Members of the ReTIT-PUB Network

Manuel Tena-Sempere

Institution: University of Córdoba (UCO).

Cluster: Energy Balance, Puberty and Reproductive Function.

Network Coordinator.

Dr. Tena-Sempere is Professor of Physiology at the University of Cordoba (UCO) and Principal Investigator of the Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research of Córdoba (IMIBIC). He is responsible for multiple competitive projects on neuroendocrine mechanisms of pubertal control, including a European ERC Advanced Grant project. He is also Principal Investigator of the CIBER group on Obesity and Nutrition and the EUCRE (EUCRE). (European Center of Reproduction). Author of >370 articles, has an H-index of 106 and a total of citations >36,000.

Jesús Argente Oliver

Institution: Niño Jesús University Children's Hospital (HIUNJ)/Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).

Cluster: Pediatric Endocrinology.

Dr. Argente is Professor of Pediatrics at the UAM and Head of the Pediatrics and Endocrinology Department at HIUNJ. An international expert in childhood obesity and the genetic determinants of puberty and growth, he has led multiple competitive projects in these areas. He is the PI of the CIBER group on Obesity and Nutrition and Chair of the SEEP working group on puberty. He is the author of more than 390 articles, with an H index of 64 and more than 15,300 citations.

Lourdes Ibáñez Toda

Institution: Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD)/University of Barcelona (UB).

Cluster: Metabolic Endocrinology.  

Dr. Ibáñez is Professor of Pediatrics (UB) and Principal Investigator of the IRSJD group. She has directed multiple projects on children with low birth weight for their gestational age and adolescents with hyperandrogenism. She has developed preventive and therapeutic strategies for their comorbidities, including early puberty. She is Principal Investigator of the Diabetes CIBER group and coordinates the ESPE working group on Pediatrics and Adolescence. She has authored over 320 articles, with an H-index of 73 and over 24,600 citations.

María Domínguez Castellano

Institution: Institute of Neurosciences (IN), UMH-CSIC.

Cluster: Mechanisms of Cancer and Growth Control in Drosophila.

Dr. Domínguez is a Research Professor at the CSIC. She has led numerous competitive national and international projects and her group has made high-impact contributions to the genetic basis of growth control and cancer, using Drosophila as a model. She is the author of more than 52 articles, including leading papers in Nature and Science, with an average impact factor of 16.4, an H-index of 26, and over 5,000 citations.

Concepción Aguilera García

Institution: University of Granada (UGR).

Cluster: Biochemistry of Nutrition – Therapeutic Implications.

Dr. Aguilera is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Granada (UGR), co-PI of a group at the Granada Biosanitary Research Institute, and a member of the Obesity-Nutrition CIBER and the Scientific Unit of Excellence for Exercise, Nutrition, and Health (UCEENS). She has led several competitive projects aimed at identifying biomarkers of metabolic health and disease during puberty. She is the author of more than 120 articles and has a H-index of 36, with more than 4,900 citations.

Mario Fernández Fraga

Institution: Center for Research in Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (CINN)-CSIC.

Cluster: Epigenetics and Nanomedicine

Dr. Fernández-Fraga is a Research Professor at CISC and group leader at CINN. With interests in diverse fields of biomedicine, his group has actively participated in multi-omics studies in pediatric populations on early determinants of cardiovascular disorders, applying a wide range of genomic, epigenomic, and bioinformatics techniques. Author of more than 270 articles, his H-index is 78, with more than 26,200 citations.

Abel López Bermejo

Institution: Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI).

Cluster: Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk in Pediatrics.

Dr. López-Bermejo is a Full Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Girona (with University Professor accreditation) and group leader at IDIBIG. Through various competitive projects, his group is investigating new early markers (metabolic, genetic, and epigenetic) of metabolic programming and obesity in childhood, as well as new therapies for girls with premature puberty. He is the author of 193 articles and has an H-index of 42, with over 5,700 citations. 

Javier Morante Oria

Institution: Institute of Neurosciences (IN), UMH-CSIC.

Cluster: Early Neurogenesis and Brain Maturation.

Dr Morante is a Senior Scientist at the CSIC. After completing his Ramón y Cajal programme contract, he has established a research line, funded by competitive projects, focusing on the mechanisms controlling maturation and growth in Drosophila, primarily through metabolic and nutritional signals. As Director of the Developmental Neurobiology Department, he has a strong interest in outreach topics. He is the author of 27 articles, with an H-index of 16 and 1,548 citations.

Julie Ann Chowen King

Institution: Niño Jesús University Children's Hospital (HIUNJ).

Cluster: Neuroendocrinology.

Dr. Chowen is a senior research fellow at HIUNJ and co-PI of the CIBER Obesity and Nutrition group. Competitively funded since 2000, she has investigated the neuroendocrine basis of metabolic control and its gender differences. An expert on the role of astrocytes in metabolic homeostasis, she has studied the metabolic implications of early maturation processes, including puberty. Author of more than 200 articles, she holds an H-index of 59 and has received over 11,500 citations.

José Carlos Jiménez Chillarón

Institution: University of Barcelona (UB)/Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD).

Cluster: Metabolic Diseases of Pediatric Origin.

Dr. Jiménez-Chillarón is an Associate Professor at the UB and a senior researcher at the IRSJD. His group combines preclinical analyses of early determinants of obesity and diabetes with studies in prepubertal children with obesity. He has developed mouse models of childhood obesity with liver disorders and chronodisruption phenomena, laying the groundwork for chrononutritional intervention protocols. He is the author of 35 articles and has a H index of 22, with over 1,900 citations. 

Mercedes Gil-Campos

Institution: University of Córdoba.

Cluster: Children's Metabolism.

Dr. Gil-Campos is a Professor at the University of Cordoba (UCO) and Section Head of the Reina Sofía Hospital in Cordoba, and the PI of the IMIBIC group. She is responsible for multiple projects on biomarkers and determinants of metabolic health in childhood and adolescence. She is the group leader of the CIBER (Obesity and Nutrition Research Institute) and coordinator of nutritional intervention studies in children. She has authored more than 190 articles, an H-index of 24, and a total of more than 2,300 citations.

Luis Moreno Aznar

Institution: University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR).

Cluster: GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development).

Dr. Moreno is a Professor of Physical Medicine and Nursing at UNIZAR. He has led numerous projects focused on the study of nutrition and lifestyle, especially in children and adolescents, with the aim of preventing non-communicable diseases related to nutrition, particularly childhood obesity. With extensive experience in collaborative and networking work, he is the author of more than 800 articles, with an H-index of 87 and a total of more than 33,800 citations.

Juan Roa Rivas

Institution: University of Córdoba.

Cluster: Clinical and Preclinical Studies of microRNAs and Puberty.

Dr. Roa is a Full Professor at the University of Cordoba, a member of the IMIBIC group, and a researcher affiliated with the Obesity and Nutrition CIBER (Center for Obesity and Nutrition). Following a Miguel Servet contract, Dr. Roa directs a line of basic-clinical research funded by the ISCiii (Spanish Institute of Clinical Microbiology and Biotechnology) on the role of miRNAs in puberty, which he combines with other research on neuroendocrine mechanisms of puberty control and metabolism. The author of 72 articles, he has an H-index of 43 and a total of 7240 citations.

Leandro Soriano-Guillén

Institution: Jiménez-Díaz Foundation (FJD)/Univ. Autonomous Community of Madrid (UAM).

Cluster: Lipid Laboratory

Dr. Soriano is a Full Professor of Pediatrics at the UAM and Head of the Pediatrics Department at the FJD. He directs various lines of clinical research on precocious puberty and premature adrenarche, as well as hormonal and molecular studies in obese children and adolescents. He has recently conducted studies on the epigenetic basis of pubertal control. Accredited as a Full Professor by ANECA (National Association of Cardiologists and Adolescents of the University of Madrid), he has published more than 80 articles, with an H index of 23, and a total of citations of more than 2,490.

Juan Manuel Castellano Rodríguez

Institution: University of Córdoba.

Cluster: Molecular Basis of Puberty Alterations in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).

Dr. Castellano is a Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow at the University of Cordoba (UCO). He is also affiliated with IMIBIC and the CIBER (Obesity and Nutrition Research Institute). Following a postdoctoral fellowship from the EU, Dr. Castellano is coordinating a line of research on molecular mechanisms involved in pubertal and metabolic disorders in PWS, funded by the National Plan and the Prader Willi Foundation (USA). He is the author of 68 articles, with an H-index of 43 and over 6,700 citations.