People

Rafael Laso Pérez

Principal investigator

Hi! I am Rafael Laso Pérez from Madrid (Spain). I am an environmental microbiologist who loves to dig into new metabolisms. I did a PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology on anaerobic alkane-degrading archaea in Bremen (Germany). I continue with a postdoc position at the MARUM.

I missed a lot the sunny weather, so in 2021 I came back to Madrid to the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología. Since January 2023, I am a Ramon y Cajal fellow at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (Madrid, Spain). Here, I am leading my own research project on using metagenomics to decipher microbial metabolisms and evolution. 

If you are interested in my research or want to work with me, feel free to contact me.

Alejandro Rodriguez Gijón

Postdoctoral fellow

¡Hola! I am a microbial ecologist interested in microbial genomics and ecology. I did my PhD at the Stockholms University (Sweden) on comparative (meta)genomics of aquatic prokaryotes to investigate the ecological implications of genome size. At the moment, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, Spain. I will investigate the distribution and abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes in wastewater systems using different omics' approaches, as well as I will take part in several projects on environmental metagenomics. If you want to talk with me, contact me by email!

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Claudia Baeyens González

JAE Microbioma scholar

Hi! I'm Claudia, a recent Biology graduate, and I'm currently enrolled in a Master's program in Microbiology at the Autonomous University of Madrid. I am particularly interested in molecular ecology and metagenomics. I'll be conducting my research in the National Natural Sciences museum, supported by the JAE Intro ICU grant from the Conexión Microbioma. My research project is framed within the MEIGA project, where I will be characterizing the polysaccharide utilization loci in Bacteroidetes genomes extracted from the Vigo estuary through metagenomics."

Víctor López Maroto

Research assistant

Hi! I'm Víctor, a biologist with an MSc degree in Biodiversity: Conservation and Evolution from the University of Valencia (UV). I'm very interested in environmental microbiology and microbial evolution. I currently work as a research technician at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (Madrid, Spain), under a contract funded by the Comunidad de Madrid. I participate in the ARGOS project, which explores the antibiotic resistance genes in waste water systems. My work includes molecular biology techniques (DNA extraction, sample processing) and bioinformatic analysis of metagenomic libraries. I'm excited to keep learning and to contribute to the team with a fresh perspective and strong motivation. Feel free to reach out!

Lucía Muñoz Blanco

JAE AMR scholar

Hi, I'm Lucía! I'm a recent biochemist graduate with a MSc in bioinformatics. I am currently a JAE research intern funded by the Conexion AMR. I am working in the characterization of microbial resistance in water and air samples through bioinformatics.