Antonella Consiglio
Professor Agregat and Group leader
Stem cell and Neurodegeneration unit,
IDIBELL/Bellvitge University Hospital
consiglio[at]ub.edu
Antonella Consiglio obtained her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pathology at the HSR-TIGET (Milan) with Prof. Bordignon, and additional training at Gene Therapy Center of Lausanne and Vectors Technology Laboratory at Cell Genesys (Foster City, CA). She did her post-doctoral studies at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, under the direction of a pioneer of the field of adult neurogenesis, Prof. F.H.Gage. From 2006 to 2009 she was a Miguel Servet Investigator (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain), at the Center of Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB), Spain. In 2009, she was appointed Ramon y Cajal Investigator (Tenure-track) to the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB, Spain), where she established her independence as a junior investigator and developed her own research interests in her own laboratory in the area of regenerative medicine for neurodegenerative diseases. In 2013 she was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) StG by the EU. She is a recipient of the 2019 City of Barcelona award to the life sciences. Her group studies the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease to get to a cure. From May 2017 she has been appointed as Associate Professor of Pathology at the Department of Pathology & Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, UB. Her laboratory is also fully affiliated to the Program of Regenerative Medicine (P-CMRC) and is part of the Neuroscience Program at the IDIBELL, Bellvitge University Hospital.
Aurora Scrivo
Maria Zambrano fellowship
After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Biotechnology from the University of Pavia (Italy), Aurora earned a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris (France). She completed her PhD in 2016 at the Institute of Neurosciences of Montpellier (France) under the supervision of Dr. Pascale Bomont. Using mouse models and patient-derived cells, her doctoral work focused on elucidating the role of the E3 ligase Gigaxonin in autophagy regulation, neuronal death, and protein aggregation. In 2017, Aurora joined the laboratory of Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York (USA), where she investigated the regulation of the lysosomal system in neuronal and glial cells. During this period, she developed strong expertise in Chaperone Mediated Autophagy (CMA), with a particular focus on the role of astrocytes in regulating neuronal CMA and its implications in Alzheimer’s disease. In 2021, she was awarded a María Zambrano fellowship and joined Consiglio’s group in July 2022 as a senior postdoctoral researcher. In 2023, Aurora received a Beatriu de Pinós fellowship from the Generalitatde Catalunya, which officially started in 2024. In Consiglio’s lab, she is currently studying the role of LRRK2 in the regulation of the autophagy machinery in microglial cells, investigating how its dysregulation impacts cell function, glia–neuron communication, and contributes to Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis and neuronal death.
Aurora is deeply fascinated by lysosomal regulation and glial–neuron crosstalk, and she is particularly motivated by uncovering how alterations in these pathways drive neurodegeneration, with the long-term goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets.
Valentina Baruffi
Postdoctoral investigator
Valentina obtained her degree in Animal Production at Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (UNIBO) in 2017. In 2019 she joined Consiglio laboratory as a master student and completed her thesis entitled “Investigating mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease using iPSC-derived astrocytes from LRRK2 PD patients”. In 2020, Valentina was back in the laboratory to start her PhD project investigating the interplay between innate and adaptive immune system in Parkinson’s Disease. She successfully defended her PhD thesis with cum laude in December 2024 and is now continuing in the lab as a postdoctoral researcher.
David Piñol Belenguer
PhD Student
David obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biomedicine in 2020 and his master’s degree in Neuroscience in 2021 both by the University of Barcelona. He joined Consiglio’s lab as an undergraduate student and joined a project to model Parkinson’s disease using ventral-midbrain like organoids derived from human iPSC. He is currently doing his PhD in Consiglio’s lab. The aim of his project is to study the key features of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Deficiency by taking advantage of a 3D cerebral organoids.
Jara Montero Muñoz
PhD investigator
Jara obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences in 2021 at the Universitat de València. Following her participation in an Erasmus program at Imperial College London, she started a Master’s degree in Neurosciences-Neurobiology at the Université Grenoble-Alpes. In 2023, Jara joined the lab for her Master’s thesis, entitled “Investigating Mitochondrial Transfer in Parkinson’s Disease using a Human iPSC-Based Model.” Following the completion of her Master’s degree, she continued her research journey in the lab, now as a PhD student with a FPI Fellowship. She currently focuses on studying the glial contribution to Parkinson’s disease neurodegeneration with the aim of identifying new potential therapeutic avenues.
Stella Stavroulaki
PhD Student
Stella obtained her integrated Master’s degree in the Department of Biological Applications & Technology at the University of Ioannina, Greece, in 2025. During this period, she joined the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), as an undegraduate intern, where she worked in a project about Parkinson’s Disease. She then completed her experimental Master Thesis in the Neuroimmunology lab of the University of Ioannina, focusing on Experimental Autoimmune Encephalitis. Shortly after graduating, she joined the lab as an Erasmus+ postgraduate intern, gaining experience with iPSCs-based models. She is currently continuing her training in the lab as a PhD student.
Laia Pagès Rigola
Research Assistant
Laia obtained her Bachelor degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona (UB) in 2024 and subsequently her Master degree in Translational Biomedical Research at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in 2025. Thanks to the Erasmus programme she did her Bachelor traineeship at the University of Copenhagen in Kermen lab, studying stress resilience in the zebrafish model. In 2024, Laia joined the Consiglio Lab for her Master’s thesis, entitled “Recapitulating THD employing human brain organoids as tools for disease modelling and drug testing”. Following the completion of her Master’s degree, she continued her research journey in the lab, now as a Research Assistant, participating in several projects in the lab.
Ana Martos Guillamet
Research Assistant
Ana obtained her Bachelor degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona (UB) in 2024 and subsequently her Master degree in Genetics and Genomics at the University of Barcelona (UB) in 2025. Thanks to the Erasmus programme she did her Bachelor traineeship at the University of Umea in Ana Virel lab, studying the connection between Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. In 2024, Ana joined the Consiglio Lab for her Master’s thesis, entitled “Characterization of Parkinson’s Disease using in vivo and in vitro models for therapeutic strategies evaluation”. Following the completion of her Master’s degree, she continued her research journey in the lab, now as a Research Assistant, participating in several projects in the lab.
Esperanza Rodríguez López
Research Assistant
Esperanza obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2024, by Universidad de Córdoba. In 2025, she obtained her Master’s degree in Regenerative Biomedicine at the Universidad de Granada. During this period, she completed her Master’s degree project in the Transposable elements in development and disease group at GENyO. In December 2025, she joined Consiglio Lab as a Research Assistant, participating in several projects in the lab.
General Collaborators
Prof. A. Zorzano, IRB,Barcelona
Prof. A.Raya, CMRB, Barcelona
Prof.A. Muotri, UCSD, San Diego
Prof. T. Cathomen, University Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany
Dr. A. M. Cuervo, Albert Einstein College, New York
Dr. E.Tolosa, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona
Dr. J. Soriano, UB, Barcelona
Prof. Del Rio, UB, Barcelona
Prof. J. Garcia-Ojalvo, UPF, Barcelona
Dr. E. Martínez Hernández, IDIBAPS, Barcelona
Past Members
Veronica Testa – Currently postdoctoral investigator at VIB-CMN
Meritxell Pons Espinal – Currently Medical Affairs Manager Immunology / Neurology at Grifols
Carles Calatayud – Currently postdoctoral investigator at Laboratory of Neuronal Communication at VIB-KU Leuven
Isabel Turpin – Currently Technician at Evolutionary Systems Biology lab, IBE
Giulia Carola – Currently Project Consultant in Alientt
Silvia Beltramone – Currently Specialised Technician at Center for Genomic Regulation
Janani Parameswaran – Currently at Emory University, USA
Daniel Malagarriga – Currently Research Scientist in Artificial Intelligence Lab, Telefónica Alpha
Angelique di Domenico – Currently Postdoctoral Researcher at The New York Stem Cell Foundation
Marco Valtorta – Currently Postgraduate fellow in Vania Broccoli’s lab at San Raffaele Scientific Institute
Marta Cañizares – Currently Master student in Knoblich lab at the Insitute of Molecular Biotechnology
Armida Faella – Currently Technician at Comparative Genomics lab, IBE
Neus Bayó-Puxan – Currently Project Manager at Vall D’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO)
Roger Torrent – Currently part of the Clinical Research Unit at Sant Joan de Déu Institut de Recerca
Francesca de Angelis – Currently Postdoctoral Researcher at German Cancer Research Center
Adriana Sanchez-Danez – Currently Postdoctoral Researcher at Université Libre de Bruxelles
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