IACS
INSTITUTO ARAGONES DE CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD ( IACS ), Zaragoza, Spain
IACS (Institute for Health Sciences in Aragon) is the entity that promotes research, innovation and knowledge brokering in biomedicine and health sciences for the Aragon Regional Health System. IACS carries out its activity with the expectation of contributing to high quality care in the public health system, supporting innovation, research of excellence and benchmark training, as well as supporting the creation of wealth and economic growth.
Regarding Research and Innovation, IACS supports stable research and innovation groups in the areas of clinical and translational medical research, biomedicine, public health, health systems and policy research. In addition IACS provides with scientific technical services in the area of Biocomputing, Proteomics, Genomics and functional sequencing, Biobank, Microscopy and Pathology, Cell Culture, Citometrics, Experimental Surgery, Phenotyping and medical imaging as well as Animal Facilities .
The IACS Biocomputing Unit combines two major activities and services: medical informatics and bioinformatics. The combination of these two areas make the Unit an innovative group highly skilled in the management, integration and analysis of multi-faceted health related data, both in terms of e-infrastructure and software solutions.
IACS’s Biobank is a network structure created to support biomedical research and accelerate translational one. Its main objective is to make human biological samples and associated clinical data available to researchers and companies, with all the ethical, legal and quality guarantees. Through collaboration with different Regional health centers, the Biobank articulates the progressive incorporation of collections of samples representative of different pathologies and of the general population, the association of data with scientific interest, and the transfer of said samples to carry out certain projects.
Team
Fátima Méndez López de la Manzanara
Fátima Méndez López de la Manzanara graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Zaragoza and received her master’s degree in Introduction to Medical Research from the University of Zaragoza. Currently, she is a predoctoral researcher at the Institute de Investigación Sanitaria (IIS Aragón) and a Ph.D. student in Medicine (University of Zaragoza)
Research info
ORCID: 0000-0002-6409-9041
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fatima-Mendez-Lopez
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Juan Gonzalez-Garcia
Juan Gonzalez-Garcia, PhD, is the manager of the Biocomputing Unit at IACs, Zaragoza, Aragón. His background includes health informatics, parallel and distributed computing and machine learning.
Research info
ORCID: 0000-0003-3109-5586
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Marimar Encabo Berzosa
Marimar Encabo obtained a double degree in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Salamanca, pursued a Master’s Degree in Physiopathology and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and obtained her PhD at the University of Zaragoza (2017).
Research info
ORCID: 0000-0002-6409-9041
ResearchGate: Scopus Author ID: 57190000634
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Rosa Magallón
Rosa Magallón is a Family and Community Medicine Physician. She is a Full Professor of Medicine at the University of Zaragoza, where she teaches the subjects of Family Medicine and Assistance Communication. She is the Principal Investigator of the Research Group in Primary Health Care at the “Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón” (IISA)
Research info
ORCID: 0000-0002-3006-5353
ResearchGate: Scopus autor ID: 6506118104
Loop profile: 284370
Mark Strunk
Head of the functional genomics facility of the Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud (IACS) (2005-2019). With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic he was appointed head of a laboratory to support diagnostics in the Aragonese health system. He has worked in the field of genomics, developing research projects and both protein and DNA diagnostic tools.
Research info
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Jon Schoorlemmer
Jon Schoorlemmer, PhD, is the IP of the “ERV (Endogenous Retroviral Elements) in development and disease” group at IACS, Zaragoza, Spain. His scientific background encompasses stem cell biology; regulation of gene expression; regulation and function of Endogenous Retroviral Elements in human pathologies; and placental pathophysiology.
Research info
ORCID: 0000-0001-6933-0567
ResearchGate: researchgate.net/profile/Jon-Schoorlemmer
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Andrea Bazo Ochoa
Andrea Bazo Ochoa earned her degree in Biochemistry from the University of Navarra, Spain in 2017, followed by a Master’s in Biomedical Research with a specialization in Regenerative Medicine and Advanced Therapies in 2018. She completed her PhD in Biomedicine and Applied Medicine at the University of Navarra in 2023, focusing on the development of gene therapy vectors. Following her PhD, Andrea worked as a postdoctoral researcher, generating and studying transgenic models of multiple myeloma and exploring potential therapeutic targets at the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) in Pamplona. Since April 2024, she is involved as a postdoctoral researcher in the HERVCOV Project
Ana Medel Martínez
Ana Medel Martínez holds a degree in Biology and a Master’s in Signaling Pathways and Molecular Targets. She is currently pursuing her PhD, focusing on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on placental biology. Within the HERVCOV Project, her research explores how SARS-CoV-2 viral infection may influence the expression and activity of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in the placenta, and their potential role in COVID-19-associated pregnancy complications.
Research info
Jesus Ibáñez-Ruiz
Jesus Ibáñez-Ruiz holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a master’s in Artificial Intelligence, Pattern Recognition, and Digital Imaging. He is currently a senior research support specialist at the Biocomputation Unit of the Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), where he focuses on data analysis and system administration. He contributes to European projects like HERVCOV by managing infrastructure for healthcare data analysis and supporting decision-making in the local healthcare system. Previously, he built a strong career as a full-stack developer, leading teams and developing scalable software solutions for complex projects.
María Luz Torres
María Luz Torres earned her degree in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, as well as her PhD in Exact Sciences, from the University of La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She later worked as a Data Manager in clinical trials focused on cancer therapies. Currently, she is the Project Data Manager for the HERVCOV Project. Throughout her career, she has worked at the intersection of biomedical research and data-driven clinical practice, with a focus on tissue engineering, biomaterials, and evidence-based healthcare.
Research info
David Lerma Irureta
David Lerma Irureta is a medical doctor and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Medicine at the University of Zaragoza, under the supervision of Prof. Rosa Magallón, where he conducts research on Long COVID. His work focuses on the sociodemographic, clinical, and biological factors associated with persistent symptoms, as well as their impact on patients’ quality of life. He is a predoctoral researcher at the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón) and is an active collaborator of the HERCOV project.
Research info
Andrea Lorda Montuega
Andrea Lorda Montuenga is a Clinical Laboratory Technician with solid experience in biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. After completing her training at Academia Marco in 2016, she has worked in various laboratory settings, including the Aragonese Health Service, the Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences (IACS), and a genetic analysis laboratory, where she specialized in molecular biology, cytogenetics, and next-generation sequencing (NGS).
She also gained experience in assisted reproduction techniques during an internship at IVI RMA Global in 2023. Since January 2025, she has been working again at IACS as a research support technician, while currently pursuing a Pharmacy and Parapharmacy degree at Centro de FP Océano Atlántico.