Paola Monguilod Brun

Doctoral candidate at Naicons Srl

About me

I graduated from the University of Zaragoza with a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology in 2022, followed by a Master’s degree in Biophysics and Quantitative Biotechnology from the same university in 2023. My academic focus and interests primarily revolve around the field of drug design and discovery.

I have gained valuable practical experience through various internships and research positions. I was awarded a grant for an Introduction to Research from the Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC), allowing me to collaborate with the University of Cambridge on a project related to biological invasions and their ecological and health impacts. Additionally, I participated in a summer fellowship program at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, focusing on the synthesis of molecular catalysts for CO2 reduction.

My research experience also includes a project at Vytautas Magnus University, where I studied mites’ morphological and molecular characteristics to understand their parasitism mechanisms, aiming to contribute to the prevention of parasitic diseases. Moreover, I completed a summer internship at the Agricultural Technology Center Cinco Villas, gaining practical skills in physical-chemical and microbiological analysis of various samples related to food, water, and soil.

In the context of the BREAKthrough project, I am enthusiastic about contributing my skills and knowledge to combat the global health emergency of antimicrobial resistance. I am excited to be part of a project that holds great promise for addressing a critical healthcare challenge.

About my project
DC10: Reassessing natural products for OM permeabilisation

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to global health by the World Health Organization. There are increasing numbers of bacterial infections not responding to known antibiotics. The objective of the BREAKthrough project is to sensitise Gram-negative bacteria to antibiotics by making their outer membrane permeable. To this end, inhibitors of protein machineries that are responsible for OM maintenance will be developed. In this context, we will screen natural products produced by NAICONS’ large collection of microbial strains to identify potential inhibitors active against projected targets in this project.