Iñigo Aguirre de Carcer was born in Bloomington (IN, USA), in 1976. He graduated in Chemistry (Organic) at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain in 2000. He continued his studies at the University of Washington (UW), obtaining a Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry in 2008. After a short stage at the Nanoscience and Molecular Materials Lab back at UAM, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Aeronautical Technical Engineering (EUTIA), Madrid Technical University (UPM). He was appointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Material Science at the Department of Aerospace Materials and Production (ETSIAE, UPM) in 2016 and later Associate Professor in 2022. His research interests lay at the use of organic and inorganic syntheses to probe structure function relationships in nano assemblies..
Sandra Jiménez Falcao obtained her degree in Chemistry in 2014 (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM), her Master in Chemical Science and Technology (UCM) in 2015, and in 2021 she finished her PhD in Advanced Chemistry titled “Nanosensors and smart delivery systems based on porous materials” (UCM). Afterwards she worked in IMDEA Agua developing analytical methods for the determination of relevant environmental pollutants. In 2022 she obtained a Margarita Salas grant to do her postdoc at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos developing metallic complex based nanosystems for both environmental and biomedical purposes. She is currently working as a professor and researcher at the Materials and Aerospace Production Department in Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Sandra’s scientific activity is focused in the field of materials science, for the development of a variety of nanosystems based on inorganic supports (like mesoporous silica, titanium dioxide or metal nanoparticles), organic moieties, and biomolecules like enzymes or aptamers.
Eva Espinosa Cano was born in Madrid in 1993. She obtained her degree in Biomedical Engineering from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) in 2015, after completing an exchange semester at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. In 2016, she earned her Master’s degree in High Specialization in Plastics and Rubber (UIMP-CSIC), graduating first in her class. Following several predoctoral fellowships —including an FPU grant and a research stay in Germany— she completed her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at UC3M in 2020. After her doctorate, she worked at Innovamat to strengthen her teaching skills and later held teaching positions at ESIC University and Universidad Europea de Madrid. She is currently a professor and researcher at the Department of Materials and Aerospace Production at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Her scientific activity is mainly focused on materials science, particularly on the development of nanosystems based on organic materials for the treatment of chronic inflammation-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and foreign body reactions to implants
Jorge Parra Nieto was born in Madrid (Spain) in 1996. He graduated in Chemistry and completed his Master in Science and Chemical Technology
at Universidad Complutense de Madrid working in the preparation and characterization of
nanomaterials and their use both as signaling elements in optical or electrochemical sensors,
and as smart delivery sistems.
Nowadays, he is Lab Chemistry Instructor and researcher at the Materials and Aerospace Production Department in Universidad Politécnica de Madridin being in the third year of his PhD thesis working in the development of stimuli-responsive nanoassemblies capable to trigger self-sustained immune responses in antitumoral therapy.
Javier González Larre was born in Madrid in 1999. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biomedicine at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria in 2023. He worked in a Microbiology lab as a research assistant at Tufts University (Boston, MA, US), where he researched the electron transport chain of anaerobic bacteria. In 2024, he obtained his Master’s degree in Biomaterials at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. During this year, he joined the ONT group as a Master’s student, where he worked on a project involving the synthesis of silica and liposome-based nanosystems to enhance cellular therapy for cancer therapy.
Javier is currently coursing his first year of PhD in Biomedical Engineering at UPM, where he is working as a researcher on a project involving the development of combinatory pharmacological nano-therapies for neuroblastoma and nanosystem assembly with microfluidic reactors.
Alicia Arroyo Nogales was born in Madrid (2001). She graduated in Biotechnology at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and carried out her undergraduate research in our lab developing protocells capable to deliver enzymatic tandems with antitumoral activity. After completing her Master in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine at Universidad Complutense de Madrid working in the development of double functionalized liposomes to act as bridge between tumoral and immune cells, she is currently a Research Assistant in ONT lab, being in the first year of her PhD thesis aiming at boosting CAR T therapies with smart nanomedicines for the effective treatment of neuroblastoma.
Guillermo Plaza Palomo was born in Madrid (2002). He graduated in medical biotechnology, specializing in fields such as pharmaceutical design and development of bio and nanomaterials. In 2023, he joined the ONT lab to conduct his undergraduate research, aimed at the development of highly penetrative drug-loaded liposomes and silicasomes capable of reaching deep areas of the tumor. Currently, he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomaterials at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is working on devising multifaceted nanomedical strategies to tackle the challenges associated with solid tumor treatment.
Diana Benita Donadios graduated in Chemistry at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM in 2024. She completed her degree with an undergraduate research project focused on the development of WE43 magnesium alloys loaded with anti-corrosion drugs. Additionally, she worked as researcher in ICP-CSIC working in the development of heterogeneous enzymatic catalysts to degrade cellulose. Nowadays, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomaterials at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is working on the synthesis and application of superparamagnetic protocells for antitumoral therapy which exploited the synergic action between hyperthermia and drug delivery.
Pilar López de Soria Homar was born in Palma de Mallorca in 2004 and is currently pursuing a degree in Biotechnology at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).
She has joined the ONT group to conduct her Bachelor’s Thesis (TFG). Her research focuses on the synthesis of hydrogels integrated with liposomes, aiming to enhance the delivery and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of neuroblastoma.
Her studies focus on how biotechnology can improve modern healthcare. She is particularly motivated by the development of new treatments through cell engineering, immunotherapy, and the use of biomaterials to solve complex medical challenges.
Xiana Agrafojo obtained her degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, where she developed a strong background in nanomaterials synthesis, physicochemical characterization, and their application in drug delivery and biomedical systems. She is currently enrolled in a Master’s degree in Biomaterials.
She is carrying out her research internship at Organic Nano Lab, where she works on nanocarriers for drug delivery. Her work includes coating liposomal systems with alginate, studying their degradation under acidic conditions, analyzing drug release from both the coating and the liposomal core, and evaluating their behavior in cell models, particularly their ability to mask targeting agents.
Sandra Blanco Muñoz obtained her degree in Biomedical Engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) in 2025, specializing in biomechanics, bioinstrumentation, and biomaterials. During her last undergraduate year, she worked as a research assistant in the INGENIO Project, where she supported the management and organization of multicenter clinical data from several national hospitals.
She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomaterials at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). Her research focuses on the synthesis and biomedical application of silica-based protocells with a superparamagnetic core, aimed at enhancing antitumoral therapy through the combination of magnetic hyperthermia and targeted drug delivery.
Nicolás Becerril Pradana was born in Madrid in 2005 and is currently completing his Bachelor’s Thesis in Biotechnology at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).
In 2025, he participated in a multidisciplinary team within the EELISA Biomaterials Challenge, contributing to the development of an innovative orthotic helmet designed to address existing limitations in plagiocephaly treatment. Nicolás has recently joined the ONT Group to conduct his Bachelor’s Thesis, where his research focuses on engineering protocells to overcome the barriers of CAR-T cell therapies in solid tumors through synergistic effects.
His scientific interests lie at the intersection of biotechnology and biomedicine, with a particular focus on immunotherapy, cell and gene engineering, and advanced biomaterials.
ALUMNI
