I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry by the University of Valencia (UV), Spain, with the work “Study of the pteridines and quinolines from Drosophila melanogaster eyes”, which was carried out in both the Department of Genetics of the UV and the Biology Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (Tennessee, USA). I did my postdoctoral studies in the Department of Reproductive Genetics of the Magee Womens Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). I became Professor of Genetics in 2000, and served as Head of the Department of Genetics of the UV for 7 years. Since 1989, I had sabbatical leaves at the University of Hawaii and the Univ. of Tenessee (USA), and at Plant Genetic Systems (Belgium). I’m currently Director of the Research Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the UV (BIOTECMED). In 2016 I received, from the Consell Social of the Universitat de València, the “Award Research and Development” in the frame of the XXI Edition of Awards University-Society. I published more than 160 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals and have an h-index of 40. My current research interests are (i) to understand the biochemical and genetic bases of insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins, (ii) to study the mode of action of Bt toxins, and (iii) to find novel Bt strains and insecticidal protein genes for the development of Bt-based insecticides to control agricultural insect pests. In my free time, I am a dedicated birdwatcher and serve as President of the Societat Valenciana d’Ornitologia.

Baltasar Escriche is Professor of Genetics at the University of Valencia (Spain) and, currently, serve as Director of the Master in Research in Genetics, and Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Faculty of Biology. He studied Biology at U. of Valencia and completed his postdoctoral work at the University of Limburg (Belgium) funded with a European Union grant. He obtained a tenure track at the U. of Valencia funded with the prestigious “Ramon y Cajal” Spanish program in 2002. He has worked on different aspects of Bacillus thuringiensis toxins discovering, production and application from his Ph. D. in 1990 because its relevance as environmentally friendly pesticide. It is worthily to remark his studies on Cry proteins binding sites and insect resistance. New topics to be developed are related with non-conventional Bt proteins and the effects of Bt proteins on nematodes. He is especially interested in developing countries, in fact he was involved in a collaboration with several African research groups to control sweet potato pests funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Now, he is leading competitive research projects funded by Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the Europan Union.

After studying Biology (with focus on Biochemistry), I performed a PhD in molecular biology and genetics at Universitat de Valencia (Spain). My PhD and part of my postdoctoral research was focused on the mode of action of Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal toxins and how insects can become resistant to that bacteria and its main virulence factors, the Cry toxins. During my postdoctoral period at Wageningen RU (The Netherlands), I had the opportunity to perform certain research with baculovirus and become fascinated about insect viruses and the interplay with their host. Since then I have focus my research interest in understanding the mechanism underlining the insect interaction with its viral and bacterial pathogens, somehow specializing in insect virology and pathology.

In 2006 I obtained a tenure position, becoming in 2011 associate Professor at University of Valencia where I combine teaching at the Department of Genetics with research in insect-pathogen interaction in the CBP group at the ERI-Biotecmed. Research in my team deals with the insect-pathogen interaction in a broad sense. I’m interested in understanding how insects respond to pathogens, but also how other factors (other pathogens, different host plant, etc.) can influence in the interaction. I’m also interested in the discovery of novel insect viruses that could also influence in insect’s physiology and response to pathogens.

I finished my degree in Biochemistry at the University of Havana, Cuba in 1996. In the early stages of my career, I worked at the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Havana, Cuba, mainly developing transgenic plants expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins.

From 1998 to 2012, I worked at several Spanish institutions (Universitat de València, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias and Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas). I obtained my PhD (2004) and pursued in my post-doctoral investigations working in a throughout characterisation of the mechanisms of resistance to Bt toxins and studying the interaction of these toxins with their receptors. I also investigated the use of the Bt-based technology in combination with Biological Control Agents to control economically important pests in an IPM context.

In 2012, I moved to the United Kingdom to work at Rothamsted Research, as a Marie Curie fellow, to investigate the “Mode of action and selectivity of pyrethroids on economically important mites and ticks” and “the mechanisms of resistance to other chemicals like flumethrin, coumaphos and amitraz and develop sensitive monitoring assays for use in IPM”.

Currently (from 2021), I am based at the Institute BIOTECMED (Universitat de València, Spain) as Associated Professor. My scientific interest is focused mainly on the investigation of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of resistance to pesticides and in the elucidation of key determinants of their selectivity over non-target organisms.

I studied Biology (major in Biochemistry) and received my Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Valencia (UV) in 1991. The Ph.D., which dealt with biochemical genetics of pteridines in Drosophila melanogaster and in patients with atypical phenylketonuria, was carried out in both the Department of Genetics of the UV and the Biology Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (Tennessee, USA). I performed my postdoctoral research (1992-1993) in the Department of Genetics in Sandoz Pharma SAE, Basel, Switzerland, working on DNA adducts. After a contract at the University of Valencia (1993-1996), where I started working on the entomocidal bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), I completed a “Master in Industrial Wastewater Treatment”, and worked for six years in microbiology of water and food in the private industry. In 2003, I returned to the University of Valencia, where I am still working as a Research Associate in the CBP group at the ERI-biotecmed. My current research interests englobe the study of the binding of Bt toxins to the insect’s midguts, the study of their mode of action and the biochemical and genetic bases of the insect resistance. Furthermore, I’m also interested in the research on novel Bt strains and insecticidal protein genes for the development of Bt-based insecticides to control agricultural insect pests, as well as the study of response of the pest insects (at the gene level) to the bacterial and viral pathogens.

I carried out my pre-doctoral stay in the CBP group at Dept. of Genetics of the Universitat de València with a fellowship to investigate the distribution of Bacillus thuringiensis toxins and their interaction with receptors in pest insects. As a result, I obtained my PhD (best thesis award by the Univ. Valencia) in 2005. I was Associate Researcher in a long agreement between Bayer BioScience N.V. (Belgium) and the Univ. València during my pre- and post-doctoral period, studying the mode of action of toxins from B. thuringiensis. I have participated in several projects for the development of microbial bioinsecticides, one of them with a post-doctoral fellowship as a Principal Investigator of a project funded by the Generalitat Valenciana (2008). In 2011, I obtained an IEF-Marie Curie Fellowship to stay in the University of Bath (UK) for two years. During this time, I investigated the role of insects in the evolution of B. anthracis from B. cereus as head post-doc in Dr. Waterfield’s group. After this time, I joined again the Univ. Valencia to work as a Research Manager of the ERI BIOTECMED, a scientific network of 19 groups in the fields of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (2013-2016). Since 2016, I have been working with Dr. González-Cabrera in the study of resistance mechanisms to acaricides in Varroa destructor, a parasite of the honey bee. In 2021, I joined the Dept. of Microbiology and Ecology at the University of Valencia as Assistant Professor.

I studied Biology at the University of Valencia(UV), Spain (1998-2003). I started my Ph.D. studies at the Department of Genetics of the UV, and I got my Ph.D. in Biology in 2009. During these years, I studied the susceptibility and mechanisms of resistant of the insect pest Spodoptera exigua to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry proteins. After that, I had different contracts as a Research Associate at the same research group. The research was mainly focused on the study of the interactions between the gut epithelium and Cry proteins, the study of their mode of action, and the study of the insect response after exposure to Bt proteins. Currently, I am working with other group of insecticidal proteins (Vip proteins) to further characterize their mode of action not only on insect pests but also on insect derived cells.

I earned a master’s degree in plant biotechnology at the University degli Study of Milan (Italy) in 2006 and a PhD in Biotechnology at the Universitat de València in 2013. My PhD project was focused on the mode of action of Bt toxins in the maize pest Ostrinia nubilalis, and I spent a 4-month period at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville, USA) working in Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes’ lab. After finishing my PhD degree, I was hired on contract as post-doc associate at the Molecular Ecology Department of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (Jena, Germany), studying plant-insect interactions under the supervision of Ian Baldwin. I then moved to the Fondazione Edmund Mach (San Michele all’Adige, Italy) to carry out a second post-doc as IEF Marie Curie fellow to investigate the olfaction of the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii. A third postdoc was carried out at the Department of Biology and Biotechnology “L- Spallanzani” of the University of Pavia (Italy), to study new routes of viral immunity in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. In 2019, I was awarded a Juan de la Cierva – Incorporación grant and a Plan Gen-T contract from the Generalitat Valenciana to join the CBP group at the University of Valencia. My main research interests involve insect olfaction, plant-insect interaction and population genomics

I’m a PhD. student in the Interdisciplinary Research Structure (ERI-Biotecmed) and also in the Genetics Department in Universitat de València. I studied Biology in Universidad de Alicante, developing my end-of-degree work in the Molecular Microbial Ecology group, receiving after a M. Sc. in Compulsory Secondary Education. I have worked as a researcher in the project “Development of a new bioinsecticide based on autochthonous strains of Bacillus thuringiensis” in collaboration with AFRASA Industries. I am currently beneficiary of a FPU grant (Spanish Ministry of Education, PhD fellowship) on the Biomedicine and Biotechnology PhD programme, under the supervision of Prof. Ferré. My study is focused on identifying the biochemical and genetic bases of resistance on Vip3 proteins as well as the interaction of these with its receptors. I am also interested in science popularization and its educational role.

As a B.Sc. Biology student at the Universitat de València (Spain) I started to collaborate at the Department of Genetics, and in 2012 I received a M.Sc. in Molecular, Cellular and Genetic Biology with an end-of-Master work focused on the study of insect viruses, under the direction of Dr. Salvador Herrero. From 2012 to 2016, I studied insect-transmitted plant viruses at the Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea “La Mayora” (IHSM-CSIC-UMA, Spain). At present, I’m contracted as researcher in the CBP group at the ERI Biotecmed (Universitat de València, Spain) to investigate the mechanisms of resistance to pesticides in mites, under the direction of Dr. Joel González-Cabrera. Nowadays, my research interests are englobed in the field of agriculture maintenance and pest control, specifically focused in the study of molecular basis associated to pesticide resistance and their evolution in field populations, and moreover, in host - pathogen interaction and the molecular and genetic basis that regulates that specificity.

I studied Biology in Universidad de Alicante (with focus on Biotechnology) during the period 2010-2014. In 2015, I studied a genetics and molecular biology master degree in Universitat de València. I developed my final master's work in the research group of Molecular, Cell and Genomics Biomedicine, under the supervision of Regina Rodrigo Nicolás ("Instituto Investigación Sanitaria la Fe), studying the “Effect of intraperitoneal administration of Adalimumab combined with the oral administration of antioxidant nutraceutics on the progression of retinitis pigmentosa mice rd10”. I am currently working as a researcher in the project “Tritrophic interactions for a better control of lepidopteran pest with insecticides based on Baculovirus”, in the Genetics Department in Universitat de València.

I am a PhD student in the Genetics Department of Valencia University and ERI-Biotecmed Research Structure. My thesis is based on the identification and development of novel bioinsecticides based on Bacillus thuringiensis. This PhD can be developed thanks to a Predoctoral Research Contract (FPI) which is directed by Dr. Baltasar Eschiche. Previously, I studied Biotechnology at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville. After that, I decided to further specialize in Green Biotechnology so I moved to Valencia to obtain my MSc in Plant Breeding at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Likewise, from the years 2013 to 2016, I worked in the laboratory of Dr. Crespo at the Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis Institute, where I studied the relationship between autophagy and lipids metabolism in the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. During this period, I participated in different Science Reporter Activities and improved my pedagogical skills by the MEd in Teacher Training in Obligatory Secondary and Upper Secondary School.

I am a PhD student in the Genetics Department of Universitat de València and ERI-Biotecmed. I studied Biothecnology at the Universitat de València from 2013 to 2017. On the third year of my degree, I started to collaborate at the Department of Genetics. In 2018 I received a master’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Genetic Biology after developing my master’s thesis studying the “Improvement of baculovirus expression vector by CRISPR-Cas9 edition” under the supervision of Dr. Salvador Herrero. Then, I was contracted in the same group as junior researcher in the project “Virome NGS analysis of pests and pathogens for plant protection (VIROPLANT)” to study the effect of covert infections with iflavirus. I am currently beneficiary of an ACIF grant and I have continued working on covert infections with iflavirus for my PhD thesis. I am focused on studying the effects of covert infections with Spodoptera exigua Iflavirus 1 (SeIV1) on behaviour and physiology of its host (S. exigua), as well as the interaction of SeIV1 with other natural enemies of S. exigua.

I’m a PhD student at ERI-Biotecmed (Universitat de València). I studied Biotechnology at this university and performed my final degree project at the CBP group, working on the mass screening of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains, identifying the most relevant isolates according to their toxicity against lepidopteran pests and their insecticidal protein profiles. Afterwards, I decided to broaden my knowledge in Green Biotechnology, therefore I moved for two years to the Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), a joint research institute of the CSIC and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), where I got a master’s degree in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology. I performed my Master Thesis in Dr. Francisco Madueño’s laboratory, aiming to understand the role of TCP7, a plant-specific transcription factor, in the control of plant development and, more specifically, in the control of flowering time and plant architecture in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Currently, I am a holder of an ACIF grant (Generalitat Valenciana PhD fellowship), and I’m developing my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Juan Ferré. My PhD project is focused on the identification and characterization of secretable Bt insecticidal proteins, mainly on Vip3A proteins mode of action and structure-function relationship.

I studied Biotechnology at Universitat de València. I developed my work end-of-degree in microbiology department of the same university and it was focused on the characterization of virulence genes in the zoonotic pathogen Vibrio vulnificus. In 2019 I received a master’s degree in Advanced Microbiology at the Universitat de Barcelona after developing my master’s thesis studying the phenotype characterization of a mutant belonging to the enteroaggregative strain Escherichia coli 042. Currently, I am beneficiary of a FPI grant from the Spanish Ministry of sciences, innovation and universities. My PhD project is focus on the dynamics of resistance to acaricides in Varroa destructor and it is being developed in the University Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of Universitat de València (BIOTECMED) under the supervision of Dr. Joel González-Cabrera and Dra. Sara Hernández Rodríguez.

I am a Ph.D. candidate at ERI-Biotecmed (University of Valencia) and the Laboratory of Virology (Wageningen University). I am part of the Insect Doctors program, a European Joint Doctoral Programme (EJD) funded to train young scientists to understand and manage diseases affecting commercial insect production systems. Specifically, I am working on covert infections caused by RNA viruses in the agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata, also known as Mediterranean Fruit Fly. Regarding my education, I got my Biotechnology degree at the University of Zaragoza in 2018. I studied the last year of degree with an Erasmus fellowship in Pavia (Italy) where afterward, I obtained a Master's degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics (University of Pavia) in July 2019. It was there where I started to work with insects by studying the disease vector mosquito Aedes albopictus. Now, after few years in the field, I try to convince family and friends that working with insects worth it and is more relevant for our lives than we could think: they are agricultural pests, vectors of disease, a promising protein source, and many more!

I am a laboratory technician at Institute BIOTECMED (Genetics Department), Universitat de València. I was trained as a technician for clinical diagnostic laboratory from 2006 to 2008. In 2009, I was hired on contract at a private company to carry our quality control tasks. In 2010, I was granted a scholarship for the training of technical support personnel. I have started in my current position in 2012. Since then, I have worked for different research projects as laboratory technician.

In the laboratory, I oversee the rearing and maintenance of colonies from several insect species. I am running bioassays to test the effect of pesticides on insects. I am also in charge of the production and purification of insecticidal proteins form Bacillus thuringensis and Escherichia coli cultures. Finally, I carry out several tasks for laboratory management and organization.