José Antonio Aínsa Claver

Centre: Dpto. Microbiología, Medicina Preventiva
Institution: University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza (Spain)
Position: Researcher from the University of Zaragoza
E-mail: ainsa@unizar.es
Phone: 876 554 343
Profile:   Click here

Personal statement
I did my PhD Thesis on aminoglycoside resistance in mycobacteria, which included two stays at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Afterwards, I did a three-year postdoctoral stay at the John Innes Centre (Norwich, Great Britain), working on transcriptional regulation of sporulation in Streptomyces coelicolor. I rejoined UNIZAR in 2001, first with a reinstatement contract, and then with the Ramón y Cajal Program. Finally, I obtained a position as Associate Professor of Microbiology, where I have been promoted to Full Professor. I joined BIFI in 2014, and I also belong to the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS-Aragón) and the CIBER of Respiratory diseases (CIBERES).

Researcher profile identity
I am an R4 researcher. My lines of research have been mainly focused on the study of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, especially in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis. This work led me to take part in projects whose objective was to search for and develop new antibiotics to deal with resistant bacteria. In these projects, I have collaborated with other research groups and companies, both in Spain and at European level.

Why my research is important
Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a serious problem worldwide, affecting not only human health but also animals and the environment, and is therefore encompassed by the One Health concept. It is therefore important to work in two complementary directions: on the one hand, to know why bacteria become resistant to antimicrobials, and on the other hand, to search for new antibiotics to deal with them. 

For this, divulgation is also very important, so that the general public is aware of the situation. I have participated in numerous dissemination actions, mainly in the MicroMundo project, in which we carry out activities in secondary and high school centers, and in centers for the elderly, we are present in cultural activities, in the Researchers’ Night, etc.

Know more about me and my research
– https://genmico.unizar.es