David Ortega Alarcón

Centre: BIFI
Institution: University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza (Spain)
Position: Ph.D. student
E-mail: dortega@bifi.es
Phone: 876555420
Profile:  Ver

Personal statement
I graduated in Biochemistry, with a master’s degree in Translational Biomedical Research. I completed my PhD thesis “Biophysical characterization of MeCP2 as a reader of epigenetic marks in DNA and histones. Study of its potential as a pharmacological target”, under the direction of Adrián Velázquez and Olga Abián, at the University of Zaragoza, with stays at the Josep Carreras Institute against Leukemia, in Barcelona. Afterwards, I began my stage as a postdoctoral researcher at IIS-Aragon, in the digestive pathology group. 

Researcher profile identity
At present, I am an R2 level researcher. I work in two types of research lines. On the one hand, in the study of the interactions of intrinsically disordered proteins (those that naturally do not fold or have a fixed structure), with special interest in their use as pharmacological targets, looking for drugs that allow us to modulate their activity and allow us to treat complex diseases such as some types of cancer and neurodevelopmental problems. On the other hand, I am working on projects that seek to identify new biomarkers, proteins that we can monitor to detect diseases early, and allow us to classify patients according to their possible risk.

Why my research is important
Our research focuses on intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), with a focus on their role in pancreatic cancer and their potential as therapeutic targets. We contribute to knowledge generation by developing experimental and computational methodologies to identify inhibitors of key IDPs, such as c-MYC and NUPR1, thus improving the design of drugs targeting proteins traditionally considered “unmodulatable”. In addition, we communicate these advances to the scientific community through publications, conferences and interdisciplinary collaborations. 

The applied value of our work lies in the optimization of personalized therapies and the discovery of new approaches to treat aggressive cancers. At the societal level, our impact translates into improvements in the efficacy of cancer treatments, which can increase patient survival and quality of life. In the long term, our research provides tools for precision medicine and translational biotechnology. 

Know more about me and my research
– https://bifi.es/es/biofisica/
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-ortega-67566a134/