Raquel Francés Romero

Raquel holds a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, an M.Sc. in Neurosciences, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine from the University of Cantabria, awarded cum laude and international mention. Her scientific career has been focused on neuroscience, metabolism, and neuron–glia communication, with a strong emphasis on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying brain dysfunction and neurodegeneration. She completed her Ph.D after receiving the Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno Ph.D grant with the supervision of Dr.Hurlé and Dr. Tramullas , two experts in neurosciences and neuropathic pain. Her doctoral research addressed the role of miR-30c in the onset and development of neuropathic pain as well as the link between epigenetics and miRNAs in pain. During this period, she also carried out an Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno-funded international research stay in the laboratory of Dr.Francastel in the Epigenetics & Cell fate center in Paris, France. Her Ph.D work resulted in four publications, two of them as first author. After completing her Ph.D., she joined the Energy & Memory laboratory at the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris (France) to study the role of neuropeptide signaling and metabolism in the formation of long-term memory. After seven years of postdoctoral research in Paris, she developed solid expertise in genetic and molecular approaches, advanced microscopy, transcriptomic analyses, and functional studies using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Her research has addressed how metabolic alterations and intercellular communication between neurons and glial cells contribute to brain plasticity, memory processes, and disease progression. This work resulted in two first-author publication in Nature and Nature Communications and one second-author publication in Nature Metabolism. In 2026, she was awarded a Miguel Servet contract, which allowed her to establish herself as an emerging researcher metabolism and rare diseases.