Félix A. Urra, PhD
Principal Investigator
I am an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, and Principal Investigator of the Metabolic Plasticity and Bioenergetics Lab (MPB Lab), founded in 2019. I trained as a Pharmaceutical Chemist, earned a PhD in Pharmacology, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Chile. I currently serve as Director of the Master’s Program in Pharmacology and as a member of the Biological Diversity Committee of the Vice-Rector’s Office for Research and Development. I am also Director of the Chilean team of Snake Venom Research and Drug Discovery, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Chilean Bulletin of Herpetology, and Director of the Herpetological Collection Prof. Madeleine Lamborot.
My research explores mitochondrial bioenergetics, cancer metabolic plasticity, and the discovery of bioactive compounds with mitochondrial activity. This work has evolved into complementary research lines in translational mitochondrial pharmacology, oncovenomics, and museomics. Our lab combines real-time metabolic profiling, RNA-seq, metabolomics, imaging, and advanced phenotyping approaches. We have also established an advanced automated platform for metabolic flux analysis, integrating XFe96, Cytation5, and BioSpa8, together with real-time migration and proliferation analysis based on electrical impedance.
I have authored more than 50 ISI-indexed publications and book chapters, and have led or participated in 24 national and international research projects. My work has been recognized with distinctions, including the Young Researcher Banco Santander Fellowship (2019), selection as one of Chile’s 100 Young Leaders by Sábado magazine (2023), and admission to the Frontier Science Program 2025–2027 of the Chilean Academy of Sciences (2025).
Pedro Lobos
Postdoctoral Researcher
Ph.D. in Pharmacology, University of Chile. Working on calcium-dependent mitochondrial bioenergetics and microglial reactivity induced by chemotherapeutics.
Diego Mendez
PhD Student
PhD student in Biomedical Sciences, University of Talca. Studying the role of mitochondrial bioenergetics on platelet activation.
Jessica Astorga
PhD Student
PhD student in Biomedical Sciences, University of Chile (Joint Doctoral Program with University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands). Working on the role cholesterol and mitochondrial bioenergetics in activation of the inflammasome in IBD.
Yarela Herrera
PhD Student
PhD student in Biomedical Sciences, University of Chile. Working on transcriptomics of venom gland of rear-fanged snakes and molecular mechanism of action of toxins.
Ignacio Contreras
PhD Student
PhD student in Biomedical Sciences, University of Chile. Studying the role of metabolic adaptations driven by electron transport chain inhibition and genetic mutations.
José-Manuel Araya
PhD Student
PhD student in Biological and Medical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Working on the identification of new small molecules modulating the GPCR/mitochondrial bioenergetics axis in breast cancer
Alex Proleón
PhD Student
PhD student in Biological Sciences at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, focused on the design of snake toxin-derived peptides for applications in oncovenomics.
Rodrigo Vidal
Master Student
Master’s student in Pharmacology, University of Chile. Working on the development of pharmaceutical formulations with potential clinical applications for human use.
Tamara Sáez
Master Student
Master in Pharmacology, University of Chile. Studying the effects of soluble factors derived from older women on breast cancer bioenergetics.
Bruno Miranda-Calle
Master Student
M. Sc. student in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, University Mayor of San Andrés. Working on Niche Modelling of three snake species of medical importance in Chile.
Jorge A. Roque
Master Student
Master’s student in Molecular Biology, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, focused on the production and functional characterization of recombinant snake venom metalloproteinase-derived proteins with potential applications in oncovenomics.
Catalina Carrasco
Undergraduate Student
Studying the effect of chemotherapeutics on mitochondrial bioenergetics of breast cancer cells
Javiera Urra
Undergraduate Student
Medical Technologist from University of Chile, studying the new metabolic inhibitors on mitochondrial morphology.
Juan Pablo Salazar
Undergraduate Student
Medical student, University of Chile. Focused on mitochondrial metabolism in cancer cell migration.
José M. González
Undergraduate Student
Medical student, University of Chile, focused on the mechanisms of action of FDA-approved drugs targeting mitochondrial function.
Maria Ignacia Velázquez
Undergraduate Student
Medical student, University of Chile. Focused on FDA-approved drugs and mitochondrial pharmacology in cancer.
Yonathan Gómez
Undergraduate Student
Medical student, University of Chile. Focused on FDA-approved drugs and mitochondrial pharmacology in cancer.
Domingo Orellana
Undergraduate Student
Medical student, University of Chile. Focused on FDA-approved drugs and mitochondrial pharmacology in cancer.
Matias Santander
Undergraduate Student
Medical Technologist, University of Chile. Studying novel inhibitors of the mitochondrial electron transport chain in breast cancer cells.
Antonia Castillo
Undergraduate Student
Biochemistry student, University of Chile. Focused on methodologies for analyzing breast cancer cell metabolism using XF/Cytation5 technology.
Benjamín Pizarro
Undergraduate Student
Biochemistry student, University of Chile. Focused on methodologies for analyzing breast cancer cell metabolism using XF/Cytation5 technology.
Nicolás Riquelme
Master Student
Master’s student in Biochemistry at the University of Chile, working on real-time cellular phenotyping using electrical impedance and XF/Cytation5 technology integration.
Ricardo Acevedo
Undergraduate Student
Biology Education student at UMCE, working on the osteological characterization of the venom delivery system in Chilean snakes.
Patricia Tapia
Undergraduate Student
Biotechnology Engineering student, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, working on calcium-dependent metabolic adaptations induced by chemotherapeutic agents.
Cristopher Almarza
Research Assistant
Research assistant. Biotechnologist with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology, supporting research activities and helping keep the lab running smoothly behind the scenes.
Visiting International Students
PhD students: Gabriela Amado (UNMSM - Peru, 2025), Jorge Petro (Universidad de Antioquia - Colombia, 2023), Daniela Sasovsky (Universidad Nacional del Nordeste - Argentina, 2023). Master students: Paulina Arboleda (Universidad de Antioquia - Colombia, 2025), Raul Rivas (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos - Peru, 2025), Alex Proleón (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos - Peru, 2022), Daniel Torrejón (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos - Peru, 2022), Bruno Miranda (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Andrés - Bolivia, 2022). Undergraduate students: Carlos Paneque (Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, Spain, 2024).
Lab Alumni
PhD students: Yarcely Rodriguez-Lucart (2022-2025), Héctor Montecino Garrido (2020-2023).
Master students: Gonzalo Ramirez-Negrete (2024-2025), Ana Belén Tenorio (2021-2023), Charlotte Palominos (2019-2022).
Undergraduate students: Gabriela Duran (2023-2024), Ignacio Contreras (2023-2024), Catalina Cerda (2023-2024), Francisca Chihuan (2023-2024), Victor Andrades (2022-2023), Fernanda Soriano (2023), Lilian López (2023), Francisco Llancamán (2023), Paulina Venturelli (2020), Pablo Correa (2019-2022), Nicole Cousinard (2020-2022), Mathias Mellado (2019).