Biochemical Journal Metabolism Poster Prize Runner Up

Immaculada Martinez Reyes

Immaculada Martinez Reyes completed her B.Sc. in Pharmacy at the University of Sevilla, Spain in 2008. Last year, she was awarded a one year postgraduate research scholarship from "La Caixa" to successfully develop a Masters degree in Molecular Biomedicine at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). She completed her research project entitled "The bioenergetic phenotype of cancer: tools and mechanisms" under the supervision of Professor José M. Cuezva in the department of Molecular Biology, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, UAM-CSIC. In late 2009 she was granted a four-year term postgraduate research fellowship from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (JAE-CSIC) to develop her Ph.D. thesis in the laboratory of Professor José M. Cuezva. She is now in her second year of the Ph.D. The aims of her research project are: (1) to uncover the mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in the repression of the bioenergetic function of mitochondria, an event that is required for colon cancer progression; and (2) to decipher the mechanisms that control the translation of the mRNA encoding the catalytic subunit (β-F1-ATPase) of the mitochondrial H+-ATP synthase, a key regulator of energetic metabolism in the tumours.