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I am a Professor and Researcher at the Department of Genetics and Microbiology and the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the University Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB). I obtained my PhD in 1992 studying natural selection acting on chromosome rearrangements in wild populations of Drosophila. As Postdoctoral researcher I worked at Harvard University with Prof. Richard C. Lewontin, specializing in Population Genetics and Molecular Evolution. From his first contact with the idea of natural selection, I have continuously been investigating the ramifications, always fascinating, of that "view of life" that Darwin invited us to discover.
My research field is Population Genetics. At present, I am research co-leader of the Bioinformatics of Genomic Diversity group, funded regularly by the Spanish Science Research Agency. The representation, analysis and interpretation of DNA variation and its relationship with phenotypic variation is the focus of my research (SNPs and QTLs). One of the most amazing examples of the power of natural selection is the distinctive footprint it leaves on patterns of genetic variation. Using theoretical models of population genetics and statistical methods, we analyze and interpret genetic variation at the genomic scale. Likewise, we develop bioinformatics tools for cataloging and representing genetic diversity in a growing number of species, including humans. Our research has been published in more than fifty scientific papers, the majority in recognized international journals as Nature, Science, Nature Communications, Genome Research, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Genetics, Nucleic Acids Research, etc., and more than two hundred talks and communications at national and international conferences. Among other recent achievements, the group has: (i) charted the first high resolution map of natural selection along a genome, (ii) mapped natural selection over the complete anatomy of an embryo, (iii) quantified the evolutionary cost of linkage in a genome, (iv) identified more than 800 new regions of the human genome as firm candidates of being subject to natural selection, and (V) shown that germline de novo mutation rates on exons versus introns do not differ in humans. As resources to facilitate the investigation of genomic variability, large inventories of genetic diversity measures and catalogue of putative regions under selection along the human and Drosophila genomes have been made available to the scientific community.
At the present research, we follow an interdisciplinary approach, merging methods and knowhow from genomics, population genetics, system biology and bioinformatics, to address the following objectives: (1) Integrate population genomics data with functional data to characterize the genomic determinants of nucleotide and protein evolution; (2) Develop new theoretical population genetics models to estimate the action of selection on genome variation; (3) Analyze adaptive evolution and conservation of developmental genes which are differentially expressed in time and space for Drosophila and humans.
Our research is an independent line of the Genomics, Bioinformatics and Biological Evolution group, recognized and funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR 00526).
In addtion to my research, I am passionate about teaching and communicating science, which I consider of the greatest relevance to improve the scientific knowledge of society. I feel fortunated of teaching to exquisite, motivated students, the spectacular and exciting advances that are taking place in genomics and bioinformatics. From this vocational background arises my commitment for teaching quality and innovation in higher education. I have led the implementation of innovative studies such as the Genetics degree and the strategic Master of Bioinformatics, both at the UAB. As an ICT resource to support face-to-face teaching, we designed and implemented a pioner Web 2.0 platform for university teaching.
Being aware of the need of public understanding of science, I promote activities spreading the advances in Genomics, Bioinformatics and Evolution, organizing scientific meetings and courses, giving conferences, writing essays, organizing exhibitions, creating Web and multimedia resources.
Convinced also on the importance of the transference of scientific knowledge to the technological and productive fabric of society, I have also launched entrepreneurial initiatives and set bioinformatics platforms up to support Omics research.
I have participated in 31 regional, national, European and international projects (18 scientific, 4 technological, 3 of science dissemination and 6 teaching innovation and implementation of new degrees) and in 14 of them I have been PI.
I have supervised ten doctoral theses (and currently two) and 23 master's thesis. I am regular reviewer of international journals in the field of Population Genetics, Bioinformatics and Evolution and evaluator of research and academic projects of international, national and regional research agencies.
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