Riesgo Lab
Principal Investigator
Ana Riesgo
I'm interested in molecular evolution, reproductive patterns, and molecular ecology of sponges (and also polychaetes). My research spans from transcriptomics to electron microscopy approaches to various biological and ecological questions including speciation, adaptation and genetic connectivity.
To have a look at my academic education click
Contact me at: anariesgogil at mncn.csic.es
Graduate students
Almudena Álvarez
I'm interested in the how freshwater sponges structure their microbiome and what are the biological and environmental drivers of such structure. My PhD uses metabarcoding approaches as well as phylogenetics, metatranscriptomics and experimental work, and is funded by the SYMBIOFRESH project of the MCI and a predoctoral scholarship from CAM.
Contact me at: almalvfer at gmail.com
Laura de la Cruz
My PhD delves into the patterns of population structure across freshwater sponges and their mechanisms of adaptation to the shifting conditions present in their habitat. I use genome sequencing approaches as well as phylogenetics, metatranscriptomics and correlate genotypes with environmental data. My PhD is funded by the SYMBIOFRESH project of the MCI and a predoctoral scholarship associated to the project.
Contact me at: lauuradelacruz19 at gmail.com
José María Lorente-Sorolla
I'm doing my PhD on the mechanisms that sponges use to determine their sex, including genomic, environmental, or microbial factors. I will be developing transcriptomic and genomic resources to help assess molecular machineries operating during the reproductive cycles of sponges. My PhD is funded by the EVOSEX project of the MCINN.
Contact me at: josemaria.lorente at mncn.csic.es
Carlota Gracia-Sancha
I'm doing my PhD on the spatial distribution of the genetic diversity of deep-sea sponges and polychaetes. I use population genomics approaches to understand speciation, demography, and vulnerability of species and apply them to improve conservation measures of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in the North Atlantic. My PhD is funded by the DEEPCON project of the MCINN (PI Sergio Taboada and cosupervisor of my PhD).
Contact me at: carlota.gracia at mncn.csic.es
Technician
María Conejero
I'm a specialist microscopist in charge of all aspects of histological and cytological studies at the Riesgo Lab. I also work developing project at the molecular lab and in the interface of science and collections leveraging the power contained in the preserved specimens of the MNCN for biodiversity genomics.
Contact me at: maria.conejero at mncn.csic.es
Postdocs
Marta Turon
I am a Juan de la Cierva researcher working on the interplay between sponges and microbes and how that boosts sponge functional profiles. We are looking into marine and freshwater sponges, applying several techniques that include metatranscriptomics and metagenomics.
Contact me at: marta.turon at mncn.csic.es
Vanina Tonzo
I'm a working on the evolution of sexual systems in sponges using genomic approaches. My project will investigate the age of genes involved in sexual processes across a wide array of sponges and other cellular organisms to understand the evolution of the sex machinery.
Contact me at: vaninatonzo at gmail.com
Irene de Sosa
I'm a postdoctoral researcher (Margarita Salas) working on sex-related differences in the expression of earthworm genes and their microbiomes. My goal is to understand the molecular underpinnings of parthenogenesis in annelids and compare them to other parthenogenetic organisms.
Contact me at: irene.desosa at mncn.csic.es
Andrea Corral
I'm a postdoctoral researcher working on biodiversity assessments using eDNA sampled by sponges (nsDNA or spongeDNA). I am interested in a wide variety of ecosystems and my goal is to implement a set of primers that can be useful to understand biodiversity patterns in remote and difficult to sample places to help in their conservation.
Contact me at: andrea.corral at mncn.csic.es
Alumni (since 2016)
2012-2016 Patricia Álvarez-Campos (PhD student, now Senior Lecturer at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
2017 Jennifer Pearce (Master's student, Imperial College)
2018 Alex Mitchell (Master's student, UCL)
2018 Ana da Silva (Master's student, UCL)
2017-2019 Nadia Santodomingo (Postdoc researcher, now Curator at NHM)
2017-2019 Nathan Kenny (Postdoc Researcher, now Group Leader at University of Otago, New Zealand)
2017-2019 Bruna Plese (Postdoc Researcher, now Associate Scientist at DNA electronics)
2017-2019 Sergi Taboada (Postdoc Researcher, now Ramón y Cajal Fellow at MNCN, Spain)
2019 Alex Cranston (Master's student, UCL, now PhD student at Cambridge University)
2019 Carlos Leiva (PhD, now Postdoc at Estación Biológica de Doñana, Spain)
2020 Katherine Hartle-Mogiou (Master's student, Imperial College)
2020 Vasiliki Koutsouveli (PhD, now at GEOMAR, Germany)
2020 Belén Arias (Postdoc, now at NHM London)
2021 Konstantina Mitsi (now project manager at La Caixa)
2022 Cristina Díez-Vives (Postdoc, now Junior Leader la Caixa, CNB, Spain)
2024 Aida Verdes (Postdoc, now Junior Leader la Caixa, MNCN, Spain)
2024 Eleonora Rossi (PhD student, now postdoc at University of Galway, Ireland)
