Dr. María Ángela Nieto is a world-renowned developmental biologist and leading authority in cellular plasticity mechanisms during embryonic development and disease. She currently serves as Research Professor and Head of Developmental Neurobiology at the Instituto de Neurociencias, a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council and the Miguel Hernández University of Elche in Alicante. After earning her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid in 1987, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Biomedical Research in Madrid and the National Institute for Medical Research in London. Her distinguished career includes significant appointments at the Cajal Institute in Madrid before establishing her leadership role at the Institute of Neurosciences, where she has directed groundbreaking research on cellular movement programs for over two decades.
Dr. Nieto's pioneering research on the epithelial to mesenchymal transition has fundamentally transformed understanding of how embryonic developmental programs influence adult pathologies. Her seminal work demonstrating that the reactivation of this cellular transition contributes to cancer progression, fibrosis, and bone mineralization has established a critical paradigm shift in developmental biology and disease mechanisms. This research has been published in leading journals including Nature Medicine, where her 2015 paper elucidated the role of cellular plasticity in fibrosis and tissue repair processes. Her laboratory's discoveries regarding the molecular regulation of cell movement programs have provided crucial insights for developing novel therapeutic approaches targeting pathological processes in numerous diseases.
Beyond her research program, Dr. Nieto has been instrumental in shaping the global developmental biology community through her leadership as former President of the International Society of Developmental Biology and current Vice Chair of the EMBL Council. She serves on editorial boards of prestigious journals including EMBO Journal, EMBO reports, and Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, while mentoring the next generation of scientists through her laboratory at the Institute of Neurosciences. Her recognition includes Spain's highest scientific honors such as the Rey Jaime I Award for Basic Research and the National Research Award Ramón y Cajal, alongside international accolades including the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. Currently coordinating the Cancer-CSIC Connection initiative, she continues to advance research on cellular plasticity in aging and brain disease, positioning her work at the forefront of understanding how developmental mechanisms influence health and disease throughout the lifespan.
