Team

Félix A. Urra, PhD

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 (founded in 2019), 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 and exploring synthetic compounds or toxins from snake and amphibian´s secretions. For this, we evaluate cellular metabolism in real-time using XFe96 technology, RNA-seq analysis, metabolomics, and microscopy-based methods.

With over 50 ISI scientific publications and book chapters, I have led and participated in national (17) and international (7) projects. Our scientific work has been recognized multiple times, including receiving the Young Researcher Banco Santander Fellowship (2019) and being named one of the 100 Young Leaders in Chile by Sábado Magazine (2023).

Sebastián Fuentes-Retamal

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

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

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

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

Diego Mendez

PhD student

PhD student in Biomedical Sciences, University of Talca. Studying the role of mitochondrial bioenergetics on platelet activation.

Jessica Astorga

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

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

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

Catalina Cerda

Undergraduate student

Studying the role of cytoskeleton-associated proteins on mitochondrial metabolism in migrating breast cancer cells

Ignacio Contreras

Ignacio Contreras

Undergraduate student

Studying the effect of FDA-approved metabolic drugs on mitochondrial bioenergetics and migration of breast cancer cells

Francisca Chihuan

Francisca Chihuan

Undergraduate student

Studying the effect of chemotherapeutics on mitochondrial morphology and bioenergetics of breast cancer cells

Francisco Guajardo

Francisco Guajardo

Undergraduate student

Working on effects of chemotherapeutics on mitochondrial bioenergetics in breast cancer cells.

Gabriela Durán

Gabriela Durán

Undergraduate student

Studying the role of cytoskeleton-associated proteins on inflammasome activation and mitochondrial metabolism in intestinal cells

Sofia Burgos

Sofia Burgos

Undergraduate student

Medical student from University of Chile, studying the anticancer effect of new metabolic inhibitors.

Juan Pablo Salazar

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), Daniela Sasovsky (Universidad Nacional del Nordeste - Argentina). 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

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).