Meet the team
Beyond the science at DIVERSA
Our story
DIVERSA is a biotechnology spin-off from the Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute and the Galician Health Service
Working with pharma and biotech companies, we identified a common need for delivery solutions in drug development. Overcoming biological barriers is a crucial step to produce efficient pharmaceutical products. Our formulations make this happen.
Mission
Promoting the transfer to the clinic of new therapeutic molecules.
Vision
To improve patients’ lives by opening up new opportunities for innovative medicines.
Our team
Cofounders
María de la Fuente
María de la Fuente, co-founder and CEO/CSO of DIVERSA, has a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical technology, nanotechnology, and drug administration from the University of Santiago de Compostela. In addition, she has training in management, direction, and entrepreneurship, highlighting his participation in the Senior Management Program of Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer Institutions of the University of Navarra (IESE), the program in Business Leadership Development and Team Management from ESADE (Ramon Llull University), and the Caixaimpulse program, taught by the Barcelona School of Management, for knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship. She has completed an Executive MBA (Galicia Business School). She has also participated in Bootcamps such as Oncostars and PANACEA in Oxford and received additional training in programs from the Xunta de Galicia (GAIN -Oxentia- and ACIS), as well as other Europeans (EIT Health). Her previous activity in technology transfer is related to the license to Advancell SL of several patents, being co-inventor of them, and to the participation in knowledge transfer during her stay in the SOP-UCL. Concerning her professional experience, María is the head of the Nano-Oncology and Translational Therapeutics group at the Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Clinical University Hospital, and has experience in leadership, teamwork, and resource management. From her professional independence as Principal Investigator, she has raised more than 4.5M€ of public and private funds in competitive calls, of which 0.6M€ have been specific for technology transfer.
Abi Vázquez
Abi Vázquez, co-founder and COO of DIVERSA, has a degree in biology, a master’s degree in Biomedical Research, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Her doctoral thesis focused on providing solutions to face one of the biggest current challenges in oncology, the metastases, and moving towards the concept of personalized medicine. She also has training in technology transfer through her participation in various courses and workshops at renowned business schools such as the CaixaImpulse Validate Program (Barcelona School of Management). Abi has been fully involved from the conception of the project to the establishment of the company. She has participated in the development of the technology, the standardization of procedures, elaboration and validation of the business model, and selection and interaction with strategic partners.
Rafael López
Rafael López, medical advisor and the third co-founder of DIVERSA, is head of the Medical Oncology Service of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela (CHUS) and professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), as well as head of the research group of the IDIS of Translational Medical Oncology (ONCOMET). He participates in international and national projects as principal investigator and belongs to different groups and consortia. He is responsible for the CHUS Clinical Trials Unit, with more than 100 projects currently underway. Furthermore, he has been involved in more than 25 competitive projects in the last five years, and as a result, he is a co-inventor of 6 patents. He is a co-founder of the spin-off NasasBiotech SL.
Key Team Members
Laura Cañada
Laura studied Chemistry at the University of Salamanca, her home-town. Afterwards, she specialized in the Medicinal Chemistry field studying a Master’s Degree at the Universitat Jaume I (UJI with the aim of contributing to the improvement of quality of life for patients.
With that academic background, she became part of the formulation team of Curapath, where she had her first experience in research and development of lipid and polymeric nanoparticles as a drug delivery systems for the treatment of various diseases.
DIVERSA is the next step to continue her research career in nanotechnology, aiming to design and develop drug delivery systems with a translational aplication.
Iolanda Otero
Iolanda Otero is an administrative & political scientist, specialized on international studies, public policies evaluation and grant management. She has a degree in Political & Administration Science by the University of Santiago de Compostela and DEA in public policies evaluations by the same institution. She has advanced studies in international relations, EU project management, grant management, marketing and political communication. She has work experience as consultant with extensive experience working within the public administration sector with professional background in social media management, resources administration and communication skills. She provides administrative and resources management support to DIVERSA team.
Sheila Barrios
Sheila Barrios-Esteban has a Ph.D. in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Santiago de Compostela with a background in the application of nanotechnology focused on the delivery of nucleic acids. Her research carrier was directed in the synthesis of polymers, and the development and characterization of natural and synthetic polymeric nanoparticles for cancer. During her Ph.D., Sheila gained the BritishSpanish Society-Santander Universities Scholarship Award, giving the opportunity to make her doctoral stay at the University of Nottingham, England. She has published a book chapter and several papers in collaboration with different international research groups.
Irene Morín
Irene Morín, lab technician of DIVERSA. Irene studied biology at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She performed her degree internship at a nano-oncology group in the Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela and, after graduate in 2022, Irene joined the group to work as lab technician. In the same year, she studied a Master’s in the USC. In June 2024, she joined DIVERSA aiming to contribute to delivery field.
Laura Taina
Laura Taina, Industrial PhD Candidate of DIVERSA. Laura studied Pharmacy at Universidad Complutense from Madrid, where she graduated in 2017. In the same year, she started a Master of Science in Biopharmaceuticals at King’s College London, where she performed her Master thesis in medicinal chemistry aiming to find new antibiotics for Tuberculosis. After graduation, Laura joined Prof. Thurston’s lab, in a drug discovery project aiming to find new candidate molecules for Tinnitus. A few months later, she joined AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK; where she was part of the Advanced Drug Delivery team. In this company, she worked as a pharmaceutical scientist, being part of the formulation development process for small molecules and PROTACs. In November 2020 she started her PhD at Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela, where she is currently based. Her thesis aims to find new delivery approaches for nucleic acids.
Paula Martínez
Paula is a Research Scientist at DIVERSA. She studied Biotechnology at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where she majored in Health Biotechnology. During her studies, she participated in gene delivery projects at CIQUS (Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares), gaining experience in the synthesis, characterization, and development of polymeric nanosystems for medical applications. Paula then pursued an Advanced Biotechnology Master’s Degree at the University of La Coruña, specializing in Food and Agricultural Biotechnology. She contributed to the Quality Control Department of a food industrial facility, where she gained insights into various aspects of the biotechnology industry, including marketing, management, and project innovation and development.
