The brains behind the brains.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Elena Moreno Jiménez

I obtained my BSc in Biology from the Universidad de Granada, and my MSc in Neuroscience from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. During my master’s thesis at the Cajal Institute, I gained expertise in cellular neurobiology techniques and Alzheimer’s disease. In 2018, I joined María Llorens-Martín´ lab to pursue my PhD. My major research interests are to understand the process of synaptic integration of new dentate granule cells generated through adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and to unveil how neurodegenerative diseases alter this unique process.

elena.moreno@cbm.csic.es

Research Assistant

Carla Rodríguez Moreno

I studied Biology at Universidad de Salamanca before pursuing my MSc in Neuroscience at INCYL in the same university. I joined Maria Llorens-Martín lab in 2019 as a research assistant. I am interested in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and its role in neurodegenerative diseases.

carla.rodriguez@cbm.csic.es

PhD Student

Ana V. Prádanos Senén

I studied Health Biology at the University of Alcalá de Henares and later obtained a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at the Autonomous University of Madrid. I developed both my final degree project and master’s thesis at the Cajal Institute, where I began to focus on the neurogenic process. In 2022, I joined María Llorens-Martín’s laboratory to pursue my PhD. My main goal is to unveil the unique alterations of the human adult hippocampal neurogenic niche in Alzheimer’s disease.

apradanos@cbm.csic.es

PhD Student

Marta Gallardo-Caballero

I obtained a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and later earned an MSc in Neuroscience from the same university. During this time, I developed expertise in neurobiology and the study of human adult neural stem cells. Driven by my interest in the neurogenic process, I joined María Llorens-Martín's lab in 2022, where I am currently pursuing my Ph.D., focusing on elucidating the molecular mechanisms that regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

marta.gallardo@csic.es

PhD Student

Marta Alonso Moreno

I studied Pharmacy at the University of Navarra (Pamplona). During my undergraduate degree, particularly while working on my dissertation, I developed an interest in synaptic plasticity and neurodegenerative diseases. I then pursued a Master of Research (MRes) in Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews (Scotland), where I focused on Alzheimer’s disease and adult hippocampal neurogenesis. In 2023, I joined María Llorens-Martín’s lab to pursue a PhD centered on studying the synaptic integration of new granule neurons in Alzheimer’s disease.

marta.alonso@cbm.csic.es

Bioinformatician

Javier Molina Hernández

I obtained a BSc in Mathematics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and an MSc in Biophysics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. I joined María Llorens-Martín's lab in 2022 to undertake my Master’s Thesis. Currently I am developing  artificial intelligence tools to analyse different types of cells in confocal microscope images.

jmolina@cbm.csic.es

Bioinformatician

Alba Ruiz Vinuesa

I studied Biomedical Engineering at Rey Juan Carlos University, where I developed a particular interest in the application of Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare sector. For my final degree project, I focused on predicting antimicrobial resistance from irregular time series. In 2023, I began a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence at the International University of La Rioja, as well as a Master's degree in Data Science at the Autonomous University of Madrid. In 2024, I joined María Llorens-Martín's lab as a bioinformatician, with the objective of implementing and developing artificial intelligence algorithms to process microscopy images of cells and extract relevant information.

alba.ruizvinuesa@outlook.es