María Jesús Morán Plata
I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry in 2015 from the University of Extremadura and completed a Master's in Green and Sustainable Chemistry there in 2016, earning the Extraordinary End-of-Master Award. This interuniversity program emphasized green methodologies such as catalytic and biocatalytic processes, renewable materials, and alternative energy sources. Afterward, I spent three months at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) with an Erasmus+ scholarship, working on the synthesis of crystalline structures and thin films based on diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) chemistry.
In February 2020, I completed a Ph.D. in the Department of Drug Science and Technology at the University of Turin (Italy), funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie ETN COSMIC (Grant No. 721290). My research focused on copper nanoparticle-catalyzed hydrogenation via transfer hydrogenation (TH) for the synthesis of aromatic amines and stereodefined alkenes, using both conventional and alternative energy sources. The Ph.D. involved several international placements: five months at KU Leuven, one month at the MEAM Test Center (Belgium), and three months at ARKEMA (Lyon), where I scaled up catalysis from milligrams to grams using flow reactors. Through COSMIC, I gained experience in data analysis, scientific communication, collaborative research, and academic writing.
In July 2021, I began a postdoctoral contract within the ARTIBLED-H2020-FETOPEN project at the University of Turin in Claudia Barolo's group. I worked on artificial fluorescent proteins for bio-LEDs and synthesized organic dyes for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
In September 2021, I returned to Spain after obtaining an MSCA-IF fellowship at DIPC (San Sebastián) in Luca Salassa's group. The DELCAT project focused on catalytic biomaterials and metallo-flavin-based systems for drug release and organic catalysis. After the fellowship ended in 2023, I remained in the group as a postdoctoral researcher, exploring dual flavin-metal catalysis and leading a project on metal-based antiviral agents, culminating in a patent application.
At the end of 2024, I was awarded the "Ayuda de Atracción de Talento Investigador: César Nombela" grant. This position enables me to establish an independent research line at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, within the COMET-NANO group, focusing on photoactivatable metal-based anticancer agents for targeted phototherapy.
Research profiles:
Keywords:
Organic Synthesis, Bioinorganic chemistry, Phototherapy, Green Chemistry
