Mireia Coscollá and Ron Geller.

Two members of the Faculty of the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology I2SysBio (joint center University of Valencia-CSIC), Mireia Coscollá and Ron Geller, will continue as Senior Scientists of the CSIC and permanent group leaders at the institute.

Mireia Coscollá is an evolutionary biologist who completed her doctorate on population genetics and molecular epidemiology of Legionella pneumophilain 2009 at the University of Valencia. After a brief stay at the Pompeu Fabra University studying metagenomics, he worked on the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for seven years at the Tropical and Public Health Institute of Switzerland. In 2017, and thanks to the Ramón y Cajal program, he established a new research group in the I2SysBio Research Program on Pathogen Systems Biology: PathoGenOmics. The objective is to understand the virulence of the most deadly pathogens: Mycobacterium tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2 by studying their evolution within their hosts by integrating clinical and omics data obtained experimentally. This line of research is consolidated thanks to the four current competitive projects and the new permanent position of Mireia Coscollá as a Senior Scientist at the CSIC.

Ron Geller graduated in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Bárbara, and received a doctorate in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral stay at the University of Valencia, where he later started the Viral Biology group incorporated into the I2SysBio Research Program on Pathogen Systems Biology as a Ramón y Cajal researcher. The laboratory has focused on using systems biology methods to define how mutations affect the biology, pathogenesis and evolution of RNA viruses. In addition, they have collaborated with multiple groups in Spain to understand immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants. Finally, they are actively involved in the identification of antivirals for the treatment of viral infections. Ron Geller will continue to lead the Viral Biology group as a Senior Scientist at the CSIC.