Investigación - Nuestro equipo

Julio Alonso Padilla graduated in Biology in the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology in the same university in 2010.

He is responsible for the laboratory of Trypanosoma cruzi biology at ISGlobal. This protozoan parasite causes Chagas disease, a neglected zoonosis that affects millions of people worldwide, the majority of them in Latin America. He leads a multidisciplinary team pursuing the direct translation of research advances to society. ISGlobal Chagas group is integrated into the Malaria and Neglected Parasitic Diseases programme. 

The main research lines of the Chagas group are:

Líneas de investigación

• New therapeutic interventions against the T. cruzi infection.
• Implementation of more practical diagnostic algorithms.
• Identification and validation of treatment efficacy and disease progression biomarkers.
• Cooperation for the development by the strengthening of health systems towards an integral care for Chagas disease.

Principales publicaciones

• Strengthening health management information systems for Chagas disease: a multi-level qualitative study in Bolivia and Paraguay.Skjefte M, Posada E,  L, Ardiles Ruesjas S, Galván IL, Chambi W, Soliz Zarate MR, Lesmo V, Rueda E, Morales M, Maude RJ, Rojas-Cortez M, Alonso-Padilla J. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2026 May 30;60:101514. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2026.101514. eCollection 2026 Aug.PMID: 42256619 
•  Identification of novel compounds against Trypanosoma cruzi using AlphaFold structures. Ros-Lucas A, Saeteros A, Gabaldón-Figueira JC, Martínez-Peinado N, Escabia E, Gascón J, Alonso-Padilla J. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2025 May 5;27:1838-1849. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2025.05.002. eCollection 2025.PMID: 40470316
•  Prevalence and diagnostic accuracy of different diagnostic tests for Chagas disease in an indigenous community of the Paraguayan Chaco.Ardiles-Ruesjas  S, Lesmo V, González-Romero V, Cubilla Z, Chena L, Huber C, Rivas MJ, Saldaña P, Carrascosa A, Méndez S, Sanz S, Becker SL, Alonso-Padilla J, Losada I. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2025 Feb 7;19(2):e0012861. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012861. eCollection 2025 Feb.PMID: 39919113
•  Transcriptomic Evidence of Immune Modulation in Subjects With Chronic Trypanosoma cruzi Infection. Ros-Lucas A, Gabaldón-Figueira JC, Martínez-Peinado N, Losada-Galván I, Posada E, Escabia E, Martín-Mur B, Gut M, Esteve-Codina A, Gascón J, Pinazo MJ, Alonso-Padilla J. J Infect Dis. 2024 Dec 16;230(6):1518-1528. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae429.PMID: 39194054
•  Changes in lipid abundance are associated with disease progression and treatment response in chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Gabaldón-Figueira JC, Ros-Lucas A, Martínez-Peinado N, Blackburn G, Losada-Galvan I, Posada E, Ballart C, Escabia E, Capellades J, Yanes O, Pinazo MJ, Gascón J, Alonso-Padilla J. Parasit Vectors. 2024 Nov 9;17(1):459. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06548-3.PMID: 39521974