Michele Alves-Bezerra, PhD

Principal Investigator

I started working on Lipid Metabolism in 2006 as an undergraduate research student. I then obtained a Master and a PhD degree in Biochemistry by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2011 and 2015, respectively. 

From 2015 to 2020, I undertook postdoctoral trainings in the field of Hepatology at the Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) and Weill Cornell Medical College (New York City, USA), being awarded the NASH Fatty Liver Disease Postdoctoral Research Award by American Liver Foundation (ALF, USA, 2016-2017) and an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship (AHA, USA, 2018-2020).

In 2020, I became a Junior Group Leader at the Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, USA), being awarded the NIH K01 Research Scientist Development Award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA, 2021-2024) and a Career Development Award by the American Heart Association (AHA, USA, 2020-2023).

In 2022, I moved my group to Spain, where I received a Maria Zambrano Grant by the Spanish Ministry of Universities & European Union – NextGenerationEU (2022-2023) and an EMERGIA Grant by the Andalusian Government (2023-2027).

My research interests are to identify relevant pathways involved in the progression of NAFLD and to manipulate these pathways in order to mitigate the disease.

María Antonia Mateo Marín

PHD STUDENT

María Antonia received her BSc degree in Biotechnology from the University of Cadiz (Spain) in 2022. As an undergraduate research student, she was awarded a Santander Research Fellowship (2021-2022), the 2022 Student´s Excellence Award, and the 2022 Undergraduate Thesis Award. She then obtained a Master’s degree in Biomedicine from University of Cadiz in 2023. As a Master research student, Maria Antonia awarded a University of Cadiz Research Fellowship (2022-2023) and the 2023 Master Thesis Award.

María Antonia joined the Lipid Lab in December 2023 to elucidate the role of de novo lipogenesis in the progression of NAFLD and to determine whether this pathway can be targeted for the treatment of the disease. 

Daniel palenque blanco

MASTER STUDENT

Daniel obtained a high school degree as a Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory technician in 2019. He then continued his studies and obtained a BSc degree in Biology from the University of Malaga (Spain) in 2023. Daniel is currently enrolled in the Master Program in Biotechnology at University of Cadiz. He joined the Lipid Lab in December of 2023 to investigate the role of acyl-CoA synthetases in lipoprotein metabolism and cardiovascular diseases.

JUAN JESUS GARCIA NÚÑEZ

MASTER STUDENT

Juan obtained his BSc degree in Marine Sciences from the University of Cadiz in 2022. His undergraduate thesis focused on the search for antimicrobial compounds produced by microalgae. Due to his interest in drug development, he is now pursuing a MSc degree within the Master Program in Biotechnology at University of Cadiz. Juan joined the Lipid Lab in December of 2023 to study new tools for liver-targeted gene therapy.

JAMI BELTRÉ CASADO

MASTER STUDENT

Originally from Dominican Republic, Jami obtained her Bachelor of Medicine degree at the Pedro Henriquez Ureña National University (DR) in 2020. She later obtained a master’s degree in Health Sciences Research at the University of Alcalá (Spain) in 2022. Jami recently enrolled in the master’s program in Biomedicine at the University of Cadiz to improve her medical research experience. She joined the Lipid Lab in February 2024 to investigate the effect of dietary interventions on metabolic health outcomes in patients at the Puerta del Mar University Hospital (University of Cadiz).

VICTORIA OCHOA GARCÍA

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

Victoria is in her senior year of the Biotechnology BS major at the University of Cadiz. She has joined the Lipid Lab in March 2024 to investigate the role of acyl-CoA synthetases in hepatic steatosis. She aspires to join the pharmaceutical industry to lead the development of novel therapies for metabolic diseases.