DrAida Martinez Sanchez
Associate Professor of RNA Biology and Gene Regulation
Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction - Faculty of Medicine
Orcid identifier0000-0001-5142-2527 (opens in a new tab)
- Associate Professor of RNA Biology and Gene RegulationDepartment of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction - Faculty of Medicine
- 326, ICTEM building, Hammersmith Campus, United Kingdom
BIO
Dr Aida Martinez-Sanchez is an Associate Professor in the Section of Cell Biology and Functional Genomics, part of the Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction. She leads a research group focused on understanding how microRNAs (miRNAs) and their gene targets regulate pancreatic beta-cell function in both health and disease.
Aida completed her PhD at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona (2004-2009), where she studied the mechanisms controlling the expression of the cell cycle regulator and tumour suppressor p27kip1. At that time, miRNAs were just beginning to capture the attention of the scientific community. Aida’s team discovered that p27kip1 translation is regulated by the microRNA miR-181a during myeloid differentiation, which directly impacts these cells' ability to differentiate into macrophages.
Her deep interest in miRNAs and other non-coding RNAs drove Aida to continue her research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford (2009-2013), where she studied the role of miRNAs in cartilage function. During this period, she identified miRNAs altered during chondrocyte de-differentiation and uncovered the specific roles of miR-145 and miR-1247 in this process.
Aida has always been fascinated by how individual cells and organs coordinate to meet the body’s metabolic needs. The insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cell within the islets of Langerhans is a remarkable example of this complex, yet tightly regulated system to control glucose homeostasis. Thus, in 2013, Aida joined the research group of Prof Guy Rutter and Imperial College as a Research Associate to study the role of miRNAs in β-cell function, which remained largely unknown.
In 2017, Aida was awarded a New Investigator Research Grant by the Medical Research Council (MRC), allowing her to establish her own research group within the Section of Cell Biology and Functional Genomics. Her lab uses cutting-edge molecular and cellular biology techniques to investigate the roles of miRNAs and their gene targets in beta-cells and their involvement in diabetes progression. Currently, her research is funded primarily through grants from the MRC and Diabetes UK.
Aida also serves as the director of the MSc in Applied Genomics at Imperial and leads the module "Non-coding RNA, Gene Editing, and In Vitro Modelling."
Aida completed her PhD at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona (2004-2009), where she studied the mechanisms controlling the expression of the cell cycle regulator and tumour suppressor p27kip1. At that time, miRNAs were just beginning to capture the attention of the scientific community. Aida’s team discovered that p27kip1 translation is regulated by the microRNA miR-181a during myeloid differentiation, which directly impacts these cells' ability to differentiate into macrophages.
Her deep interest in miRNAs and other non-coding RNAs drove Aida to continue her research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford (2009-2013), where she studied the role of miRNAs in cartilage function. During this period, she identified miRNAs altered during chondrocyte de-differentiation and uncovered the specific roles of miR-145 and miR-1247 in this process.
Aida has always been fascinated by how individual cells and organs coordinate to meet the body’s metabolic needs. The insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cell within the islets of Langerhans is a remarkable example of this complex, yet tightly regulated system to control glucose homeostasis. Thus, in 2013, Aida joined the research group of Prof Guy Rutter and Imperial College as a Research Associate to study the role of miRNAs in β-cell function, which remained largely unknown.
In 2017, Aida was awarded a New Investigator Research Grant by the Medical Research Council (MRC), allowing her to establish her own research group within the Section of Cell Biology and Functional Genomics. Her lab uses cutting-edge molecular and cellular biology techniques to investigate the roles of miRNAs and their gene targets in beta-cells and their involvement in diabetes progression. Currently, her research is funded primarily through grants from the MRC and Diabetes UK.
Aida also serves as the director of the MSc in Applied Genomics at Imperial and leads the module "Non-coding RNA, Gene Editing, and In Vitro Modelling."
FACULTY
- Faculty of Medicine
POSITION NAME
- Associate Professor of RNA Biology and Gene Regula