Dr. Raquel Cortés Vergaz

Emerging Investigator
Research Group on the Study of Cardiometabolic and Renal Risk

Presentation

Raquel Cortés Vergaz holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Valencia, where she received the Extraordinary Doctorate Award. She completed her predoctoral training at the Myocardial Dysfunction and Cardiac Transplantation Unit at the Health Research Institute Hospital La Fe in Valencia. In 2011, she secured a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract, becoming a member of the Cardiometabolic and Renal Risk Study Group at INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute. Currently, she holds a prestigious Miguel Servet excellence contract (2022) and has been recognized as an emerging researcher since 2019.

In 2013, Dr. Cortés opened a new field of research on the molecular mechanisms associated with the development of kidney damage in hypertension, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases, focusing on the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their cargoes (ncRNAs, surface antigens…). EVs, which are small structures released into the blood by the different cell types that make up the organism, act as intercellular mediators. Their content is specific to patient’s pathophysiological state, transmitting signals that regulate key cellular pathways involved in disease progression.

Currently, she is focused on the development of a diagnostic algorithm using sensitive and specific artificial intelligence, based on the characterization of these structures using sequencing techniques, to transfer precision medicine to clinical practice, so that the patient can benefit from a more accurate diagnosis, thereby improving their quality of life.

Her research excellence is demonstrated by her leadership as the principal investigator in three consecutive national projects funded by the Carlos III Health Institute and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, as well as by the achievement of funding for human resources for predoctoral staff and laboratory technicians, milestones that are the basis of a new line of research within the group and the institution. The results of this line have led to numerous international publications as senior author (28 translational publications), the supervision of three doctoral theses, and the guidance of multiple master’s and bachelor’s theses. In parallel, international collaborations have been established with the University of La Frontera (Chile) and the University of Turin (Italy).

Emerging
Investigator

raquel.cortes@uv.es