Ibone Rubio Sánchez-Pajares, PhD

My passion for science began in high school, inspired by a biology teacher who shared weekly updates on scientific breakthroughs. His enthusiasm sparked my curiosity and led me to pursue a degree in Biochemistry at the University of Navarra.

For my final project, I had the opportunity to work on breast cancer at The John van Geest Cancer Research Centre in Nottingham, where I discovered my passion for research. This experience opened the door to my PhD at Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in Naples, where I investigated the role of the cytokine Midkine in mediating resistance to anticancer therapies in melanoma.

During my PhD, I realized the growing importance of bioinformatics in analyzing the vast amount of data generated in biomedical research. Upon returning to Spain, I decided to specialize in this field by enrolling in a Master’s in Bioinformatics at VIU. In parallel, I joined the ThEVrapies group at the Autonomous University of Madrid as a postdoctoral researcher, where I applied the computational skills gained during my master’s to study extracellular vesicle (EV)-based therapies derived from mesenchymal and plant cells for treating atherosclerosis. One of my key contributions was developing a bioinformatics pipeline for large-scale proteomic data analysis.

In 2025, I joined MDAlab as a postdoc, investigating the genetic causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) through multi-omics approaches (NGS, transcriptomics, metagenomics). My research focuses on hypomorphic variants in the sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene and their role in carbohydrate malabsorption and IBS symptoms. By uncovering the genetic and molecular mechanisms of carbohydrate digestion, we aim to enhance dietary interventions and personalised treatments for IBS patients.

In my leisure time, I love to read, go to the cinema, do aerial tissue training or just enjoy time with my friends and family.