Manuel Collado is aCNB-CSICinvestigator temporarily established at CiMUS, the Molecular Medicine and Chronic Disease Research Center of USC, and also part of the Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS). He leads the Cell Senescence, Cancer and Aging Laboratory since 2012.
Manuel obtained his PhD at UAM in Madrid in 1997 for work done at CNB-CSIC and was a postdoctoral student, first at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in London, UK, and later at NYU Medical School and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA. He returned to Madrid, Spain, in 2001 to join Manuel Serrano´s group at CNB. The laboratory moved in 2003 to the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), where he worked for almost 9 years as staff scientist.
During his career, he has published close to 80 papers, several of them in high impact journal such as Nature (3 articles), Cell, Cancer Cell, Cell Stem Cell, PNAS, EMBO J, Genes & Development, Nature Communications, Aging Cell, Cancer Research, etc. He is also the author of some the most cited reviews in his field published in Nature Reviews Cancer (2 reviews) and Cell (3 reviews).
Along the years, his scientific work has been mainly focused on cancer and in particular tumor suppression mechanisms, working primarily on cell senescence. On this subject he has published more than 30 articles, among them the first in vivo description of oncogene-induced senescence in Nature (more than 1000 citations) or the identification of programmed cell senescence during embryo development, and more recently the description of a new family of senolytic compounds, the Cardiac Glycosides (Nature Communications).
Sabela obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Vigo in 2012. In 2013, she completed a Master’s degree in Biomedical Research. She then joined the Stem Cells in Cancer and Aging Laboratory as a PhD student, obtaining her PhD with research focused on cellular senescence and its role in physiological and pathological processes. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow, supported by a Juan de la Cierva fellowship.
Migue obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry in 2021 from the University of Granada. In 2022, he completed his Master’s degree in Molecular Biomedicine at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, while participating in a CSIC JAE Intro scholarship at the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO). That year, he joined the Laboratory of Cellular Senescence, Cancer and Aging at the Clinical University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela to begin his PhD, supported by a Xunta de Galicia fellowship. His research is focused on the discovery of new compounds with senolytic activity. He has recently been awarded a prestigious FPU fellowship.
Biotechnologist graduated in 2022 at the University of Santiago de Compostela. In that year, he joined our Laboratory of Cell Senescence, Cancer, and Aging. In 2023, he got a Master's degree in Biomedical Research at the same university. Currently, he continues his research as a PhD student, focusing on exploring the relationship between apoptosis and senescence, unraveling their implications in both physiological and pathological processes. Alex got a PhD fellowship from AECC, the Spanish Cancer Research Association, a non-profit organization supporting cancer research in Spain.
Raquel obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2023. She then completed a Master’s degree in Genetics and Genomics at the same university in 2024, after which she decided to stay in our laboratory to pursue her PhD, supported by a Xunta de Galicia fellowship. Her research focuses on the effects of factors secreted by OSKM-expressing cells on senescent cells.
Álex Miralles obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Vigo in 2023. He then completed a Master’s degree in Genetics and Genomics, carrying out his Master’s Thesis in our Cellular Senescence, Cancer and Aging laboratory. After that, he joined the laboratory as a PhD student. His research focuses on the reversibility of therapy-induced senescence and on identifying biomarkers that predict resistance to these therapies, supported by an FPU fellowship.
Lucía obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2023, completing her Bachelor’s Thesis in our Cellular Senescence, Cancer and Aging laboratory. She then moved to Heidelberg, Germany, to pursue a Master’s degree in Translational Medical Research, carrying out her Master’s Thesis at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). In September 2025, she returned to our laboratory to start her PhD, supported by a Xunta de Galicia fellowship. Her research focuses on partial reprogramming and its role in aging and cancer.
Irimia obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology in 2024 from the University of Santiago de Compostela, where she also completed her Bachelor’s Thesis in our Cellular Senescence, Cancer and Aging laboratory. She then completed a Master’s degree in Genetics and Genomics at the same university, carrying out her Master’s Thesis in our laboratory as well. In October 2025, she joined the laboratory as a PhD student, supported by an FPU fellowship. Her research focuses on the role of the cell cycle regulators p21 and p16 in therapy-induced senescence, aiming to improve cancer treatment strategies.
