Susana Carregal-Romero

 

Ikerbasque and RyC Fellow at the Molecular and Functional Biomarkers Laboratory

Tel:+34 943 005 300. Ext 309

Dr. Susana Carregal-Romero earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Universidad de Vigo in 2009. From 2010 to 2014, she conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Wolfgang J. Parak at Philipps Universität Marburg (Germany), supported by a Fundación Progreso y Salud postdoctoral grant, focusing on the design and biological evaluation of multifunctional nanostructures materials.

She joined CIC biomaGUNE in 2014, where she is a Research Associate in the Molecular & Functional Biomarkers group, led by Prof. Jesús Ruiz-Cabello and co-PI in the CIBERES consortium (Spanish Centre for Respiratory Diseases). In 2022, she was awarded both a Ramón y Cajal contract and an Ikerbasque Fellowship, consolidating her independent career.

Her research has been supported by competitive projects such as BiomTher, NaLus, and CAT-BIOMED, which aim to develop advanced nanomedicines for chronic lung diseases. In 2023, she received one of the awards Ayudas en Ciencias de la Vida y de la Materia from Fundación Ramón Areces for her NanoSurf project on surfactant-based nanomaterials for pulmonary fibrosis.

She has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in internationally recognized journals, cited more than 4,000 times, and is co-inventor of one patent. She has presented her work at numerous international conferences and has been awarded two Best Oral Presentation Awards at CIBERES annual meetings.

Her contributions have been recognized with the Michael Balls Award for pioneering work aimed at reducing animal experimentation. She currently chairs the European Society for Molecular Imaging (ESMI) specialized group in Probe Chemistry.

  • Saliba, J; Porta Zapata, M; Miranda-Perez de Alejo, C; Mersni, R; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Musnier, B; Cherfan, J; Sanchez-Tellez, A; Maugard, T; Biard, D; Bousset, L; Baranger, K; Trinh Le Vi Kieu, C; Gigoux, V; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Fruitier-Arnaudin, I; Carregal-Romero, S; Groult, H, Antitumoral activities of lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharide- based nanoparticles. J. Nanobiotechnology, 2026, 596
  • Zapata, MP; Carregal-Romero, S; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Fruitier-Arnaudin, I; Groult, H, Landscape of carrageenan-based (Nano)materials: Structures, functions and applications with a focus on biomedical uses Carbohydr. Polym. Technol. Appl., 2026, 14, 101138
  • Carrillo-Romero, J; Fernandez-Mendez, L; de la Iglesia, E; Nafarrate, I; Sainz, L; Carregal-Romero, S; Goni-de-Cerioa, F, PEGylation modulates the pulmonary behaviour and antibacterial efficacy of tobramycin liposomes in advanced in vitro lung models. Int. J. Pharm., 2026, 127481
  • Fernandez-Mendez, L; Pinol-Cancer, M; Souto-Riobo, I; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Gonzalez-Lozano, E; Fernandez-Folgueral, I; de Alejo, CM; Azkargorta, M; Elortza, F; Tagliaferro-Quinonero, A; Silvio, DD; Canadas, O; Maiz, J; Perez-Gil, J; Ramos-Cabrer, P; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Carregal-Romero, S, Pulmonary Surfactant Nanoparticles for Lung-Targeted and Dose-Efficient Delivery. Adv. Healthc. Mater., 2026, 15, e05871
  • de Alejo, CM; Miguel-Coello, AB; Piñol-Cancer, M; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Martínez-Parra, L; Carrillo-Romero, J; Fernández-Méndez, L; Goñi-de-Cerio, F; Herranz, F; Silvio, DD; Gallego, M; Sierra-Serrano, B; Cardo, L; Carregal-Romero, S; Ruiz-Cabello, J , Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Ligand-Mediated Targeted Imaging Chem. Eur. J., 2026, In press
  • Carrillo-Romero, J; Fernandez-Mendez, L; de la Iglesia, E; Katsumiti, A; German, L; Silvio, DD; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Carregal-Romero, S; Goni-de-Cerio, F, In Vitro Evaluation of the Effect of Size and PEGylation on Inhalable Liposomes for Pulmonary Drug Delivery. Nanomaterials, 2026, 16, 200
  • Piñol-Cancer, M; Fernández-Méndez, L; Carrillo-Romero, J; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Azkargorta, M; Elortza, F; Goñi-de-Cerio, F; García-Mouton, C; de Alejo, CM; Ismalaj, E; Cañadas, O; Pérez-Gil, J; Ruíz-Cabello, J; Carregal-Romero, S. , The role of PEGylation in the pulmonary delivery of antifibrotic liposomal therapies J. Control. Release, 2025, 386, 114134
  • Galan, M; Fernandez-Mendez, L; Nunez, V; Femenia-Muina, M; Figuera-Belmonte, P; Moya-Ruiz, E; Martinez-Cano, S; Hernandez-Garcia, E; Rodrigo-Tapias, M; Rodriguez-Ronchel, A; Relano-Ruperez, C; Wculek, SK; Benguria, A; Dopazo, A; Henri, S; Jo, S; Liu, TT; Malissen, B; Murphy, KM; Ramiro, AR; Carregal-Romero, S; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Robles-Vera, I; Sancho, D, cDC1s Promote Atherosclerosis via Local Immunity and Are Targetable for Therapy. Circ. Res., 2025, 137, 400-416
  • Zingales, E; Miranda-Pérez de Alejo, C; Sánchez, M; Fernández-Méndez, L; Ruíz-Cabello, J; Sánchez-Cano, C; Carregal-Romero, S. , The paradigm of safe and sustainable-by-design synthetic catalysts for catalytic therapies ChemCatChem, 2025, 17, e202402043
  • Fernandez-Mendez, L; Fernandez-Afonso, Y; Martinez-Vicente, P; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Miranda-Perez de Alejo, C; L de la Pisa, I; Plaza-Garcia, S; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Ramos-Cabrer, P; Gutierrez, L; Carregal-Romero, S, NIR-II Photoresponsive Magnetoliposomes for Remote-Controlled Release and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. ACS Appl. Bio Mater., 2025, 8, 4855-4869
  • Porta-Zapata, M; Carregal-Romero, S; Saliba, J; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Miranda Perez de Alejo, CB; Orue, I; Martínez-Parra, L; Di Silvio, D; Descamps-Mandine, A; Daviaud, C; Menard, M; Hamami, A; Musnier, B; Cherfan, J; Codault, A; Manseur, C; Jeannin, M; Castejón, D; Fruitier-Arnaudin, I; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Groult, H. , Synthesis and Characterization of λ-Carrageenan Oligosaccharide-Based Nanoparticles: Applications in MRI and In Vivo Biodistribution Studies Biomacromolecules, 2025, 26, 1948-1967
  • Ambrosone, A.; Marchesano, V.; Carregal-Romero, S.; Intartaglia, D.; Parak, W.J.; Tortiglione, C., Control of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway In Vivo via Light Responsive Capsules Bio-Nano Interfaces, 2024, 1221-1238
  • Santiago-Arcos, J; Andrés-Sanz, D; Ríos-Lombardía, N; Carregal-Romero, S; di Silvio, D; Llarena, I; García-Álvarez, J; González-Sabín, J; López-Gallego, F. , A heterogeneous chemoenzymatic route toward the continuous transformation of γ-alkynoic acids into γ-hydroxy acids Cell Rep. Phys. Sci., 2024, 5, 102015
  • Fadon-Padilla, L; Miranda-Perez de Alejo, C; Miguel-Coello, AB; Beraza, M; Di Silvio, D; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Sanchez-Guisado, MJ; Aiestaran-Zelaia, I; Fernandez-Mendez, L; Martinez-Parra, L; Ismalaj, E; Berra, E; Carregal-Romero, S; Ruiz-Cabello, J, Magnetic nanoradiotracers for targeted neutrophil detection in pulmonary arterial hypertension. J. Nanobiotechnology, 2024, 22, 709
  • Carrillo-Romero, J; Mentxaka, G; García-Salvador, A; Katsumiti, A; Carregal-Romero, S; Goñi-de-Cerio, F, Assessing the Toxicity of Metal- and Carbon-Based Nanomaterials In Vitro: Impact on Respiratory, Intestinal, Skin, and Immune Cell Lines Int. J. Mol. Sci., 2024, 25, 10910
  • Cardo, L; Martínez-Parra, L; Cesco, M; Echeverría-Beistegui, BM; Martínez-Moro, M; Herrero-Álvarez, N; Cabrerizo, M; Carregal-Romero, S; Ramos-Cabrer, P; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Prato, M. , Luminescent Carbon Nanodots Doped with Gadolinium (III): Purification Criteria, Chemical and Biological Characterization of a New Dual Fluorescence/MR Imaging Agent Small, 2023, 19, 2206442
  • Diamanti, E; Andrés-Sanz, D; Orrego, AH; Carregal-Romero, S; López-Gallego, F. , Surpassing Substrate-Enzyme Competition by Compartmentalization ACS Catal., 2023, 13, 11441-11454
  • Martínez-Parra, L; Piñol-Cancer, M; Sanchez-Cano, C; Miguel-Coello, AB; Di Silvio, D; Gomez, AM; Uriel, C; Plaza-García, S; Gallego, M; Pazos, R; Groult, H; Jeannin, M; Geraki, K; Fernández-Méndez, L; Urkola-Arsuaga, A; Sánchez-Guisado, MJ; Carrillo-Romero, J; Parak, WJ; Prato, M; Herranz, F; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Carregal-Romero, S. , A Comparative Study of Ultrasmall Calcium Carbonate Nanoparticles for Targeting and Imaging Atherosclerotic Plaque ACS Nano, 2023, 17, 13811-13825
  • Carregal-Romero, S; Groult, H; Cañadas, O; A-Gonzalez, N; Lechuga-Vieco, AV; García-Fojeda, B; Herranz, F; Pellico, J; Hidalgo, A; Casals, C; Ruiz-Cabello, J. , Delayed alveolar clearance of nanoparticles through control of coating composition and interaction with lung surfactant protein A Mater. Sci. Eng. C, 2022, 134, 112551
  • Zyuzin, M.V.; Hartmann, R.; Timin, A.S.; Carregal-Romero, S.; Parak, W.J.; Escudero A., Biodegradable particles for protein delivery: Estimation of the release kinetics inside cells Biomater. Adv., 2022, 139, 212966
  • Carregal-Romero, S; Miguel-Coello, AB; Martínez-Parra, L; Martí-Mateo, Y; Hernansanz-Agustín, P; Fernández-Afonso, Y; Plaza-García, S; Gutiérrez, L; Muñoz-Hernández, MdM; Carrillo-Romero, J; Piñol-Cancer, M; Lecante, P; Blasco-Iturri, Z; Fadón, L; Almansa-García, AC; Möller, M; Otaegui, D; Enríquez, JA; Groult, H; Ruíz-Cabello, J. , Ultrasmall Manganese Ferrites for In Vivo Catalase Mimicking Activity and Multimodal Bioimaging Small, 2022, 18, 2106570
  • Groult, H; Carregal-Romero, S; Castejón, D; Azkargorta, M; Miguel-Coello, A; Pulagam, KR; Gómez-Vallejo, V; Cousin, R; Muñoz-Caffarel, M; Lawrie, CH; Llop, J; Piot, J; Elortza, F; Maugard, T; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Fruitier-Arnaudin, I. , Heparin length in the coating of extremely small iron oxide nanoparticles regulates in vivo theranostic applications Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 842-861
  • Egimendia, A; Carregal-Romero, S; Osorio-Querejeta, I; Padro, D; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Otaegui, D; Ramos-Cabrer, P. , Assessing the Potential of Molecular Imaging for Myelin Quantification in Organotypic Cultures Pharmaceutics, 2021, 13, 975
  • Carregal-Romero, S; Fadón, L; Berra, E; Ruíz-Cabello, J. , MicroRNA Nanotherapeutics for Lung Targeting. Insights into Pulmonary Hypertension Int. J. Mol. Sci., 2020, 21, 3253
  • Osorio-Querejeta, I; Carregal-Romero, S; Ayerdi-Izquierdo, A; Mäger, I; A., NL; Wood, M; Egimendia, A; Betanzos, M; Alberro, A; Iparraguirre, L; Moles, L; Llarena, I; Möller, M; Goñi-de-Cerio, F; Bijelic, G; Ramos-Cabrer, P; Muñoz-Culla, M; Otaegui, D. , MiR-219a-5p Enriched Extracellular Vesicles Induce OPC Differentiation and EAE Improvement More Efficiently Than Liposomes and Polymeric Nanoparticles Pharmaceutics, 2020, 12, 186
  • Hernansanz-Agustín, P; Choya-Foces, C; Carregal-Romero, S; Ramos, E; Oliva, T; Villa-Piña, T; Moreno, L; Izquierdo-Álvarez, A; Cabrera-García, JD; Cortés, A; Lechuga-Vieco, AV; Jadiya, P; Navarro, E; Parada, E; Palomino-Antolín, A; Tello, D; Acín-Pérez, R; Rodríguez-Aguilera, JC; Navas, P; Cogolludo, A; López-Montero, I; Martínez-del-Pozo, A; Egea, J; López, MG; Elrod, JW; Ruíz-Cabello, J; Bogdanova, A; Enríquez, JA; Martínez-Ruiz, A. , Na(+)controls hypoxic signalling by the mitochondrial respiratory chain Nature, 2020, 586, 287
  • Alberro, A; Osorio-Querejeta, I; Sepulveda, L; Fernandez-Eulate, G; Mateo-Abad, M; Munoz-Culla, M; Carregal-Romero, S; Matheu, A; Vergara, I; de Munain, AL; Saenz-Cuesta, M; Otaegui, D, T cells and immune functions of plasma extracellular vesicles are differentially modulated from adults to centenarians Aging, 2019, 11, 10723-10741
  • Carregal-Romero, S; Plaza-García, S; Piñol, R; Murillo, J; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Padro, D; Millán, A; Ramos-Cabrer, P. , MRI Study of the Influence of Surface Coating Aging on the In Vivo Biodistribution of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Biosensors, 2018, 8, 127
  • Strozyk, MS; Carregal-Romero, S; Henriksen-Lacey, M; Brust, M; Liz-Marzán, LM. , Biocompatible, multiresponsive nanogel composites for co-delivery of anti-angiogenic and chemotherapeutic agents Chem. Mater., 2017, 29, 2303-2313
  • Zyuzin, MV; Díez, P; Goldsmith, M; Carregal-Romero, S; Teodosio, C; Rejman, J; Feliu, N; Escudero, A; Almendral, MJ; Linne, U; Peer, D; Fuentes, M; Parak, WJ. , Comprehensive and Systematic Analysis of the Immunocompatibility of Polyelectrolyte Capsules Bioconjugate Chem., 2017, 28, 556-564
  • Henriksen-Lacey, M; Carregal-Romero, S; Liz-Marzán, LM. , Current Challenges toward In Vitro Cellular Validation of Inorganic Nanoparticles Bioconjugate Chem., 2017, 28, 212-221
  • Zyuzin, MV; Honold, T; Carregal-Romero, S; Kantner, K; Karg, M; Parak, WJ. , Influence of Temperature on the Colloidal Stability of Polymer-Coated Gold Nanoparticles in Cell Culture Media Small, 2016, 12, 1723-1731
Funding Agency Call Identifier Acronym Title Project Code Start Date End Date Status
European Commission - Horizon Europe HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN 2025 Doctoral Networks (HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01) LUNG-GENEMED LUNG-specific nucleic acid delivery: A doctoral training programme for developing next GENEration genetic MEDicines 101312053 2026-12-01 2030-11-30 Accepted
Basque Government PIBA: Proyectos Investigación Básica y/o Aplicada 2025-2027 OncoCal Aplicación teranóstica de nanopartículas de carbonato cálcico amorfo en cáncer de mama PIBA_2025_1_0057 Cod 1251240534 2025-11-06 2028-06-30 Active
Basque Government Elkartek 2026 HYDROPHO_2 Desarrollo de un sistema de delivery liposomal con nanobots fotosensibles para la activación controlada y dirigida de compuestos activos para su aplicación tópica en hidrogeles KK-2026/00026 2027-01-01 2027-12-31 Active
Basque Government Equipamiento Científico_INKER 2026 3D Fluorescence and Bioluminescence Tomography (MILabs VECTor) Sistema de imagen óptica tomográfica tridimensional (3D) de última generación EC_2026_1_0005 2026-01-01 2027-08-03 Active
Spanish Research Agency - AEI Ayudas para contratos Ramón y Cajal (RYC 2020) RYC2020 Nanopartículas funcionales avanzadas para aplicaciones biológicas y biomédicas RYC2020-030241-I 2022-05-01 2027-04-30 Active
Basque Government Elkartek 2026 HYDROPHO Desarrollo de un sistema de delivery liposomal con nanobots fotosensibles para la activación controlada y dirigida de compuestos activos para su aplicación tópica en hidrogeles KK-2026/00026 2026-03-12 2026-12-31 Active
Basque Government ESTRATEGIA IKUR 2025-2026 NeuCRISPR Development of broad action CRISPR gene editors for ALS   2025-08-01 2026-12-31 Active
Gipuzkoa Provincial Council Línea I+D: Programa de Red guipuzcoana de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación PulmoTeD Aumento de tiempo de retención pulmonar de nanozimas para terapias dirigidas 2025-CIE4-000041-01 2025-05-01 2026-09-30 Finalised
Spanish Research Agency - AEI Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento (PID 2022) y actuaciones encaminadas a la formación de personal investigador predoctoral (former "Retos", "FPI") BiomTher Biomimetic nanoparticles to improve therapies for lung diseases PID2022-142842OB-I00 2023-09-01 2026-08-31 Finalised
Spanish Research Agency - AEI Consolidación investigadora (CNS 2023) CAT-BIOMED Advanced inorganic nanocatalysts for biomedical applications CNS2023-143944 2024-04-01 2026-06-30 Finalised
Fundacion Ramon Areces XXI Concurso Nacional para la adjudicación de Ayudas a la Investigación en Ciencias de la Vida y de la Materia 2022 NanoSurf Nanomedicinas basadas en surfactante pulmonar para tratamientos dirigidos al pulmón CIVP21S13151 2023-04-14 2026-04-13 Finalised
Spanish Research Agency - AEI «Proyectos I+D+i» 2019 - Modalidad «Retos Investigación» NaLuS (managed by CIBER) Understanding the interaction of Nanocapsules with Lung Surfactant towards enhanced therapeutic outcomes PID2019-106139RA-I00 2020-06-01 2023-12-31 Finalised
Basque Employment Service (Lanbide) PROGRAMA INVESTIGO (IKER 2022) INVESTIGO - 2022/IKER/000012 2022-07-18 2023-07-17 Finalised
Mitacs Globalink Research Award (GRA) Bespoke biomimetic lipid nanoparticle Bespoke biomimetic lipid nanoparticles for pulmonary drug delivery       Accepted
Elena González Lozano
Elena González Lozano

PhD Student (CIBER )

Itziar Souto Riobó
Itziar Souto Riobó

PhD Student

Tania Marli Hernández Cruz
Tania Marli Hernández Cruz

PhD Student

Claudia Beatriz Miranda Pérez de Alejo
Claudia Beatriz Miranda Pérez de Alejo

Postdoctoral Researcher (CIBER)

Laura Fernández Méndez
Laura Fernández Méndez

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ainhize Urkola Arsuaga
Ainhize Urkola Arsuaga

Technician