Biosketch María Abad

María Abad

mabad@vhio.net

Current position

Group Leader of VHIO’s Cellular Plasticity and Cancer Group.

Academic Qualifications

2020-today- I3 Investigator
2015-2020 – Ramón y Cajal Investigator
2014-2016-Postdoctoral Fellow at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA (PI: Prof. Eric N. Olson)
2009-2014-Postdoctoral Fellow at Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain (PI: Dr. Manuel Serrano)
2008-PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine by the Autónoma University of Madrid (UAM), Spain
2003-2008-Undergraduate Student at Institute of Biomedical Research “Alberto Sols” (IIB), Madrid, Spain (PI: Dr. Ignacio Palmero)
2003-Degree in Biological Sciences by the Autónoma University of Madrid (UAM), Spain

Areas of Research

Cross-talk between therapy-induced stress responses, cellular plasticity and cancer.
Inhibition of cellular plasticity and stemness as an anticancer therapy.
Translation of non-canonical ORFs and the role of the microproteome in cancer.

Prizes and Scholarships

We were awarded with the Health Research Grant 2018 from the La Caixa Foundation.
We also received the Health Research Grant from La Mutua Madrileña Foundation.
Ramón y Cajal Grant. 2015-2020.
IV Premi La Vanguardia de la Ciéncia. Diario La Vanguardia and Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation, 2014.
“Notable Advance of Year” by Nature Medicine, 2013. Nature Medicine 19, 1564–1565 (2013).
“Mejores Ideas 2013” Prize. Diario Médico, 2013.

Projects

Tumoral senescence induced by anti-cancer therapies constitutes a novel prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target. Reference: PRYCO211023SERR. Spanish Association Against Cancer – AECC.
Duration: 9/2021-8/2026.
Co-PI: María Abad.
Defining the Role of Exosome-Secreted Micropeptides in Pancreatic Cancer. number: HR18-00256.Health Research Grant-La Caixa Foundation.
Award Period: 9/2019-8/2021.
PI: Maria Abad.
Identificación y Análisis del Microproteoma del Cáncer de Páncreas: Los Micropéptidos como Nuevas Dianas Terapéuticas y Biomarcadores Tumorales Fundación. XVI Convocatoria de Ayudas a la Investigación en Salud. Fundación Mutua Madrileña.
01/09/2019-30/08/2022.
PI: Maria Abad.
Mining the Microproteome for New Molecular Targets in Cancer. number: RTI2018-102046-B-I00.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
1/2019-12/2021.
PI: Maria Abad.
Cellular Plasticity in Tissue Regeneration and Cancer. Ref. number: RYC-2013-14747.
Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Award Period: 9/2015-8/2020.
PI: Maria Abad.

Most relevant scientific publications

Marin I, Boix O, Garcia-Garijo A, Sirois I, Caballe A, Zarzuela E, Ruano I, Attolini CS, Prats N, López-Domínguez JA, Kovatcheva M, Garralda E, Muñoz J, Caron E, Abad M, Gros A, Pietrocola F, Serrano M. Cellular Senescence Is Immunogenic and Promotes Antitumor Immunity. Cancer Discov. 2023 Feb 6;13(2):410-431.
Pujals M, Mayans C, Bellio C, Méndez O, Greco E, Fasani R, Alemany-Chavarria M, Zamora E, Padilla L, Mitjans F, Nuciforo P, Canals F, Nonell L, Abad M, Saura C, Tabernero J, Villanueva J. RAGE/SNAIL1 signaling drives epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Oncogene. 2023 Aug;42(35):2610-2628.
Álvarez-Sierra D, Sánchez-Gaona N, Cruz Cobo M, Escriche A, Abad M, Gómez-Brey A, Bello I, Caubet E, González Ó, Zafón C, Iglesias C, Moreno P, Petit A, Fernández-Sanmartín MA, Martínez-Gallo M, Pujol-Borrell R. Thyroid cells from normal and autoimmune thyroid glands suppress T lymphocytes proliferation upon contact revealing a new regulatory inhibitory type of interaction independent of PD1/PDL1. J Autoimmun. 2023 Apr;136:103013.
Boix O, Martinez M, Vidal S, Giménez-Alejandre M, Palenzuela L, Lorenzo-Sanz L, Quevedo L, Moscoso O, Ruiz-Orera J, Ximénez-Embún P, Ciriaco N, Nuciforo P, Stephan-Otto Attolini C, Albà MM, Muñoz J, Tian TV, Varela I, Vivancos A, Ramón Y Cajal S, Muñoz P, Rivas C, Abad M. pTINCR microprotein promotes epithelial differentiation and suppresses tumor growth through CDC42 SUMOylation and activation. Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 11;13(1):6840.
Marin I, Boix O, Garcia-Garijo A, Sirois I, Caballe A, Zarzuela E, Ruano I, Stephan-Otto Attolini C, Prats N, Lopez-Dominguez JA, Kovatcheva M, Garralda E, Munoz J, Caron E, Abad M, Gros A, Pietrocola F, Serrano M. Cellular senescence is immunogenic and promotes anti-tumor immunity. Cancer Discov. Epub 2022 Oct 27.
Boix O, Martinez M, Vidal S, Giménez-Alejandre M, Palenzuela L, Lorenzo-Sanz L, Quevedo L, Moscoso O, Ruiz-Orera J, Ximénez-Embún P, Ciriaco N, Nuciforo P, Stephan-Otto Attolini C, Albà MM, Muñoz J, Tian TV, Varela I, Vivancos A, Ramón Y Cajal S, Muñoz P, Rivas C, Abad M. pTINCR microprotein promotes epithelial differentiation and suppresses tumor growth through CDC42 SUMOylation and activation. Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 11;13(1):6840.
Marin I, Boix O, Garcia-Garijo A, Sirois I, Caballe A, Zarzuela E, Ruano I, Stephan-Otto Attolini C, Prats N, Lopez-Dominguez JA, Kovatcheva M, Garralda E, Munoz J, Caron E, Abad M, Gros A, Pietrocola F, Serrano M. Cellular senescence is immunogenic and promotes anti-tumor immunity. Cancer Discov. Epub 2022 Oct 27.
Senís E, Mosteiro L, Grimm D, Abad M. Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2318:267-279. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1476-1_14.
Salazar-Roa M, Trakala M, Alvarez-Fernandez M, Valdes- Mora F, Munoz J, Zapatero- Solana E, Grana O, Peters T, Abad M, Bueno M, Gomez de Cedron M, Fernandez-Piqueras J, De Martino A, Serrano M, Wang D, Clark S, Ortega S and Malumbres M. (2020). Transient exposure to miR-203 enhances the differentiation capacity of established pluripotent stem cells. EMBO J. 2020 Aug 17;39(16):e104324.
Abad M (2020). The hidden world of non-canonical ORFs. Exp Cell Res. 2020 Nov 15;396(2):112267.
Merino-Valverde I, Greco E, Abad M. The microproteome of cancer: From invisibility to relevance. Exp Cell Res. 2020 Jul 1;392(1):111997.
Ramón Y Cajal S, Sancho P, Soucek L, Peinado H, Abad M, Valiente M, Efeyan A, Pardo J, Quesada V, Jimeno J, Duque PM, Antón A, Varela I, Schuhmacher AJ. A spotlight on cancer researchers in Spain: new paradigms and disruptive ideas. Clin Transl Oncol. 2020 Jun;22(6):798-801.
Merino I, Greco E,Abad M(2020). The microproteome of cancer: from invisibility to relevance.Experimental Cell Research. 2020;392(1):111997. doi:10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.111997
Abad M, Hashimoto H, Zhou H, Morales MG, Chen B, Bassel-Duby R, Olson EN.Notch Inhibition Enhances Cardiac Reprogramming by Increasing MEF2C Transcriptional Activity. Stem Cell Reports. 2017 Mar 14;8(3):548-560.
Mosteiro L, Pantoja C, Alcázar N, Marión RM, Chondronasiou D, Rovira M, Fernández-Marcos PJ, Muñoz M, Blanco-Aparicio C, Pastor J, Gómez-Lopez G, de Martino A, Blasco MA, Abad M and Serrano M.Tissue damage and senescence provide critical signals for cellular reprogramming in vivo.Science. 2016 Nov 25;354(6315). pii: aaf4445.
Palla A.R., Piazzolla D., Abad M., Li H., Dominguez O., Schönthaler H.B., Wagner E.F. and Serrano M.Reprogramming activity of NANOGP8, a NANOG family member widely expressed in cancer.Oncogene. 2014 May 8;33(19):2513-9
Abad M, Mosteiro L, Pantoja C, Cañamero M, Rayon T, Ors I, Graña O, Megías D, Domínguez O, Martínez D, Manzanares M, Ortega S, Serrano M.Reprogramming in vivo produces teratomas and iPS cells with totipotency features.Nature. 2013 Oct 17;502(7471):340-5.
Abad M, Moreno A, Palacios A, Narita M, Blanco F, Moreno-Bueno G, Narita M and Palmero I.The tumor suppressor ING1 contributes to epigenetic control of cellular senescence.Aging Cell. 2011 Feb; 10:158-71.
Menéndez C, Abad M, Gómez-Cabello D, Moreno A and Palmero I. ING proteins in cellular senescence.Curr Drug Targets. 2009 May;10:406-1.
Abad M, Menéndez C, Fuchtabuer A, Serrano M, Fuchtbauer E-M and Palmero I.Ing1 mediates p53 accumulation and chromatin modification in response to oncogenic stress.J Biol Chem. 2007 Oct 19;282:31060-7
Goeman F.,Thormeyer D., Abad M., Serrano M., Schmidt  O., Palmero I. and Baniahmad A.Growth inibition by the tumor suppressor p33ING1 in immortalized and primary cells: Involvement of two silencing domains and effect of Ras. Mol Cell Biol. 2005 Jan;25:422-31.