María Luz Martínez-Chantar

Dr Martínez-Chantar (CIC bioGUNE) has been investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of NAFLD and its progression to cirrhosis and liver cancer for the last 20 years. Her laboratory has demonstrated the importance of the metabolism of methionine during liver disease. Remarkably, she has opened a completely new research area in the field of Liver Pathology combining post-translational modifications (Ubiquitin-like) and metabolism. She has published more than 100 articles in prestigious journals among them, Nature, Nature Communication, Cell Metabolism, Gastroeneterology, Hepatology etc in the last 10 years. Additionally, she has maintained a closed collaboration with the company OWL Metabolomics in the development of OWLiver® Care and OWLiver®, two non-invasive assays for fatty liver screening and for NASH diagnosis, as well as with Millennium Pharmaceuticals for the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of cirrhosis-NAFLD dependent and Liver Cancer. Furthermore, since 2006 her group is part of CIBEREHD, a Networked Biomedical Research Center for Hepatic and Digestive Diseases of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and she has been recently appointed (2015) a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the pharmaceutical company Mithotherapeutix, devoted to studies on mitochondria dysfunction, metabolism and liver disease where she has developed two compounds actually one of them in Phase I Clinical Trial. Finally, she is part of the select multinational group "Women in Hepatology" composed only of women, experts in the field of Hepatology, with representatives from Europe and USA.