Organizational chart

Francisco Martin Molina holds a PhD in Biological Sciences (extraordinary prize) from the University of Granada-IPB Lopez Neyra (CSIC) in 1994. He spent 7 years as a postdoctoral fellow in London, first at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) from 1995 to 1997 and then at the Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences (UCL) from 1997 to 2002. During this time, he began his research in advanced therapies, in particular in the area of designing more effective and safer retroviral vectors for cancer immunotherapy-genic strategies.

In 2002 he established his own Gene and Cell Therapy (GCT) research group as a Ramón y Cajal contract holder at IPB López Neyra (CSIC). Since 2009 he has been working at GENyO, initially as Line Leader at the Fundación Publica Progreso y Salud (FPS) and since 2022 as Maria Zambrano Senior Researcher at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology iii and Immunology of the University of Granada.

In recent years his group has focused on the development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) for cancer (CAR-T) and Pompe disease. To this end, it has focused on two gene modification systems: 1) Lentiviral vectors as the most effective and safe tools at present and 2) Genomic editing tools (ZFNs, CRISPR/Cas) as the technology of the future for efficient and risk-free gene therapy. In this line, the group actively collaborates with several hospitals in order to bring its developments to clinical trials.

Dr Martin has published more than 90 scientific articles in international journals, of which more than 70% are in the first quartile. He has been awarded 24 projects as principal investigator in national calls for proposals totalling 3.5 million euros. He has generated 16 patents, 6 of which have been licensed and are the basis of two technology-based companies of which he is the main founder: LentiStem Biotech and CRISPNA Bio. He has supervised 5 postdoctoral fellows (2 of whom have obtained a Nicolas Monardes place), 16 doctoral theses and 23 Master’s theses.

He is currently Secretary of the Spanish Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, coordinator of the gene therapy programme of the TerAv network and coordinator of the work packages of the COST GenHumDi network. He is also coordinator of the gene therapy course of the Master in Genetics and Evolution (UGR) and of the gene and cell therapy course in the Master in ‘Manufactuting of Advance Therapy Medicinal Products’ (UGR-FPS). He is also a lecturer on the Master’s Degree in Research and Advances in Immunology. In 2022 he was appointed coordinator of the Genomic Medicine area and recently he was appointed deputy scientific director of GENyO.

Civil servant in the Technical Corps of Social Security Administration since 1984, graduate in Art History from the University of Granada in 1983 and Postgraduate Diploma in Senior University Management from the Antonio de Nebrija and Polytechnic Universities of Catalonia in 2005; she has previously worked in health institutions and other universities (at the University of La Laguna, where she was head of human resources and, on an interim basis, secretary of the Social Council and internal control functions).

From 1999 to December 2013 he held the position of manager of the International University of Andalusia, where, in addition to the functions assigned by the legal provisions, he has led the implementation of innovative models of management by competencies and processes; he has been part of the Innovation Commission, the Social Responsibility Committee and has coordinated the Commission responsible for the implementation of analytical accounting in the U.N.I.A. among others in internal and external working groups in which he has participated within the framework of his powers as manager.