Campus Moncloa

Main research lines

• Development of new strategies for diagnosis and control of bovine, ovine and caprine brucellosis
  Objetives: Analysis of new approaches for the control of animal brucellosis using available vaccines, and evaluation of current strategies for disease control. Development of new tools for early detection of the pathogen using molecular techniques. Development of new routes of vaccination for control of small ruminants brucellosis. Analysis of vaccination strategies for control of animal brucellosis. Development of tools for detection and quantification of Brucella spp. in clinical samples.
• Diagnosis of Q fever in livestock and wildlife using direct and indirect tests
  Objetives: Analysis of clinical samples by means of direct (real-time PCR direct detection) and indirect (serological tests, IFN-gamma detection assay) diagnostic techniques to assess the distribution of Coxiella burnetii on the animal reservoir and to determine the immune response induced in infected animals. Assessment of the distribution of Coxiella burnetii in livestock and wildlife and the potential zoonotic risk as source of infection posed by the animal reservoir. Detection of risk factors associated with a higher infection risk in domestic ruminants. Development of indirect diagnostic tools for early diagnosis of C. burnetii infection.
• Diagnosis of swine brucellosis
  Objetives: Use of immunological diagnostic tests (detection of specific antibodies using rose bengale test and ELISA, experimental use of interferon-gamma detection assays) and bacteriology for the detection of infections caused by Brucella suis in swine and in wild boar. Etiological and epidemiological diagnosis of infections caused by Brucella suis in swine Optimization of techniques aiming at the detection of the cellular immune response for specific diagnosis of swine brucellosis. Detection of Brucella suis in wild reservoir. Implementation of molecular characterization techniques for the epidemiological analysis of outbreaks due to Brucella suis.
• Epidemiological surveillance of zoonotic tick-borne pathogens
  Objetives: Identification of ticks from domestic animals and wildlife and molecular detection of pathogens (genus Erlichia, Borrelia, Anaplasma, Francisella, Coxiella, Rickettsia y Bartonella) by PCR. Use of molecular techniques for identification of tick-borne pathogens at the species-level. Identification of tick species recovered from different epidemiological contexts. Surveillance of tick-borne pathogens in ticks from wild and domestic animals. Implementation of molecular tools for identification of the bacterial species present in ticks.
• Design of methods for detection of biological threat agents
  Objetives: Development of systems for direct and indirect detection of bacterial, fungal and plant toxins. Production of monoclonal antibodies and immunoassay design for mycotoxin detection and quantification (aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes ...). Production of monoclonal antibodies and immunoassay design for ricin toxin detection and quantification. Production of monoclonal antibodies and immunoassay design for staphylococcal, choleric and diphtheria toxins detection and quantification.
• Tuberculosis diagnosis
  Objetives: Improvement and optimization of techniques for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in cattle and other animal species. Study of the immune response against tuberculosis. Sensitivity and specificity studies of the techniques used for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis. Studies of diagnosis interference in cellular and humoral immune response tests. Study of the immune response against tuberculosis. Development and set-up of new diagnostic techniques in cattle and other animal species. Cellular infection models to perform pathogenicity and virulence studies.
• Molecular epidemiology of tubeculosis
  Objetives: Molecular characterization of M. tuberculosis complex members. Manteinance and update of the Spanish Database of Animal Mycobacteriosis mycoDB. Clonal complexity studies.
• Tuberculosis control
  Objetives: Vaccination studies as an alternative to the control of tuberculosis in wild animals (wild boar) and goats.
• Molecular characterizacion studies of the Mycobacterium avium complex
  Objetives: Determination of the genetic diversity using genetic markers as well as their correlation with phenotypic and clinical characteristics. Pathogenicity studies of human, animal and environmental isolates and detection of genetic markers associated to a higher virulence. Diagnosis of infections caused by members of the M. avium complex.
• Diagnosis of other mycobacteriosis
  Objetives: Diagnosis, identification and molecular characterization of mycobacteria not included in the complexes M. tuberculosis and M. avium.
• New diagnostic methods design
  Objetives: Studies of new animal viruses by metagenomics. Development of new diagnostic methods for viral diseases basads in the PCR. Epidemiological studies and development of design methods DIVA. Application of thermography in the study of infectious diseases.
• Preventive medicine
  Objetives: Risk analysis and identification of critical points at the entrance of infectious diseases in Spain. Development of epidemiological models that allow early detection of these diseases and the creation of proper contingency plans.
• Marine animal health
  Objetives: Assessment of health status in the marine fauna of the Mediterranean Sea. Surveillance of infectious diseases involved. Epidemiological studies on the definition of these diseases.
• Clinical diagnosis
  Objetives: Development of new techniques for more efficient diagnosis. Advance in the knowledge of the transmission mechanisms and survival to technological treatments.
• Study of antimicrobial resistances in pathogens, food-borne zoonotic agents and indicators
  Objetives: To know the antimicrobial resistance profiles and their evolution in microorganisms isolated in food animals and food from animal origin and their relation with antimicrobial use. Studies of safety and efficacy of antimicrobials intended for use by animals.
• Study of Foodborne zoonoses in animals and meat, eggs and other products from animal origin intended for human consumption, mainly Salmonella spp. Campylobacter spp., Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Yersinia enterocolitica
  Objetives: To know the prevalence of zoonotic agents in food animals and food from animal origin. To improve control programs of food-borne zoonoses.
• Genetic characterization of antimicrobial resistance
  Objetives: Linking antimicrobial resistance seen in animals, food and man, including samples of the environment and wildlife.
• Genetic characterization of microorganisms populations
  Objetives: Establish epidemiological links between microorganisms detected in animals, food and man, including samples of the environment and wildlife.
• Molecular typing
  Objetives: - Resarch of existence and extent of an outbreak. - Identification of reservoirs and sources of infection. - Monitoring the dissemination of particular clones, etc..
• Bacterial taxonomy
  Objetives: Association of old pathogens to new clinical process and/or new animal hosts. Descripction of new bacterial species.