Félix A. Urra, PhD
Principal Investigator
I studied Pharmaceutical Chemistry, working as an undergraduate in the lab of Dr. Jorge Ferreira in mitochondrial bioenergetics. I then obtained a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and hold a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Chile. Currently, I am Assistant Professor at Faculty of Medicine (University of Chile), Principal Investigator of MPB Lab, Director of Chilean team of Snake Venom Research and Drug Discovery, and Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Chilean Bulletin of Herpetology.
My research has been focused on studying the role of calcium and non-essential amino acids in the rewiring of mitochondrial bioenergetics during the proliferation and migration of cancer cells. Moreover, I am interested in identifying new bioactive compounds with mitochondrial action, exploring synthetic compounds or toxins from snake and amphibian´s secretions. For this, we evaluate the cellular metabolism in real-time using XFe96 technology, RNA-seq analysis, metabolomics, and microscopy-based methods.
Sebastián Fuentes-Retamal
Postdoctoral fellow
Ph.D. in Pharmacology, University of Chile. Working on the role of alpha-KGDH in triple-negative breast cancer cell migration.
Karen Dubois-Camacho
Postdoctoral fellow
PhD in Biomedical Sciences, University of Chile. Working on the targeting of mitochondrial bioenergetics to alleviate inflammation in colitis-associated macrophages
Juan Pablo Millas Vargas
PhD student
Chemist, PhD student in Sciences Of Bioactive Products, University of Talca. Working on synthesis of bioactive mitochondria-targeted compounds as antiplatelet and anticancer agents.
Yarcely Rodriguez
PhD student
PhD student in Sciences of Bioactive Products, University of Talca, studying new small molecules as Complex I inhibitors with migrastatic effects in breast cancer cells.
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. 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.
Gonzalo Ramirez
Master student
Master student in Biochemistry, University of Chile. Studying the effect of alpha-ketoglutarate/succinate signaling in breast cancer cells
Catalina Cerda
Undergraduate student
Studying the role of cytoskeleton-associated proteins on mitochondrial metabolism in migrating breast cancer cells
Ignacio Contreras
Undergraduate student
Studying the effect of FDA-approved metabolic drugs on mitochondrial bioenergetics and migration of breast cancer cells
Francisca Chihuan
Undergraduate student
Studying the effect of chemotherapeutics on mitochondrial morphology and bioenergetics of breast cancer cells
Francisco Guajardo
Undergraduate student
Working on effects of chemotherapeutics on mitochondrial bioenergetics in breast cancer cells.
Victor Andrades
Undergraduate student
Studying the effect of quinones on mitochondrial morphology and bioenergetics of breast cancer cells
Sofia Burgos
Undergraduate student
Medical student from University of Chile, studying the anticancer effect of new metabolic inhibitors.
Juan Pablo Salazar
Undergraduate student
Medical student, University of Chile. Focused on mitochondrial metabolism in cancer cell migration.
Visiting International Students
PhD students: Jorge Petro (Universidad de Antioquia - Colombia), Master students: Alex Proleón (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos - Peru), Daniel Torrejón (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos - Peru), Bruno Miranda (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Andrés - Bolivia)
Lab Alumni
PhD students: Héctor Montecino Garrido (2020-2023).
Master students: Ana Belén Tenorio (2021-2023), Charlotte Palominos (2019-2022).
Undergraduate students: 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).