Prof. Toxicología

Doctor in Medicine, Master in Toxicology, Full Prof. Toxicology Universidad Pablo de Olavide; Director Master in Criminology and Forensic Sciences; and President of the Spanish Network for the Development of Alternative Methods. He has more than 35 years of experience in the investigation and toxicological evaluation of pharmaceuticals, additives, pesticides and pollutants in general. He worked for 26 years at the National Institute of Toxicology producing judicial toxicological studies related to Risk assessments evaluations; diagnosis of alcoholism (carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin); Biomonitoring of workers and animal exposure to lead or pesticides; and forensic studies such as the judicial investigation of the death of Pablo Neruda (Chile, 2013); investigations of drowning e.g., the investigation of the murder of Mary Luz Cortes; etc. He was in parallel Profesor Asociado of Toxicology in the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Sevilla from 2000-2007 and he moved to set up the Area of Toxicology of the Universidad Pablo de Olavide in 2010. The main goal of his research is the use of the more simplest model system as possible and the development of intelligent research strategies for the investigation of the human and environmental risks and the mechanisms of toxic action. The initial focus was the toxicity of pesticides on crayfish; followed by the neurotoxicity of metals (doctoral thesis) and organic compounds in neuroblastoma cells and of solvents in cell fractions; the development of batteries (alga, daphnia, bacteria, fish cells, plants) for the environmental evaluation of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, additives and residues; the risks of mycrocystins in cells and fish (US); and at UPO, the risks of endocrine disruptors (bisphenol analogues) in C. elegans; the risks of nanoparticles from different origins in cell cultures; and the application of nanovectors in cancer, in collaboration with 4 universities. In another line of work, batteries of Schizosaccharomyces pombe yeast strains with genetic modifications were used to investigate the mechanisms of toxic action and the efflux pumps involved in the detoxication of pharmaceuticals and pollutants. The biomarkers used have evolved from simple cytotoxicity assays (two specific articles on neutral red assay), enzyme activities (acetylcholinesterase, hexosaminidase, galactosidase, neurotoxic esterase, SDH, LDH, G6PDH, GSTR, etc.), morphological changes, lysosomal function, oxidative stress, DNA damage (comet assay, micronuclei), cell death by apoptosis using flow cytometry or fluorescence digital imaging, to gene expression. He has a h index of 25, with 72 publications referenced in WOS. He has participated in 15 national projects and 5 EU funded projects, being IP in 7. Apart from one course stay at the Central Toxicology Laboratory, Syngenta), Macclesfield, England, many publications were due to international cooperation