M. Pilar Cortés has a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences (University of Navarra, Spain), a Master in Microbiology (UAB; Spain) and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (UAB; Spain). During her predoctoral training, she participated in different research projects in the field of Clinical Microbiology related to: i) the pathogenesis of pulmonary infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients on mechanical ventilation; ii) the development and application of techniques of molecular biology for the epidemiological study of various infectious diseases caused by bacteria and parasites; and iii) the study of the mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria.
Subsequently, since joining to the group of Molecular Microbiology of the UAB at the end of 2001, she has participated in different research projects focussed on:
- Characterization of the expression of genes and regulon linked to DNA repair systems and mutagenesis caused by different antimicrobials in bacteria
- Study of the molecular mechanisms involved in the generation and dissemination of resistance to antibacterial ;
- Characterization of the iron uptake systems in Streptococcus suis and its use in vaccine design.
- Study of the involvement of the SOS repair system in the population movement and chemotaxis of Salmonella spp v) Mechanisms of acquisition of antimicrobial resistance of nosocomial pathogens such as Acinetobacter baumannii.
Moreover, in the last 10 years, she has participated as researcher collaborating in projects aimed at finding innovative tools for the biocontrol of pathogens, such as bacteriophages, and their biotechnological applications in oral phage therapy and biocontrol Salmonella in food. These investigations have resulted in her participation as inventor in one patent based on the development of a cocktail of bacteriophages.
The detailed research work is summarized in the publication of 46 manuscripts in scientific journals indexed in JCR principally in the areas of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Biotechnology, Applied Microbiology and, Veterinary Sciences. Moreover, she has participated as researcher collaborator in 8 research projects under public competition, 4 concessions for Consolidated Research Groups by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain), and four research networks of public and/or private funding. In addition, she has participated as researcher in 22 research contracts with national and international companies of pharmacy and food sectors. She has supervised 4 PhD in the last 10 years.
