Carmen Alvarez-dominguez PhD

Dr. Carmen Álvarez Domínguez has a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University in Madrid (1993) with the study Internalization mechanisms of Listeria monocytogenes into eukaryotic cells, performed at the Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital (Santander, 1989-93). In 1994, she was incorporated as Research Associate in the Cell Biology Department at Washington University in Saint Louis (Missouri, USA, 1994-99) to study the role of small GTPases in Listeria monocytogenes phagocytosis. In 1999, she got the Researchers incorporation contract for the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center to examine the role of lysosomal proteins in multimeric vaccine designs (Madrid, 1999-01). In 2001, she was honored with one of the first Ramon and Cajal awards to create a research group on vaccines against intracellular bacteria at the Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital (Santander, 2001). After obtaining the ANECA accreditation as Doctor Contracted Professor and a positive I3 evaluation by the ANEP (2005), she got the position of Facultative Researcher at the Marques de Valdecilla Foundation (Santander, 2006-2014).

Currently, she has a Facultative Professor position at Marques de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), where she is the director of the group named Listeria-based nano vaccines and cellular vaccines. She has been the director of four doctoral theses at the University of Cantabria (UC), seven Doctorate Master students (6 at UC and 1 at Basque University), and three undergraduate students of practical credits of university-public organizations (1 at UAH and 2 at U. Leon).

The research lines of her group are focused on the design of Listeria-based vaccines, either prophylactic vaccines against listeriosis and tuberculosis or therapeutic vaccines against tumors, mainly melanoma. Her research has originated a patent to use immunogenic peptides of Listeria GAPDH (Limo 2459) in vaccines and another applied patent for a vaccine for melanoma using a Listeria peptide.

She has participated as principal investigator in five national I + D grants sponsored by MINECO, 2 grants sponsored by ISCIII (CIBER-BNN intramural and FIS), 1 European grant as co-ordinator and principal investigator, and 2 Thematic Networks as principal investigator-sponsored by MICINN on Pathogenomics. She has directed two summer courses at International Menendez Pelayo University (UIMP) on the topic of infections and cancer and one summer course at the University of Cantabria on the topic of infections. She has also participated as an honored collaborator Professor of the official Bilingual Grade of Medicine at Cantabria University in the Molecular Biology of the Cell topic (courses 2012-13, 2013-14), Post grade Master of Doctorate in the topics: Immunology (courses 2008-09, 2010-11) and Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (courses 2015-16, 2016-17) and Biomedical Research Master in the Basque University in the Experimental Oncology topic (courses 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17). She has published 35 original articles, 4 book chapters, and 1 book of translation in Immunology and has attended 30 conferences by invitation.