Senior, and in collaboration with Hipra.
-
Rubén Ayala Suárez
Técnico Superior Especializado OPI
ORCID code: 0000-0002-1271-646.
Graduated in Biotechnology from the University of Cadiz (2015), Master in Microbiology of Infectious Diseases (2016) and PhD in Functional Biology from the University of Alcalá (2023). He carried out his PhD Thesis at the AIDS Immunopathology laboratory (CNM) on post-translational epigenetic mechanisms of natural control of HIV infection. In the same period, he completed a Diploma in Bioinformatics at Pablo de Olavide University (2021).
In 2023 he joined as a postdoctoral researcher in the HIV and AIDS research group at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (Barcelona), where he worked on the relationship of HIV and senescence until his incorporation as a Técnico Superior Especializado in the AIDS Immunopathology unit of the Spanish National Center of Microbiology (ISCIII) in 2025.
The main research projects in which he participates focus on resistance and natural control to HIV infection, as well as the evaluation of the immune response in vaccine trials, using mainly bioinformatics techniques focused on massive sequencing (RNA-Seq, single-cell, genome sequencing), the application of biostatistics and machine learning in data management.
-
-
Almudena Cascajero Díaz
Técnico de laboratorio
ORCID code: 0000-0002-9654-3100
Técnico Superior de Actividades Técnicas y Profesionales (Unidades de Inmunopatología del SIDA y Legionella, Centro Nacional de Microbiología). Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Technician by IES Renacimiento de Madrid.
Experience in cloning techniques and characterization of neutralizing antibodies and participation in different projects on the pathogenesis of HIV by studying the viral envelope and the mechanisms of resistance to antiretroviral drugs. This experience has subsequently allowed me to participate in 5 multicenter clinical studies studying the immune response against different variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Since 2021, I also participate as a laboratory technician in the Legionella Unit as a support to the Spanish National Health System through the microbiological surveillance of the disease to contribute to the prevention and control of legionellosis.
-
Manuela Beltrán Vicente
Técnico de Laboratorio Indefinido
ORCID code: 0000-0001-6185-2280
Senior Technician of Technical and Professional Activities (AIDS Immunopathology Unit, Spanish National Center of Microbiology).
Clinical Analysis Laboratory Specialist Technician by IES Las Musas (Madrid, 1996). Demonstrated experience in the development of strategies against HIV, focused on the screening of compounds of both natural and synthetic origin with antiviral activity and identification and evaluation of potential therapeutic agents, as well as the screening of serological samples for the study of immunity for the identification of possible strategies for the development of vaccines against HIV. -
Silvia Jara Herrera
Técnico de Laboratorio Contratado CIBERINFEC
ORCID code: 0009-0001-2842-2040
Clinical and Biomedical Diagnostic Laboratory Technician.
She is currently working in the AIDS Immunopathology Unit of the Spanish National Center of Microbiology (ISCIII) with a contract through the Spanish Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Infectious Diseases (CIBER-INFEC).
She worked from March 2020 to September 2024 at the Department of Animal Health (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
She has experience in serological techniques (ELISA, Western Blot and IFA), cell culture and molecular biology.
-
Irene Díaz Marín
Técnico de laboratorio contratado
Clinical and Biomedical Diagnostics laboratory technician by CIFP Politécnico de Murcia-CESUR and graduated in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid.
She is currently at the AIDS Immunopathology Unit of the Spanish National Center of Microbiology with a contract of the “Garantía Juvenil” program (Community of Madrid), where she performs technical tasks in several research projects about HIV-1 and COVID-19.
-
Laura Capa Muñoz
Investigadora post-doctoral contratada
ORCID code: 0000-0002-0234-331X
Degree in Biological Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and PhD from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, she has a master's degree in AIDS (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and a master's degree in HIV infection (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid).
Professional activity developed mainly in the study of infectious diseases, both in the field of basic research in public research centers and in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as in the field of public health and scientific management. She has worked in the international response to the HIV pandemic, representing the Ministry of Health as an expert in meetings of the European Commission and collaborated with the WHO. At the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, she has led the scientific management of national and European projects in the AIDS Immunopathology Unit and has been part of the Institute's Data Protection Working Group. Currently, she continues to coordinate the Cohort of Long-Term Non-Progressing Patients created by the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RIS), is part of the coordination team of the PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences and Public Health IMIENS-UNED-ISCIII and of the Institute's Working Group on Equality.
-
José Alcamí Pertejo
Profesor de Investigación
ORCID code: 0000-0003-0023-7377
Degree in Medicine from the Universidad Autónoma and Doctor of Medicine from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Specialist in Internal Medicine at Hospital 12 de Octubre (1982-1986). Training in immunology by means of a Research Staff grant (1986-1988). Research associate at the Viral Immunology Unit of the Pasteur Institute in Paris (1988-1992) where he obtained a Master in Immunopathology from the Institute. Research Professor since 2015, he directed the AIDS Immunopathology Unit at the National Microbiology Center since 2000. Coordinator since 2003 of the Spanish AIDS Research Network, he participates as group leader in European networks of excellence whose objective is the development of new vaccines, drugs and microbicides against HIV/AIDS: EUROPRISE, AIM-HIV, CHAARM and EAVI2020. Since 2019 he has been the Scientific Director of the HIV Unit at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. He has been Professor of Immunology and Virology at the European University of Madrid between 2012 and 2014 and Director of the Master in Public Health and Research in Infectious Diseases at the University of Alcalá de Henares from 2014 to 2023.
Author of more than 200 scientific articles in high impact journals such as Nature, Nature Reviews in Microbiology, Nature Medicine, Lancet and Journal of Clinical Investigation and more than 80 chapters in books. Scientific disseminator through his YouTube channel and on the X platform. He has been principal investigator of more than 50 research projects, including European projects and an American NIH project.
Consultant for FIS and ANEP since 1992, member of the scientific council of the French Evaluation Agency in AIDS between 2008 and 2014, evaluator of EU FP6, FP7 and H2020 programs, member of the external scientific council of the Global Health Institute (Hospital Ramón y Cajal), scientific collaborator of the EMA and AEMPS where he has been part of the biotechnology, antivirals and vaccines committees. Scientific member of the EU Vaccelerate consortium and associate editor of the Journal of Virology, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology and HIV medicine.
-
Paloma Jiménez Santana
Técnico de laboratorio contratado
List of staff
Additional Information
The research objectives focus on the areas of Bacterial Taxonomy and Microbiology in Public Health:
- Identification of pathogenic bacteria that are difficult to assign taxonomically
- Description of new species
- Study of bacterial population biology through typing
- Epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors for certain bacterial pathogens in different nosocomial/community settings.
These objectives are addressed from the perspective of polyphasic taxonomy (phenotypic and genotypic taxonomy) through the study of targets for genus/species assignment and phylogenetic analyses. The analysis of the virulome and resistome of certain species is approached from the perspective of complete genome sequencing.
Research on invasive infection by Streptococcus pyogenes and other beta-hemolytic streptococci has been carried out since 1994, through the Surveillance Program of the National Center for Microbiology. The typing of invasive S. pyogenes strains circulating in Spain includes determination of: serotype (emm-type); the genetic profile of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxins; the antimicrobial resistance phenotype; and the genotypes of epidemiologically related strains and/or outbreaks.
The research objectives focus on the areas of Bacterial Taxonomy and Microbiology in Public Health:
- Identification of pathogenic bacteria that are difficult to assign taxonomically
- Description of new species
- Study of bacterial population biology through typing
- Epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors for certain bacterial pathogens in different nosocomial/community settings.
These objectives are addressed from the perspective of polyphasic taxonomy (phenotypic and genotypic taxonomy) through the study of targets for genus/species assignment and phylogenetic analyses. The analysis of the virulome and resistome of certain species is approached from the perspective of complete genome sequencing.
Research on invasive infection by Streptococcus pyogenes and other beta-hemolytic streptococci has been carried out since 1994, through the Surveillance Program of the National Center for Microbiology. The typing of invasive S. pyogenes strains circulating in Spain includes determination of: serotype (emm-type); the genetic profile of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxins; the antimicrobial resistance phenotype; and the genotypes of epidemiologically related strains and/or outbreaks.