Dra.  GONZALEZ SEPULVEDA, MARTA

A.1. Current position

A.2. Education

A.3. General indicators of quality of scientific production

231 total citations by 217 documents, with a mean of 24.4 citations / year.  H index equal to 6. Source: Scopus, 2020

 Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID): 0000-0002-5627-847X

Part B. CV SUMMARY

Last years she works as a post-doctoral researcher in the neurosciences field. She started her scientific career in the Biochemical Psychopharmacology research group (UAB) studying drug addiction, specially how cocaine intake can alter the expression of the H3 receptor and how the modulation of the histamine H3 receptor can influence the cocaine self-administration behavior in rats. Then, she moved to the research group of Neurobiology of Behavior (UPF) and focused her studies in the the pain-depression dyad and how chronic neuropathic pain-induced mood disorders can lead to an increased alcohol intake in mice. Currently, she belongs to the Neurodegenerative Diseases research group (VHIR) and investigates the involvement of neuromelanin in the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons during Parkinson’s disease. She developed and validated a UPLC-MS/MS method to monitor possible alterations in neurotransmitter and o-quinone levels that can be applied to in vitro and in vivo experimental models of neurological disorders and human brain samples. In fact this methodology is currently applied to the the research project: “Modulation of age-dependent neuromelanin accumulation as a novel therapeutic strategy for Parkinson’s disease and brain aging”

Part C. RELEVANT MERITS

 C.1. Publications

1. Gonzalez-Sepulveda, M., Laguna A., Carballo-Carbajal I., … , Vila M (1/14); Validation of a reversed phase UPLC- MS/MS method to determine dopamine metabolites and oxidation intermediates in neuronal differentiated SH-SY5Y cells and brain tissue. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2020;11(17):2679-2687.
2. Carballo-Carbajal I*, Laguna A*, …, Gonzalez-Sepulveda M, …, Vila M (8/16) Brain tyrosinase overexpression implicates age-dependent neuromelanin production in Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis. Nature Communications 2019, 10 (1), 973).
3. Marcos J, Renau N, Valverde O., ..., González-Sepúlveda, M., … , Pozo OJ. (6/10) Targeting Tryptophan and Tyrosine Metabolism by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography A 2016 1434:91-101
4. Marta González-Sepúlveda, Oscar J Pozo, Josep Marcos, Olga Valverde. Chronic pain causes a persistent anxiety state leading to increased ethanol intake in CD1 mice. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2016, 30(2):188-203.
5. Gonzalez-Sepulveda, M., Rosell S, Hoffmann H M, ..., Ortiz J. (1/10) Cellular distribution of the Histamine H3 receptor in the basal ganglia: functional modulation of dopamine and glutamate neurotransmission. Basal Ganglia 2012, 3(2) 109-121.
6. Moreno, E., Hoffmann, H., Gonzalez-Sepulveda, M., ..., Franco R (3/15) Dopamine D1-histamine H3 receptor heteromers provide a selective link to MAPK signaling in GABAergic neurons of the direct striatal pathway. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2011 286(7), 5846-5854.

C.2. Teaching experience

From 2016                          Accredited as “Profesor ayudante doctor” by ANECA

From 2015                          Lecturer in the intercollegiate Bachelor’s (Degree) Programme in Physiotherapy, University of Girona and Escuela Universitaria de la Salud y el Deporte (EUSES). Activity involving 60 theoretical teaching hours per year.

From 2011 to 2014         Associate professor in the Law and Experimental and Health Sciences departments of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Activity involving between 90 and 150 theoretical and practical teaching hours per year.

From 2005 to 2011         Trainee researcher in the Biochemical Psychopharmacology research group of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, managed by Jordi Ortiz de Pablo. Activity involving 40 practical teaching hours per year

The teaching includes the following subjects:

• Coordination of the subject Biochemistry of the first year of the degree in Physiotherapy of the University of Girona and EUSES
• Coordination of the subjects: Addictive behaviors and crime and Drug addiction of the third and fourth year of the degree in Degree in Criminology and Public Prevention Policies of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
• Direction of final degree projects of the students of the “Biología y Psicología Criminal” itinerary of the degree in Degree in Criminology and Public Prevention Policies of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
• Participation in the subject Neurobiology of the degree in Human Biology and Psychology of the degree in Medicine of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
• Participation in the subject Progress in Neuroscience of the master in Biomedical Investigation of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
• Participation in the practical classes of the subjects Biomolecule Metabolism and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the degree in Medicine of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

C.3. Research projects

1. Characterization of a novel neuromelanin-producing transgenic mouse model: relevance to Parkinson’s disease and brain aging. Principal Investigator: Miquel Vila Agency: Michael J. Fox Foundation (USA) Funding: $200,000 Period: 2020-21
2. Modulation of age-dependent neuromelanin accumulation as a novel therapeutic strategy for Parkinson’s disease and brain aging. Principal Investigator: Miquel Vila. Agency: “la Caixa” Banking Foundation-Health Research 2017 (Spain) Funding: 466,004 € Period: 2019-21
3. Pathogenic Role of Neuromelanin in Parkinson’s disease and Brain Aging: Molecular Mechanisms in a Novel Humanized Pre-clinical in Vivo Model. PI: Miquel Vila. Agency: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (USA). Funding: $98,450
   Period: 2018-19
4. Identification of pathophysiological biomarkers in the prodromal/preclinical phase of Parkinson’s disease. Principal Investigator: Miquel Vila Agency: Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED, Spain) Funding: 280,000 € (Vila group: 70,000 €) Period: 2017-18
5. Motivation for change during the process of drug of abuse withdrawal. Clinic research Project number 2014/5629/I. PI: Marta González Sepúlveda.
6. Red de Trastornos Adictivos (RETICS) (RD12/0028/0024) (2013-2016). Project financed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativas del Instituto de Salud Carlos III). PI: Olga Valverde Granados.
7. ModelTox (Integrated models for predictive human safety assessment) (FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1) Project financed by the European Union. PI: Ferran Sanz Carreras.
8. Drug search for cocaine addiction treatment (SAF2009-12510) (2009-2012). Project financed by the Ministry of Education and Science. PI: Jordi Ortiz de Pablo.