Our Team

Ferran Sanz is chemical engineer by the Institut Quimic de Sarrià (Barcelona) and PhD by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He is Professor of Biostatistics and Biomedical Informatics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), scientific staff of the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and Director of the IMIM-UPF Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB) since 1985. Dr. Sanz is the author of more than 150 articles and supervisor of 20 PhD theses. He is the international coordinator of 10 EU-funded initiatives and a STOA report for the European Parliament. Currently, he is the academic coordinator of an IMI (Innovative Medicines Initiative) project on the in silico prediction of drug toxicity (eTRANSAFE). He is also a partner in other ongoing IMI projects (TransQST and FAIRplus) and H2020 projects (EU-ToxRisk and FAIRplus). Chair of the ELIXIR Board, co-president of the Spanish Technology Platform on Innovative Medicines (PTEMI) and vice-president of Bioinformatics Barcelona Association (BIB).

Laura I. Furlong is head of the Integrative Biomedical Informatics Group of the Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics, GRIB (IMIM-UPF) and associate professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). She has a PhD in Biology from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and a Msc in Bioinformatics by University Pompeu Fabra. With more than 10 years of experience in translational bioinformatics, one of her main interests is to translate cutting edge bioinformatics research into real world clinical and industrial applications. Her current research is focused in the areas of systems medicine and systems toxicology, text mining and knowledge management. Director of 4 doctoral theses. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles. She has participated in several FP7 projects (@neurist, EU-ADR), IMI projects like OpenPHACTS, eTOX, EMIF and H2020 projects like MedBioinformatics. She is currently involved in the IMI projects FAIRplus, eTRANSAFE and transQST.

Olga Valverde is the team leader of GReNeC, a group that specializes in Neurobiology of behaviour. She has a PhD in Neuroscience at University of Cadiz and a PhD in Pharmacy at University René Descartes (Paris V). She is also a full Professor at UPF. Dr. Valverde is the author of more than 100 international articles in relevant journals. She is the principal investigator of research projects funded by different agencies.

Janet Piñero is a postdoctoral researcher at the Integrative Biomedical Informatics Group of the Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics, GRIB (IMIM-UPF). Janet obtained her PhD in Biomedicine in the Pompeu Fabra University in 2015, supervised by Dr. Laura Furlong. She is an associate professor at UPF. Her main research interest is translational medicine and she works developing computational tools and algorithms to tackle different biomedical questions, such as the genetic underpinnings of human diseases and the molecular mechanisms underlying drug adverse reactions.

Felix Slager has held a variety of senior management positions in the life sciences sector with a focus on international business development. He has started up and grown multiple pharmaceutical startups and managed mid-sized pharma companies. He holds a B.A. and master’s in International Business besides a complimentary Artificial Intelligence education at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Marta Muriscot holds a Master in Global Entrepreneurial Management by the University of San Francisco, Fu Jen Catholic University and IQS-Ramon Llull University, a postgraduate degree in international affairs and a B.A. in International Business and Marketing besides other complimentary education in management and global business. Marta has participated in multiple startups and strategy consulting projects, and also counts with professional experience in consulting strategy and international business development at Quirónsalud, the largest healthcare provider in Spain and Europe.

Jordi Valls is a Postdoctoral Researcher and experienced bioinformatic in the field of genomic analysis. He completed a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, performed two masters one in Aquaculture and Biomedicine and obtained a degree in Biology at Universitat de Barcelona. Before joining MedBioInformatics Solutions, he was a PhD student at Barcelona Supercomputing Center and worked at Barcelona Skin Genomics developing a complete database of natural actives, in order to find specific compounds to treat different skin diseases or ageing.

Mariela Plaza Schwarck is an accomplished Web Developer. Prior to her career switch and joining MedBioInformatics Solutions, she held several R&D oriented positions. She holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Simón Bolivar University (Venezuela), a CESIF master’s degree in Food Science, completed by relevant highly technical degrees in Python, JavaScript, NodeJS and Angular.

Cristina earned her Bachelors of Science in Tourism and started her career in finance.
Her career has fed her need for a change to IT, which led to diverse bootcamp trainings as a Fullstack Developer, specializing in Frontend with Javascript and ReactJS. Cristina is detail oriented and an effective multi-tasker wearing multiple hats.
Besides programming the DISGENET plus Frontend, she also designs and manages the company’s promotional material, website and blog using her experience in product photography, WordPress and UX/UI.

Jaione is a highly accomplished biologist who received her degree from the Basque Country University, where she studied the identification of lncRNA biomarkers in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She then went on to complete her MSc in Bioinformatics at the UAB University, focusing her thesis on further characterising the genomic distribution of H1 histone variants in human chromatin and the impact on epigenetic regulation.
She has also been an active member of the scientific community, publishing a paper on lncRNA deregulation in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A systematic review.
Using her extensive knowledge, Jaione is dedicated to advancing the field of genomics and improving human health.

Natalia´s journey in the medical field started when she studied to be a medical doctor in the Altay State Medical University. After completing her MD degree, she started to work as environmental health specialist in the Altay federal institute of health. Switching to the private sector, during the next 10 years she held different roles in big pharma companies and eventually decided to move to Barcelona in 2020. She completed her MSc in bioinformatics at the UAB university. Even though she has changed the field of study, she is still using her medical knowledge to help others in their journey to better health.

Mahesha holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Media & Communications from Brunel University in West London. She has over 10 years’ experience in Business Development and has helped many start-ups in the data management world grow. Mahesha enjoys growing and enhancing organisational presence in the market and building relationships with customers and partners.

Professor of Pharmacology Coordinator of BioFarma Research Group CIMUS Research Center University of Santiago de Compostela

Director Clinical Bioinformatics Area
Fundación Progreso y Salud

Director of Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina
Xenómica
Profesor-Director of Instituto de Medicina Legal
(University of Santiago de Compostela)