DrJorge Bernardino de la Serna

Dr Bernardino de la Serna is an Associate Professor in Inhalation Toxicology and Pharmacology (ITP), a fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society (FRMS), the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and two Master's Degrees, one in Chemistry and another in Biochemistry. He was awarded his PhD at the University Complutense of Madrid (Spain), where he worked in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology under the supervision of Prof. Perez-Gil. He completed his first postdoctoral position at the Centre for BioMembrane Physics (MEMPHYS) at the University of Southern Denmark, working with Prof. Mouritsen and Dr. Bagatolli. For a short period as a visiting scientist, while employed at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), he was trained in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy at Prof. S. Hell’s (Nobel Laureate, 2014) laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen (Germany). In the MRC-Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford (United Kingdom), he did his second postdoc with Prof. Eggeling. Thereafter, he took a Staff Scientist role at the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), working in the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory before he joined the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London (United Kingdom). At the airways disease section, he leads the Mechanisms in Inhalation Toxicology, Physiopathology and Pharmacology (MITPs) group. At the MITPs the research is markedly multidisciplinary: Synthetic Biology, Biophysics, Molecular Cell Biology, Molecular Immunology, Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery, Photonics and Quantitative 4D Fluorescence Bioimaging, Organ-on-a-chip and microfluidics. 

MECHANISMS OF INHALATION TOXICOLOGY, PHYSIOPATHOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY (MITPs).

Dr Bernardino de la Serna's research is driven by a profound interest in understanding how cells in the alveolar-capillary barrier (ACB) detect, communicate, and respond when exposed to inhaled substances such as aerosols, foreign bio-functional nanomaterials, toxic nanoparticles, and micro/nano-pathogens. His focus is on studying the molecular interactions, distributions, and dynamic functional structures at the micro and nanoscales within the different layers of the ACB (epithelium, matrix, endothelium). To achieve this, he creates advanced in vitro models (organ-on-a-chip) that mimic the ACB, including lung surfactant and respiratory mechanics. He plans to integrate these lung-on-a-chip models into advanced fluorescence microscopy platforms to observe molecular events in real-time during aerosol inhaled exposures. Additionally, he is developing innovative fluorescence micro- and nanoscopic methods to measure the distribution, interaction, and dynamics of functional lipids and proteins at the molecular level during exposures. He is also working on designing lipid and polymer-based nanocarriers that can be aerosolized and delivered deep into the lungs using specially designed microfluidics chips. He believes that understanding the toxicological and physio-pathological molecular mechanisms will lead to the development of better-designed and more efficient pharmacological drugs, thereby making a significant impact on the field of toxicology, pharmacology, and nanotechnology.

OPPORTUNITIES.

- PhD- We are keen to hear from enthusiastic, bright students who are strongly interested in our research programme. If you are interested in joining us, send me an email with your CV and Cover Letter.
- POSTDOCTORAL- We are keen to hear from outstanding researchers keen to apply for externally funded fellowships. If you would like to apply for postdoctoral fellowships and are looking for a group to support you, please contact me by sending a short Cover Letter and your CV.