From left to right: Upper: Patricia Suarez, Aleksandra Kozyczkowska, Dan Richter, Sabastián Najle, Meritxell Antó, Pedro Charria, Konstantina Mitsi,
Hector Romero, Cristiana Sigona, Elena Casacuberta
Lower: Victoria Shabardina, Núria Ros, Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo, Michelle Leger, Eduard Ocaña
Iñaki Ruiz Trillo
Principal Investigator
ICREA research professor at the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC–UPF). Associate professor Dept. Genètica (Universitat de Barcelona). Member of EMBO. Faculty Member of F1000Prime and member of the editorial board of EvoDevo, Biology Letters and Molecular Biology and Evolution.
| Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo’s Website |
| +34 93.230.96.40 | inaki.ruiz@ibe.upf-csic.es |
| Google Scholar | ORCID |
| Impactstory | Scopus |
I joined the lab in January 2013. Besides the management of the lab, I collaborate in several projects of the different lines of research. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037 I joined the MCG lab in June 2014. I’m studying the role of some transcription factors in Capsaspora owczarzaki, as well as developing a transfection protocol. I joined the MCG lab in November 2014. I’m working on functional analyses of several proteins in Capsaspora and Creolimax and developing single-cell RNA-seq protocols for these and other organisms. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6018
Lab manager
meritxell.anto@ibe.upf-csic.es
Postdoctoral Researcher
+34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037
nuria.ros@ibe.upf-csic.es
Postdoctoral fellow; Moore Foundation contract
sebastian.najle@upf.edu
I joined MCG lab in September 2015. I am using comparative genomics to understand the origins of multicellularity in fungi and animals. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037 I work on development of new model organisms among unicellular relatives of animals such as Corallochytrium limacisporum and Creolimax fragrantissima. That includes development of genetic tools and study the biology of those organisms. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6023 I joined the MCG lab in September 2016. I will work in single-cell genomics and transcriptomics of opisthokonts. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037
PhD student; FPI fellowship
eduard.ocana@ibe.upf-csic.es
Aleksandra Kozyczkowska
PhD student; Moore Foundation contract
aleksandra.kozyczkowska01@estudiant.upf.edu
Predoctoral Researcher; Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant
konstantina.mitsi@ibe.upf-csic.es
I joined the MCG lab in November 2016. I’m exploring the distribution and function of apoptosis-related elements in unicellular opisthokonts, to shed light on the origins of the apoptotic machinery of animals. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037 I joined the lab in February, 2018, arriving from the Station Biologique de Roscoff, France. I study the biology, community structure and evolution of the most abundant microbial eukaryotes in the surface ocean. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037 I joined the MCG lab in April 2019, after postdocs at Bristol and Barcelona. I am trying to understand how and when multicellularity evolved in animals and fungi. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6018 
Postdoctoral Researcher; Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant
michelle.leger@upf.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher; “la Caixa” Junior Leader
daniel.richter@ibe.upf-csic.es
Jesus Lozano
Beatriu de Pinós Fellow
jesus.lozanof@gmail.com
I joined the lab in November 2019. I did my undergraduate and master’s studies at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. I’m studying lipid evolution as well as improving genetic tools in Capsaspora owczarzaki and Sphaeroforma arctica. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6037 I joined the MGC lab in November 2019. I got my PhD at University of Pisa and now I’m working with marine microbial eukaryotes in order to characterise them. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6023 My background includes both experimental biology and bioinformatics and I want to combine these approaches to understand specific protein functions and cellular pathways in filasterean and teretosporean species, as a clue to multicellularity evolution. +34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6023
Patricia Suarez
Predoctoral Researcher; FPI fellowship
patricia.suarez@ibe.upf-csic.es
Cristiana Sigona
Lab technician
cristiana.sigona@upf.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
victoria.shabardina@upf.edu
Long term sabbatical
My past scientific work included through the years, mitochondrial genetics and genomics, intron splicing, control of gene expression in ascomycetes, specificity and topogenesis of transporters and cellular trafficking, chromatin organisation, heterologous transposons as tools to study genome structure. Retired, I continue with some of the above, but I am now collaborating with evolutionary biologists, mainly on the evolution of metabolic pathways.
Master Student
I joined the MCG lab in February of 2020. I am studying the function and evolution of stress related proteins in Capsaspora owczarzaki to elucidate its fundamental functions across metazoans.
+34 93.230.95.00-ext. 6023
pedro.charria@e-campus.uab.cat
Former members
Omaya Dudin (2017-2020). Postdoctoral Researcher. Currently at Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC).
Mami Nomura (2019-2020). Postdoctoral Researcher.Currently at University of Tsukuba (Japan).
Alberto Pérez Posada (2015-2019). Master and PhD. Currently at CABD.
Marta Alvarez (2019). Research Associate. Currently at University of Bristol (UK).
Andrej Ondracka (2016-2019). Postdoctoral Researcher.
Aleix Antón (2019). Master student.
Dani Caravaca (2019). Master student.
Alicia S. Arroyo (2015-2019). PhD. Currently at European Commission (Scientific Advice Mechanism).
Cecília Corbella (2018-2019). Lab technician. Currently at Roger’s Vila lab in IBE.
Helena Parra-Acero (2012-2019). Master and PhD. Currently at Eukaryotic Single Cell Genomics Facility, SciLifeLab (Sweden).
David López Escardó (2012-2018). Master and PhD. Currently at ICM.
Alfonso Mendaña (2017-2018). Master student
Maria Ferrer Bonet (2016-2018). Research Assistant.
Xavier Grau i Bové (2012-2018). Master, PhD and postdoc.
Maria Rubio Brotons (2016-2017). Lab technician. Currently in ZE clinics.
Matija Harcet (2013-2016). Postdoctoral Researcher.
Cristina Aresté Calero (2015-2016). Postdoctoral Researcher.
Xavi Florenza (2015-2016). Master’s student. Awarded PhD ITN Marie Curie grant in Uppsala (Sweden).
Marta Ledesma (summer 2016). Undergraduate student.
Maria Buendía (summer 2016). Undergraduate student.
Takaaki Kai, (2016). Undergraduate student. Prefecural University of Hiroshima, Japan.
Gema Blasco (Jan2015-Mar2016). Lab technician. Currently in the Genetics Department of the Universitat de Barcelona.
Xènia Pérez Sitjà (Summer 2015). Undergraduate student.
Lourdes Riquelme (2014), màster student, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona.
Ferran Porté (summer 2013), Joves i Ciència from CatalunyaCaixa. Project: Developing genetic tools in ichthyosporeans.
Núria Ros (summer 2012). Undergraduate student. Universitat de Vic. Project: Developing genetic tools in Capsaspora.
Alan Ordoño (summer 2012). Joves i Ciència from CatalunyaCaixa. Project: Developing genetic tools in Capsaspora.
Maria José Mazón (2012). Research associate.
Alexandre Prats (July 2012). Undergraduate student.
Diego Mallo (April-July 2012). Visiting researcher from David Posada’s lab.
Javier del Campo (2011-2013), postdoctoral researcher. Currently at University of British Columbia with a Marie Curie postdoctoral grant.
Gemma Prunés (summer 2011), program Joves i Ciència from CatalunyaCaixa.
John Shadwick (2010-2011), graduate researcher. Currently an assistant professor at University of Arkansas.
Lora Lindley (2010-2011), postdoc. Currently at University of Arkansas.
Núria Sánchez-Pons (2009-2013). Postdoc. Development of transgenesis tools in Capsaspora.
Jordi Paps (2009-2010), postdoc. Currently group leader at University of Bristol (UK).
Lluis Medina-Chacón (2009-2010), master student.
Hiroshi Suga (2008-2014). Currently group leader at Prefectural University of Hiroshima (Japan).
Romain Derelle (2008-2009), postdoc. Currently at CRG.
Alex Pérez (2008-2009), lab manager. Currently 454 representative at Roche-Spain.
Alex de Mendoza (2008-2014), PhD and postdoc. Awarded an EMBO postdoctoral grant.
Guifré Torruella (2008-2014), PhD. Awarded a Marie Curie postdoctoral grant.
Arnau Sebé-Pedrós (2008-2015), PhD and postdoc. Awarded an EMBO postdoctoral grant.
A list of some of our friends and current collaborators
Hiroshi Suga, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Japan.
Cristina Grande, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
Elena Casacuberta, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Claudio Scazzochio
Maureen A. O’ Malley, University of Sidney, Australia.
Jeremy G. Wideman, Arizona State University, USA.
Javier del Campo, University of Miami, USA.
Luís Ribas de Pouplana, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Spain.
David Bass, Natural History Museum, London, UK.
Nick Brown, University of Cambridge, UK.
Nicole King, UC Berkeley, USA.
Andrew J. Roger, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.
Franz Lang, Université de Montreal, Canada.
Gertraud Burger, Université de Montreal, Canada.
Stuart Donachie, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA.
Kamran Shalchian-Tabrizi, University of Oslo, Norway.
Duojia Pan, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.
José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta, CABD, Sevilla, Spain.
Maja Adamska, Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, Bergen, Norway.
Todd Miller, Stony Brook University, USA.
Phil Donoghue, University of Bristol, UK.
David Posada, Universidad de Vigo, Spain.
Ariadna Sitjà-Bobadilla, Instituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal, Castellón, Spain.
Crisanto Gutiérrez, Centro de Bioilogía Molecular Severo Ochoa, Spain.
Jordi Paps, University of Bristol, UK.
Kevin J. Peterson, Darmouth College, USA.
Colomban de Vargas, Station Biologique de Roscoff, France.
Fernando Rodríguez Pascual, Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa”, Spain.
