Dra. María Martell Pérez Pérez

I studied Biology at the University of La Laguna (Tenerife) where I did my Final Degree Experimental Work in the Genetics Department. I continued my doctoral studies at the University of Paris VI-Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris (FRANCE), obtaining my PhD in Protein Biochemistry in 1990 with Distinction CUM LAUDE for a study dealing with the association of HLA factors. and Juvenile Diabetes. During my pre-doctoral stage, I completed stays at the Centre d'Ëtudes du Polimorphisme Humain in Paris (FRANCE) and at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (USA). The first years of post-doc, in the research laboratory of the department of Internal Medicine-Hepatology of the Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona, SPAIN), I performed studies in Hepatitis C Virus infection, with special emphasis on viral variability and its consequences on viral persistence. Later, together with Dr Genescà, we started a new line of basic research dedicated to the study of the pathophysiology of Portal Hypertension in liver cirrhosis. In the Advanced Chronic Liver Disease laboratory, which I coordinate, I am dedicated to the study of the hemodynamic alterations of liver disease in experimental models, in search of new treatments to improve portal hypertension and intrahepatic resistance, and to the investigation of biodegradable nanoparticles, as drug delivery system for therapy in liver diseases. In addition, I am working on the development of new models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats and on studying the influence of intestinal microbiota on portal hypertension and liver fibrosis.
I have the RESEARCH ACCREDITATION (Associate) by the Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia (AQU) since May 2018. I have directed 8 doctoral theses and published numerous articles in international journals with Impact Factor. Finally, I have participated in competitive projects, from 1990 to the present and without interruption, as a collaborator or as principal investigator