Department: Morfología y Biología Celular

Area: Cell Biology

Research group: BIOLOGIA REDOX

Email: sainzrosa@uniovi.es

Doctor by the Universidad de Oviedo with the thesis Mecanismos de acción de la melatonina como agente modulador en los procesos de muerte celular 1998. Supervised by Dr. Carmen Rodríguez Sánchez.

Dr. Sainz graduated and obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Oviedo in 1998. In 1999, she spent six months at the University of Texas supported by a scholarship from the Health Ministry of the Spanish Government (BEFI Program FIS ISCIII). During her Ph.D. thesis, she studied the anti-apoptotic properties of the neuroindole melatonin in the thymus and passed "Cum Laude" and was Awarded Special Distinction. In 2001, Dr. Sainz joined the Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, USA, supported by a Fullbright-MEC scholarship under the leadership of Dr. Russel J Reiter. Her postdoctoral research project focused on the role of redox signaling in cancer cell survival and their resistance to conventional treatments. In 2015, she was awarded a research contract from Ramon y Cajal Programme and returned to the University of Oviedo as an independent investigator. Since 2010, she has been an Associate Professor of Cellular Biology and leader of the Redox Biology Group. So far, her research has aimed to discover the role of redox control in tumor progression and the mechanism of survival of tumor cells under oxygen and nutrient restrictions. In addition, her group has described the relevant role of mitochondrial antioxidant enzymes in the advanced stages of different types of tumors. Dr. Sainz lectures at the graduate and postgraduate level at the University of Oviedo. Her investigation has been funded by several grants of the National Plan of Research (FISISCIII y MINECO), the Regional Plan of Research, and H2020 (ERA-HDLD). Moreover, she actively collaborates with national and international committees and journal editorial boards. Dr. Sainz is a member of numerous scientific societies and belongs to the Spanish Society for Cell Biology (SEBC) Council. She has published 109 peer-reviewed articles, cited more than 16000 times, and has a Hirsch index of h=56 (Google Scholar). She co-founded the biotechnology company BIOQUOCHEM S.L., where she continues as an advisory board member. Dr. Sainz is, at present, the Director of The University Institute of Oncology of Asturias.