- The Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale (IIBM) welcomes two young researchers who have recently joined with Ramón y Cajal research contracts. Dr. Júlia Baguña Torres and Dr. Alain J. De Solís are starting their own groups, bringing new research lines in translational oncology and metabolic neuroscience that strengthen the international projection of the center
In September, Dr. Alain J. De Solís joined the IIBM through the Ramón y Cajal program to lead the new Laboratory of Metabolic Neurocircuits in the Department of Neurological Diseases. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, where he trained under Professor José María Carrascosa, and continued his career with postdoctoral stays at Columbia University (New York) and the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research (Cologne), specializing in neuroscience and metabolism regulation.
His research focuses on the development and function of neuronal circuits involved in metabolic control. Hypothalamic neurocircuits are critical to maintaining energy balance, as they regulate food intake, energy expenditure, and coordinate the metabolic responses of organs such as the liver, pancreas, and adipose tissues. These circuits, shaped by external factors such as diet or stress during early life stages, may predispose individuals to cardiometabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. With his group, De Solís aims to unravel how these circuits form and coordinate, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic strategies to prevent and treat obesity and diabetes, especially in childhood.
For her part, Dr. Júlia Baguña Torres will lead the new Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals for Molecular Diagnosis and Therapy in the Department of Cancer, within the Translational Oncology research line. A radiochemist specialized in molecular medical imaging (particularly nuclear imaging techniques PET and SPECT), she obtained her PhD in Imaging Sciences from King’s College London and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, where she worked on developing diagnostic tools based on antibodies and peptides for the early detection of pancreatic cancer. In 2019, she returned to Spain as a senior researcher in the Molecular Medical Imaging group at the Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, where she developed cell-tracking methods to monitor immunotherapies, with funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya and the “La Caixa” Foundation.
Her research focuses on the development of radiopharmaceuticals for cancer detection, phenotyping, and targeted radiotherapy, with special emphasis on gastrointestinal tract tumors. These radiolabeled compounds are designed to recognize specific biological markers of the disease, providing diagnostic results similar to pathology, but without the need for biopsies. Administered in sub-pharmacological concentrations, radiopharmaceuticals allow quantitative and real-time spatial information on their biodistribution, enabling the non-invasive visualization of biological systems without altering them.
Currently, her group’s research lines include the identification and validation of imaging biomarkers for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer; the development of new radiolabeling strategies for biomolecules and nanoconstructs; the tracking of specific immune cell subpopulations through nuclear imaging; and the design of radiotheranostic tools to diagnose and treat tumor lesions simultaneously. Although her work is centered on oncology, Dr. Baguña highlights the transversal nature of this technology, which opens opportunities for collaboration with researchers at the IIBM to address other pathologies from a molecular and personalized perspective.
With the incorporation of these two researchers, the IIBM strengthens its commitment to frontier research in health, with innovative lines ranging from the understanding of the neuronal mechanisms regulating metabolism to the development of new diagnostic and molecular therapy technologies in oncology, aligned with the MaX Program (CSIC) and of great strategic relevance for the center.