About Elisa Zubeldia Varela
I graduated in Pharmacy from the Complutense University of Madrid (2015). During my studies I worked as a research assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Claudia Cavadas (Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal). I completed the master's program in "Tropical Medicine and International Health" at the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid (2016). My Master's Thesis was conducted at the Rural General Hospital of Gambo (Ethiopia) with funding from the "El Alto" Foundation.
From January 2017 to July 2022, I completed my PhD with project-associated funding in the Translational Medicine program at San Pablo CEU University (USP CEU) in Madrid. I received an international distinction and the "Cum laude" qualification for my multi-omics approach, which advanced the understanding of the interaction between the gut microbiota and food allergies. This work received the Extraordinary Doctoral Thesis Award from USP CEU in 2022. Since 2021, I have worked as a professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine at USP CEU.
I have delivered over 600 hours of official teaching and have participated in 13 scientific conferences, with 7 oral presentations. I am co-author of 6 articles and the first author of a book chapter and 9 reviews. Additionally, I have been a reviewer for the journals "J. Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis" (Q1) and "Cells" (Q1), and have conducted 5 research stays. Notably, in 2020 and 2021, I conducted research stays at prestigious institutions: the Alberto Sols Biomedical Research Institute (2 months; CSIC, Madrid), the National Center for Biotechnology (4 months; CSIC, Madrid), and the Paul Ehrlich Institute (3 months; Langen, Germany). The latter stay was funded by the “Mobility Grants for Researchers in Training” awarded by the CEU International Doctoral School (CEINDO).
I am co-founder (2018) and currently secretary of the NGO ¡VIVA MAKENI!, which operates in Sierra Leone. There, I have created, coordinated, and conducted community health workshops and have provided theoretical and practical courses on cervical cytological staining and histological analysis at the Magbenteh Hospital in the same city. I am a regular collaborator in scientific outreach activities. Since 2008, I have participated annually in the "European Researchers' Night" and "Science Week" with the Spanish Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM), the MADRIMASD Knowledge Foundation, and USP CEU. In 2017, I participated in the SEBBM-Cervantes Institute outreach program in Europe (Bordeaux, Palermo, and Prague). I am currently responsible for the outreach section of the Network for Research in Allergens and Adverse Drug Reactions (ARADyAL) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII). In 2019, I participated in the organization and as a speaker in the outreach workshop "Allergy and Microbiome, a Bidirectional Influence" within the outreach program of the "Science and Society" committee of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS). Additionally, I have contributed to the creation of two MOOC courses to facilitate the understanding of omics techniques for clinical staff of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI).