Visiting scientist

Pedro José Alcolea Alcolea (January 23rd, 1980) is Tenured Scientist (Group A1, Rank 27, Consolidated Grade 27) at the Biological Research Center Margarita Salas (CIB-CSIC) of the Spanish Research Council (CIB-CSIC) and Coordinator of the Molecular Parasitology and Emerging Infections Group of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM). He obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on June 25th, 2010 and is B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology (June 30th, 2010) from the Complutense University of Madrid, Graduate in Chemistry (October 9th, 2019) from the National University of Distance Education (UNED) and Professional Graduate in Music from the Amaniel Conservatory (June 26th, 2014). He received a pre-doctoral I3P (Spanish National Research Council, CSIC) and developed his post-doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Peter J. Myler at the Center for Global Infectious Disease Research (formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute). In 2009, Dr. Alcolea consecutively passed two public examinations of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation obtaining Official R&D positions. In 2022, he obtained the Tenured Scientist position at CIB-CSIC. Dr. Alcolea's 21-year long scientific career has been devoted to the search of vaccine candidates and therapeutic targets from Leishmania parasites by transcriptomics and proteomics including extracellular vesicles, characterization of these proteins, and vaccine development. Dr. Alcolea is the first author of a patent that was licensed in the EU (EP3297666 B1), the USA (US10568960B2) and many other countries under the PCT. This patent protects a non-replicative antibiotic resistance-free mammalian expression plasmid vector called pPAL. The NeoLeish vaccine against canine leishmaniasis is based in the activated protein kinase C receptor analogue (LACK) and pPAL. This vaccine has been authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA initial authorization EMA/CVMP/858971/2022, European Commission 20/12/2022, EU Official Journal 2023/C 37/01, Reg. no. EU/2/22/290) and is available in the market. Dr. Alcolea was the PI2 of two completed projects (CDTI and Fundación Ramón Areces) and is PI2 of the project PID2023-149637OB-I00 (AEI) for the preclinical development of a DNA vaccine against severe malaria by Plasmodium falciparum, and was part of the research team in 10 additional projects (Horizon Europe MSCA, AEI, CDTI, FRA, Next Generation EU-CAM; CZ Vaccines private contract). He has published 36 research articles in SCI-indexed journals (22 as the first author and 18 as the corresponding author), two book chapters, and 81 communications to national and international conferences. He has peer-reviewed more than 120 manuscripts indexed in SCI, national and international project proposals, and is currently Editor of Frontiers in Microbiology, Editorial Board Topical Advisory Member of Microorganisms (IF 4,9) and guest editor of a special issue for Vaccines (IF 4,9). He has also been the supervisor of five doctoral theses and five final degree projects, is currently supervising two Ph.D. students, was invited professor of official M.Sc. degree programs at the University of Salamanca (USAL) and the International University Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), and carried out numerous science dissemination activities.