My research career began in the laboratory of Prof. Juan Ferré (Department of Genetics, Universitat de València) with a predoctoral fellowship focused on studying the distribution of toxins produced by the entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis and their interaction with receptors in insect pests. As a result, I earned my PhD in 2005 (Outstanding Cum Laude and Extraordinary Doctoral Award). Through my participation in R&D&i projects and collaborative agreements with companies such as Bayer CropScience N.V. (Belgium), I expanded my work on the mode of action of insecticidal proteins from B. thuringiensis, a field of critical importance for the design of transgenic crops and the implementation of insect resistance management programs. This research enabled me to describe new toxins and propose novel receptor-binding models that challenged established paradigms in the field, positioning my publications as key reference studies in this area.
Later, I was awarded a postdoctoral contract in a regional government funding call aimed at the recruitment of researchers in excellence centers. In 2008, I served as Principal Investigator of a project for the development of a new bioinsecticide,
funded through a competitive call by the Generalitat Valenciana. In 2011, I began a two-year international research stay in the laboratory of Dr. N. Waterfield (University of Bath, UK) after obtaining European Union funding under the Marie Curie Actions.
During this period, I produced significant results that were published in Plos Pathogens, strengthened my leadership and independence, and contributed to teaching activities while supervising eight undergraduate final-degree projects. After this research stay, I joined the Universitat de València as science manager of a network comprising 19 research groups in Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the BIOTECMED Research Institute, where I oversaw project management, communication, funding strategies, biotech transfer, conference organization, and related tasks. Since 2016, I have been a researcher at the BIOTECMED Research Institute, leading projects on the mechanisms of resistance to acaricides in Varroa destructor. I am currently an Assistant Professor (Profesora Ayudante Doctora) in the Department of Microbiology and Ecology at the Universitat de València and co-founder of the spin-off company Cucare Diagnostics
