Ana García Osta

My research activity has always been focused on the central nervous system. During my doctoral thesis my research was focused on mechanisms related to depression, but I immediately started to collaborate on projects more focused on looking for the underlying mechanisms of memory formation processes. In order to get insight into this topic, I did a postdoctoral stay of almost 5 years in the laboratory of Dr. Cristina Alberini at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. During this postdoctoral period I collaborated in different research projects related to the study of molecular mechanisms of learning and memory that gave rise to five publications in high-impact journals (Q1, D1), such as the Journal of Neuroscience, PNAS or Nature.
In 2007 I joined CIMA (Center for Applied Medical Research) as a postdoctoral researcher and in 2010 I became the principal investigator of the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) laboratory in the Neurosciences Program. The research in our laboratory focuses on the study of the cellular and molecular bases of memory loss, focusing mainly on animal models of AD. Our ultimate goal is to identify new therapeutic targets and develop new pharmacological treatments that can delay or stop the progression of the disease. We have participated in different research projects focused on studying the molecular alterations associated with synaptic plasticity processes that occur after the administration of different treatments such as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACs) and/or phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE). This line of work has produced 8 publications, 3 patents and two doctoral theses (2009 and 2014) co-directed with Dr. Mar Cuadrado.
Likewise, in recent years, we have initiated a new line of research aimed at finding new therapeutic targets in asymptomatic individuals with an established model of AD. We have discovered that overexpression by a viral vector of phospholipase PLA2G4E in the hippocampus may constitute a new therapy for AD. This work has led to a new patent, a European doctoral thesis in 2019 and a publication in 2020 in the journal Progress in Neurobiology (D1, IF: 11.2). We are currently working on the mechanism of action of this phospholipase in synaptic plasticity (work funded by the MINECO project PID2019-104921RB-I00) and its possible application as a new target in the treatment of dementia (work funded by the CaixaImpulse Validate 2020 program ). Currently, in relation to this project, there is a doctoral thesis in progress.
In summary, I am the author of 2 book chapters and 50 publications, 80% of which in first quartile journals and 20 of them with authorship (index h=28). In terms of teaching, I have directed 4 doctoral theses and several final master's and final degree projects, and more than 200 hours of teaching hours at the university. I have been the principal investigator of 7 research projects, two of which are ongoing: one from the national plan (PID2019-104921RB-I00) and another from the La Caixa Foundation. I have three six-year research periods recognized by the ANEP: 1997-2001, 2007-2012 and 2013-2018.