Angel R. Nebreda obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Salamanca (Spain) and then worked as a postdoc at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda (USA) and the Cancer Research-UK Clare Hall Laboratories in South Mimms (UK). In 1995, he started his own group at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (Germany) where he worked for 9 years and then moved to the newly created Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas in Madrid. He is currently an ICREA Research Professor at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, where he leads a multidisciplinary team with expertise in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology techniques as well as in genetically modified mice and preclinical cancer models. He was elected EMBO member in 2003 and has obtained ERC Advanced and Proof of Concept grants.

Research interests

We investigate cell regulation mechanisms, especially regarding how cells interpret different signals to elaborate the appropriate responses. Our work focuses on signal integration by p38 MAPKs and their role in tumorigenesis. We use a combination of biochemical approaches and studies in cancer cell lines to investigate how this signaling pathway contributes to tumor cell homeostasis. We also use genetically modified mice, which allow the modulation of p38 MAPK signaling in a regulated and tissue-specific manner. Our aim is to elucidate physiological functions of p38 MAPK signaling and its role in the initiation and progression of breast, lung and colorectal tumors. We are very interested in the identification of therapeutic opportunities based on the modulation of p38 MAPK activity using chemical compounds. Moreover, we study the regulation and functions of the RINGO proteins, a family of atypical activators of the cell cycle kinases Cdk1 and Cdk2.