I have been dedicated to cardiovascular research since 1993, when I began my doctoral thesis under the direction of Dr. Garcia-Dorado, in the laboratory of Cardiovascular Diseases of the Vall d'Hebron Hospital. I completed my training with an international stay in the physiology laboratory of Prof. Hans Michael Piper, at the University of Dusseldorf, which allowed me to learn the model of isolated adult cardiomyocytes (we were pioneers in our country), one of the fundamental pillars of our research, and become familiar with (ratio)fluorescence imaging techniques for real-time quantification of intracellular ionic changes in cardiomyocytes. Since then, I have specialized in studies of cell biology and mitochondrial pathophysiology within the field of cardioprotection, mainly in the context of myocardial infarction. In recent years I have focused my interest on research into the mechanisms of aging and its impact on cardiomyocyte dysfunction, alterations in the interorganelle communication between the sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, and the accumulation of advanced glycation products as triggers of cell senescence.
Our research group, integrated within the Cardiology Service directed by Dr. Ignacio Ferreira, has been recognized as a Consolidated Research Group by the Generalitat of Catalonia and belongs to the Spanish network CIBER-CV. I am currently Principal Investigator of two projects on cardiovascular aging financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the Spanish Society of Cardiology, and I’m the vice-chair of a COST action financed by the European Union that brings together researchers from more than 35 countries with a common scientific interest in heart failure (EU-COST METAHEART).
My teaching activity includes the training of postgraduate students as a professor and coordinator of the Cardiovascular Diseases module of the Master in Translational Biomedical Research at the VHIR, and the training of doctoral students. I have been a member of the Internal Scientific Committee of my institution since 2018.