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Investigation
Bacterial Genetics
Research Lines
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The Laboratory of Medical Entomology (LME) develops an intense reference and research activity, focused on the field of disease vectors of interest in Public Health. The LME has an insectary where biological cycles of insect vectors are currently maintained, allowing the performance, among others, of vector competence and xenodiagnostic studies. The LME supports the national health system by offering techniques available in the portfolio of services for the taxonomic identification of arthropods of health interest. In addition, it performs entomological surveillance of outbreaks, supporting Surveillance Plans. In particular, the LME plays a leading role in the Entomological Surveillance Plan for Leishmaniasis in the Community of Madrid. On the other hand, the LME offers scientific advice to the CCAES (Centro de Coordinación de Alertas y Emergencias Sanitarias, Ministerio de Sanidad, Consumo y Bienestar Social), and participates in the elaboration of reports and rapid risk assessments.
The main research lines of the Laboratory of Medical Entomology are:
1. Maintenance of insect vector colonies: phlebotomine sand flies (Phlebotomus perniciosus, Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus argentipes, vectors of Leishmania infantum, Leishmania major and Leishmania donovani, respectively), Culex and Aedes mosquitoes (vectors of various arboviruses) and Rhodnius prolixus (vector of Trypanosoma cruzi).
2. Biology of disease vectors of public health interest: biology, vector competence, experimental infections. The CNM has a BSL3 safety laboratory to carry out vector competence studies with culicidae and phlebotomine sand flies.
3. Entomological sampling, infectivity of potential reservoirs of leishmaniasis.
4. Insecticides and repellents: evaluation of their efficacy.
5. Characterization of saliva proteins of hematophagous Diptera: genomics, proteomics, biochemistry and gene editing. Study of salivary proteins as markers of bite exposure, virulence factors and/or vaccines.
6. Xenodiagnosis of leishmaniasis.
7. Molecular biology and taxonomy of phlebotomine sand flies. Molecular detection of Leishmania infantum in phlebotomine sand flies and characterization of Leishmania spp. Molecular identification of blood ingested by vectors.
Research projects
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CURRENT PROJECTS
Project title: "Biochemical and functional characterisation of salivary proteins of Phlebotomus perniciosus and their role in infection by Leishmania infantum (PERNIPROT)"Reference: Project PID2023-147773NA-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by FEDER, EU.
Start date: 01/09/2024
End date: 31/08/2028
Funding: €175,000
Principal investigator: Inés Elena Martín Martín.
Funding agency: Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Proyecto de Generación del Conocimiento 2023).
Project title: "Surveillance of leishmaniasis in the Community of Madrid from a “One Health” perspective: study of the infectious capacity of patients with visceral leishmaniasis and their role as reservoirs"
Reference: PI24CIII/00026
Start date: 01/01/2025
End date: 31/12/2027
Funding: €60,000.00
Principal investigator: Inés Elena Martín Martín.
Co-principal investigator: Maribel Jiménez Alonso
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Strategic Action in Intramural Health, AESI).
Service Contract: "Analysis for the surveillance of the vector and wild reservoirs that transmit leishmaniasis in the Community of Madrid"
Reference: file no. 17/2024 (A/SER-008455/2024).
Start date: 26/06/2024
End date: 10/12/25, extendable to 2026
Total funding: €171,084
Principal Investigator: Maribel Jiménez Alonso
Funding agency: Service Contract between the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the Directorate-General for Public Health, Regional Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid
Project Title: CIBERINFEC Research Group (CB21/13/00110)
Start date: 2021
End date: currently active
Principal Investigator: Dr. Mª Paz Sánchez-Seco, Arbovirus and Imported Viral Diseases Unit.
Researchers from the Medical Entomology Laboratory: Maribel Jiménez (member), Inés Martín Martín (collaborator).
Funding: €108,134. File number: CB21/13/00110.
Funding agency: Consortium Centre for Biomedical Research in NETWORK (CIBER)
PAST PROJECTS
Service Contract: "Evaluation of the anti-leishmania effect of the bacteria Tc1 and its derivatives in the intravectorial cycle"
Reference: ISCIII-06896
Start date: 15/12/2022
End date: 15/04/2025
Funding: €71,265.67
Principal Investigator: Inés Elena Martín Martín
Funding agency: Service Contract between the company GlaxoSmithKline R&D (GSK) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Service Contract: "Analysis for the surveillance of the vector and wild reservoirs that transmit leishmaniasis in the Community of Madrid"
Reference: 59/2020 (A/SER-040739/2020)
Start date: 10/12/2021
End date: 10/12/2023.
Funding: €42,612.17 per year Total 2021-2023: €127,836.51
Principal Investigators: Ricardo Molina /Maribel Jiménez Alonso
Funding agency: Service contract between the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and the Directorate-General for Public Health, Regional Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid
Project title: "Research and Integrated Surveillance of Emerging Arboviruses West Nile, Toscana and Dengue in some areas of Spain"
Reference: PI19CIII/00014
Start date: 2020
End date: 2022
Principal Investigator: Ana Vázquez González
Co-Principal Investigator: Ricardo Molina
Funding: €60,000.00
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Strategic Action in Intramural Health, AESI).
Project title: "Characterisation of the concept of ‘asymptomatic carrier’ in leishmaniasis: implications for treatment".
Start date: 01/01/2015
End date: 31/12/2017
Principal investigators: Javier Moreno and Javier García
Funding: €159,940
Funding agency: Study Agreement between Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), the Spanish Foundation for International Cooperation, Health and Social Policy (FCSAI) and Fuenlabrada Hospital. Subcontractor: ISCIII Medical Entomology Unit (Maribel Jiménez and Ricardo Molina).
Project title: "Biology and control of vector-borne infections in Europe (EDENext Collaborative Project): Sandfly-borne diseases".
Reference: Subproject (PBD) (EU, FP7-HEALTH-2010-single-stage, contract No. 261504).
Start date: 2011
End date: 2014
Principal investigator: Ricardo Molina General coordinator: Petr Volf
Funding: €140,000
Funding agency: EU-FP7
Project Title: "Phlebotomus perniciosus saliva as a source in the search for potential targets for the development of vaccines against Leishmania infantum"
Reference: AGL2008-01592/GAN (MICINN)
Start date: 2009
End date: 2011
Principal investigator: Ricardo Molina
Funding: €70,180
Funding agency: Ministry of Science and Innovation
Publications
HCV eradication with IFN-based therapy does not completely restore gene expression in PBMCs from HIV/HCV-coinfected patients.
10.1186/s40249-021-00894-5. 9. Brochado O, Martínez I (*), Berenguer J, Medrano L, González-García J, Jiménez-Sousa MA, Carrero A, Hontañón V, Navarro J, Guardiola JM, Pérez-Latorre L, Micán R, Fernández-Rodríguez A (‡), Resino S (* ‡). HCV eradication with IFN-based therapy does not completely restore gene expression in PBMCs from HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. J Biomed Sci 2021; 28:23 (A; FI= 12.77; D1, Medicine, Research & Experimental; JCR 2021). PMID: 33785040. DOI: 10.1186/s12929-021-00718-6.
PUBMEDRelationship of vitamin D status with advanced liver fibrosis and response to hepatitis C virus therapy: A meta-analysis.
12. García-Álvarez M, Pineda-Tenor D, Jiménez-Sousa Ma, Fernández-Rodríguez A, Guzmán-Fulgencio M; Resino S (*). Relationship of vitamin D status with advanced liver fibrosis and response to hepatitis C virus therapy: A meta-analysis. Hepatology. 2014, 6(5):1541-1550. (A; FI= 11.05; D1, Gastroenterology & Hepatology; JCR 2014). PMID: 24975775. DOI: 10.1002/hep.27281.
PUBMEDFTO rs9939609 polymorphism is associated with metabolic disturbances and response to HCV therapy in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients.
13. Pineda-Tenor D, Berenguer J, Jiménez-Sousa MA, García-Álvarez M, Aldamiz-Echevarría T, Carrero A, Vázquez-Morón S, García-Broncano P, Diez C, Tejerina F, Guzmán-Fulgencio M, Resino S (*). FTO rs9939609 polymorphism is associated with metabolic disturbances and response to HCV therapy in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. BMC Med. 2014, 12:198. (A; FI= 7.34; D1, Medicine, General & Internal; JCR 2014). PMID: 25367448. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-014-0198-y.
PUBMEDHLA-E variants are associated with sustained virological response in HIV/hepatitis C virus-coinfected patients on hepatitis C virus therapy.
14. Guzmán-Fulgencio M, Berenguer J; Rallón N, Fernández-Rodríguez A, Miralles P, Soriano V, Jiménez-Sousa MA, Cosin J, Medrano J, García-Álvarez M, López JC, Benito JM, Resino S (*). HLA-E variants are associated with sustained virological response in HIV/hepatitis C virus-coinfected patients on hepatitis C virus therapy. AIDS 2013; 27(8):1231-1238. (A; FI= 6.55; D1, Infectious Diseases; JCR 2013). PMID: 23811951. DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e32835f5b9c.
PUBMEDContent with Investigacion .
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Adela González de la Campa
Scientific Investigator
ORCID code: 0000-0002-3598-2548
Dr. Adela González de la Campa obtained her degree in Biology in 1981 and her PhD in 1985 from the Complutense University of Madrid. She did her doctoral thesis in the laboratory of Dr. Miguel Vicente at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas of CSIC. Subsequently she worked for 2 years at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA in the laboratory of Sandford Lacks. After this postdoctoral stage in the USA, she worked for 3 years as a Reincorporation Fellow at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas of CSIC in the laboratory of Dr. Manuel Espinosa. He is a CSIC Senior Scientist since 1990 and Research Scientist since 2007. He participated as group leader of the CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES) from 2007 to 2015. Since 1990, she has been the principal investigator of the Bacterial Genetics Unit at the National Centre for Microbiology.
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María José Ferrándiz Avellano
Research Scientist
ORCID code: 0000-0003-1428-9506
Dr. María José Ferrández obtained her degree in Biology in 1990 and her PhD in 1997 from the Complutense University of Madrid. She completed her doctoral thesis at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas of CSIC in the laboratory of Dr. Miguel Vicente. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Centro Nacional de Microbiología of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (1998-2001 and 2003-2006) and at the Institute of Infection and Immunity (University of Nottingham) from 2001- 2003. From 2007 to 2015, she participated as a researcher of the CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES). Since 2006, she is a Full Scientist at the National Microbiology Center of the ISCIII.
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Mónica Amblar Esteban
Research Scientist
ORCID code: 0000-0003-3530-615X
Dr. Mónica Amblar obtained her degree in Biology in 1993 and her PhD in 2000 from the Complutense University of Madrid. She did her doctoral thesis in the laboratory of Dr. Paloma López at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas of CSIC. Subsequently, she worked for 5 and half years at the Instituto de Tecnología Química e Biológica/Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras (Portugal) in the laboratory of Prof. Cecilia M. Arraiano. After this postdoctoral stage he rejoined the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del CSIC where he worked for 2 years as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Paloma López. Subsequently, he joined the National Microbiology Center of the ISCIII with a Ramón y Cajal contract and in 2010 he obtained a position as a Full Scientist at the same center.
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Pablo Herrera Marcelino
Research Assistant
ORCID code: 0009-0003-5137-3712
Graduated in Biochemistry in 2022 from the University of Malaga, and in Master's degrees in Microbiology and Parasitology (2024) and Virology (2025) from the Complutense University of Madrid. He also holds degrees in Clinical Laboratory Science (2023) from the same university and in Biotechnology Applied to Health (2023) from the UNED. He currently has a research assistant contract focusing on the study of pneumococcal proteins involved in RNA interaction.
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Laura Alfonso Alarcón
PhD student
ORCID code: 0000-0003-1560-1100
Degree in Biochemistry in 2020 from National University of Asunción (Paraguay). Master in Microbiology and Health in 2024 from Pais Vasco University (Spain). Stays in Paraguay in Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; Facultad de Ciencias Químicas and Hospital Nacional de Itaugua. She is actually a predoctoral student of the Microbiología y Parasitología program of Complutense University of Madrid, with a “Don Carlos Antonio López” (BECAL) fellowship from Paraguay Goverment.
List of staff
Additional Information
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human pathogen that, despite the development of vaccines, continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity. We investigate the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in this bacterium. On the one hand by identifying new therapeutic targets and on the other hand by investigating the molecular basis of the action of antibiotics already used in clinical practice (the fluoroquinolones levofloxacin and moxifloxacin) or not yet used (seconeolitsine). For this purpose, we used a multidisciplinary analysis involving genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics to understand the organization of the S. pneumoniae chromosome and the identification of the factors that stabilize this organization, including ncRNAs. Changes in the level of global supercoiling, either by inhibition of gyrase (decrease) or by inhibition of topoisomerase I (increase) alter the transcriptome. The modulated genes are located in domains, whose genes show specific functional characteristics. The aim is to identify new factors essential for S. pneumoniae physiology and to characterize transcriptional regulation in response to topological stress. In addition, RNA interference technology and CRISPR systems will be used as novel antibacterials. These studies will establish the bases for translational research aimed at the development of new therapeutic targets for the treatment of pneumococcal diseases.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human pathogen that, despite the development of vaccines, continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity. We investigate the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in this bacterium. On the one hand by identifying new therapeutic targets and on the other hand by investigating the molecular basis of the action of antibiotics already used in clinical practice (the fluoroquinolones levofloxacin and moxifloxacin) or not yet used (seconeolitsine). For this purpose, we used a multidisciplinary analysis involving genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics to understand the organization of the S. pneumoniae chromosome and the identification of the factors that stabilize this organization, including ncRNAs. Changes in the level of global supercoiling, either by inhibition of gyrase (decrease) or by inhibition of topoisomerase I (increase) alter the transcriptome. The modulated genes are located in domains, whose genes show specific functional characteristics. The aim is to identify new factors essential for S. pneumoniae physiology and to characterize transcriptional regulation in response to topological stress. In addition, RNA interference technology and CRISPR systems will be used as novel antibacterials. These studies will establish the bases for translational research aimed at the development of new therapeutic targets for the treatment of pneumococcal diseases.