In 2001, I obtained my PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Navarra on genetics of lymphoid neoplasms under the supervision of Prof. Maria J Calasanz and co-supervision of Prof. Reiner Siebert from the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel. After that, I continued my studies on lymphoma genetics as postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Siebert. In 2005, I became interested in the field of epigenomics and in 2009 I came back to Spain. After a short stay at the IDIBELL, I went to the UB/IDIBAPS to start my career as independent researcher embedded in the group of Prof. Elias Campo. In 2016, I was appointed Junior Leader of the Biomedical Epigenomics group at the IDIBAPS and from November 2018 I am ICREA Research Professor at the IDIBAPS. I also have an appointment as associate professor at the UB. Our group is interested in the role of epigenetics in the origin, evolution and clinical manifestations of lymphoid tumors.
Research interests
Understanding the molecular mechamisms underlying cancer initiation and evolution is an academically extiting question and has important translational implications for affected patients. In this global context, our group uses epigenomics to study the causes and consequences of corrupted transcriptional programs in a variety of lymphoid tumors. In the last years, we have performed detailed multi-omics characterization of normal and neoplastic B cells. In the next phase of our research program, we are mostly focusing on i) the role of enhancers and transcription factors as major modulators of the transcriptional landscape, ii) describing the cellular architecture of normal B cell differentiation and in the evolution of B cell tumors using single cell technologies, and iii) translating epigenomic information to better diagnose B cell tumors according to their biological basis and clinical risk as well as to generate novel therapeutic targets.
Selected publications
- Gabbutt C, Duran-Ferrer M, Grant HE .... Martin-Subero JI*, Graham TA* (*shared senior and corresponding authors). 2025, 'Fluctuating DNA methylation tracks cancer evolution at clinical scale', Nature 645, 764–773.
- Pérez RF, Lecumberri-Arteta J, Kulis M.... Rodas G, Martin-Subero JI, 2025, 'Epigenetic signatures, age acceleration, and injury risk in elite female and male soccer players', Sci Rep 15, 41826
- Kittai AS .... Martin-Subero JI .... Ghia P. 2025, 'International consensus statement on diagnosis, evaluation, and research of Richter transformation: the ERIC recommendations', Blood, 146 - 3 - 291 - 303.
Selected research activities
- Selected invited talks: 8th Translational Research Conference: Lymphoid Malignancies (Estoril, Portugal), XXI International Workshop on CLL (Krakow, Poland), CRC1530 Symposium (Cologne, Germany), Seminar Series Gustave Roussy (Paris, France), III Severo Ochoa Conference: Epigenetics, Aging and Cancer (Gijon, Spain), 20th ASEICA International Congress (Bilbao, Spain),
- Course director of the Translational Research Training in Hematology program of the American and European Associations of Hematology (2025).
- Co-coordinator of the Lymphoid Neoplasms Research Program and of the Cancer Area of the IDIBAPS.
- Member of CIBERONC.
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Lymph&Co Foundation (Amsterdam) and INSERM U12366 Unit (MOBIDIC, Rennes).