dr. Maria Esperanza Fernandez Fernandez (PhD)

CRIG member
Maria Esperanza Fernandez Fernandez


Postdoctoral researcher, Center for Medical Biotechnology, VIB-UGent
Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Biomolecular Medicine, UGent
Principal investigator: prof. Kris Gevaert (PhD) 

 

Research focus

Application of proteomics technologies to clinical research is nowadays of utmost relevance for the development of personalized medicine. 
My research focuses on the development of proteomic technologies for the discovery of protein biomarkers. The molecular composition of liquid biopsies such as plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or exhale breath condensate (EBC) reflect the status of the body. The majority of proteins that compose liquid biopsies are specific, yet a small amount of proteins may leak from damaged solid organs. These leakage proteins may provide evidences of what is going on in the body and likely reflect changes in affected organs.
Our research focusses on searching for these tissue leakage proteins. We develop specific proteomics workflows and use high-end mass spectrometers to identify proteins with deregulated levels in liquid biopsies among healthy and disease cohorts, allowing us to spot potential protein biomarkers.
 

Biography

  • PhD Biochemistry (University of Barcelona, Spain)
  • Federation of European Biochemistry Societies fellow (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK)
  • Marie Sklodowska Curie fellow (VIB-KU Leuven, Belgium)
  • Postdoctoral researcher (VIB-UGent, Belgium)
     

Contact & links