Maria Jimenez Ramos

Thesis title: An integrated computational-experimental approach to identify and optimize combination drug therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Biography

Background

I did my BSc in Basic and Experimental Biomedicine in the University of Seville. During my undergraduate years, I partook a two-year internship where I participated in a project that addressed the research of a new treatment for Crohn's disease.  Eventually, for my BSc thesis, I started a new project with them that involved the study of this same treatment in the Immune System, this time, for both Intestinal Bowel Diseases (Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis).

After I graduated in 2015, I participated in an ERASMUS-funded internship in the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, in the University of Birmingham. In there, I spent two months working in a project regarding the role of vitamin D in the maintenance of alpha-cell function and glucagon secretion.

During my undergraduate years, I realised that I wanted my career to be focused in the investigation of diseases and their potential treatments. For this reason, I decided to do the MSc Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, that would allow me a better understanding of drug targeting and bioinformatics. 

I have started a PhD on the MRC Precision Medicine CDT Programme with the University of Edinburgh. My research involves a computational-experimental approach to look for several combinations of targets and drugs for NAFLD. These would be identified and tested in silico and then followed by biological assays.

Qualifications

  • 2015-2019: BSc Basic and Experimental Biomedicine, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain.
  • 2019-2020: MSc Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, De Montfort University, UK.
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