Cardiac development and regulation of the differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells into functional cardiovascular cell types HOSTING OFFER – MSCA-PF 2025

The group “Cardiovascular Development and Disease” at the Institute of Biomedicine of Málaga (IBIMA-Plataforma BIONAND) in Málaga (Spain) is interested in hosting a Marie Curie Fellowship. The fellow will be supervised by Prof.  Pérez-Pomares and Dr. Guadix in a project directly related to the study of regulation of the differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells into functional cardiovascular cell types during heart development. Additionally, our laboratory is focusing on knowing what molecular and cellular mechanisms controls cardiac progenitor differentiation, maturation and assembly into a functional organoid tissue in vitro.

Description of the center: IBIMA Platform BIONAND is a multidisciplinary research space in biomedicine and nanomedicine that is centred around the two largest hospitals located in Malaga (Regional and Virgen de la Victoria University Hospitals) and Primary Care Units of the Andalusian Public Health System, together with the biotechnological groups of the University of Malaga. This entity brings together 73 research groups, selected based on scientific excellence, and working on eight big research areas. IBIMA aims to promote research of excellence, oriented towards translational research, fostering transferable results to clinical practice, advancing in the improvement of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the most prevalent health problems at the regional, national and international level. It enables the development and promotion of a space for cutting-edge research that contributes to the scientific basis of the programs and policies of the National Health System. In 2015, IBIMA obtained recognition from the National Ministry of Health as one of the Biomedical Research Institute of reference in Spain. In 2022, the Andalusian Centre for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology (BIONAND) was integrated into IBIMA, equipped with a nanoimaging Unit holding the distinction of “Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure” awarded by the Spanish Government, infrastructure unique in Spain and one of the most complete in Europe. The Institute is part of relevant European research infrastructures such us EATRIS (Biomarkers and ATMP platforms) and ECRIN (designated in 2022 as National Hub of ECRIN-ERIC by the Spanish Government), and also participates in more than 80 scientific and technological research networks, being a European reference in biomedical and translational research.

Description of the group:

Our group is led by Prof. J. M. Pérez-Pomares (ORCID: 0000-0001-5487-7252), that has been PI of 5 consecutive grants from the Plan Nacional de I+D+i, and IP of grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Junta de Andalucía, the EU, and NATO. During all these years, multiple technologies have been recruited to the DeCA lab, from advanced 2D and 3D microscopy to the work with murine transgenic lines or various -omics analyses, and the team has actively participated in the funding of large infrastructure to the University of Málaga. Prof. Pérez-Pomares has a wide experience in the training of investigators in different phases of their career in the last ten years, from 8 PhD students to the two junior PIs that are currently co-leading the DeCA lab.

Prof. Pérez-Pomares’ research has focused on the study of epicardial embryonic development and its impact in heart morphogenesis and adult cardiac disease. Dr. Pérez-Pomares’ work demonstrated, for the first time, that the epicardium is able to initiate an epithelial-to- mesenchymal transition (EMT) that results in the appearance of a novel population of mesenchymal cells displaying a high morphogenetic potential. EPDCs were shown to differentiate into multiple mesodermal cell types, including coronary endothelial and smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts, among other cell kinds (Pérez-Pomares et al., 1998, PMID: 9337131; 2002, PMID: 12086469). This work was also crucial to decipher the non-cell autonomous, epicardial-mediated role played by retinoic acid in ventricular myocardial growth (Guadix et al., 2011, PMID: 21343363). All these findings led to the hypothesis, that EPDC could be a cardiac cell progenitor cell type, and even a cellular substrate to repair the damaged heart (Wessels & Pérez-Pomares, 2004, PMID: 14699633). The analysis of EPDC contribution to the coronary vascular system resulted in a series of important publications that have set a standard in the field (Cano et al., 2016; Pérez-Pomares et al., 2016). Today, the analysis of epicardial-derived cardiac fibroblasts and their role in cardiac fibrosis is a main research line in the DeCA laboratory. Our group hypothesized, for the first time, the cardiac fibroblasts were functionally heterogeneous (Ruiz-Villalba et al., 2013, PMID: 23349729), and we were the first laboratory in demonstrating that embryonic epicardial-derived fibroblasts were the origin of the ventricular fibrotic remodeling that follows myocardial infarction (Ruiz-Villalba et al., 2015, PMID: 25975467), thus suggesting a developmental substrate for some cardiac diseases. Prof. Pérez-Pomares’ research has been published in important peer-reviewed international journals. Many of the hypotheses and concepts coined by the DeCA group are included in the most relevant text books on cardiovascular development and regeneration (Rosenthal & Harvey, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-12-381332-9; Pérez-Pomares & Kelly, 2018, ISBN: 9780198757269).

Dr. Guadix research has been focused on the study of epicardial embryonic development and its impact in heart morphogenesis and adult cardiac disease. Dr Guadix worked for two years as head of cell production in the GMP room at Malaga Regional Hospital and was part of the team that obtained accreditation for this cell culture room from the Spanish Medicines Agency, enabling cells to be cultivated for use in clinical trials. Recently his research is more focused on the study of congenital heart diseases and the cardiac cell heterogeneity in the context of the heart development. He works in the human and mouse pluripotent stem cell differentiation into functional cardiomyocytes and epicardial progenitor cells. Currently, we maintain a very close scientific collaboration with both Professor Robert Passier’s research laboratory at the University of Twente and the biotechnology company River Biomedics (Ribeiro et al., 2022). In addition, we are all part of the same European research project whose aim is to generate Mini-Hearts (a type of heterotypic cardiac organoid) from the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells [Engineering a living human Mini-heart and swimming Bio-robot (“BioRobot-MiniHeart”, #101070953). EU-European Research Council (Pathfinder Challenges)].

You can find more information about the group on our social networks:

Description of the project/projects:

    • Number of positions available:  1
    • Project Objective: Study of the regulation of the differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells into functional cardiovascular cell types, and the reactivation of all these processes in a pathophysiological environment.

Description Principal Investigator

Prof. Pérez-Pomares (b. 1972) got his PhD on Cardiovascular Developmental Biology from the University of Málaga (UMA) in 2000. After short scientific visits to the USA and Germany, and a two-year post-doctoral period at the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC, USA, 2000-2002), he returned to Spain to work as Research Assistant (2002-2004), Assistant Professor (2004-2010), and Associate Professor (2010-2018). In 2018 he was promoted to Full Professor and he is the current Chair of the Department of Animal Biology, UMA (2020-today). Prof. Pérez-Pomares is the senior PI of the “Cardiovascular Development and Disease” (DeCA) team at UMA, Group Leader at Málaga’s Institute of Biomedicine IBIMA, and Visiting Scientist at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC, Madrid). Moreover, Prof. Pérez-Pomares is/has been Past Chairperson of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Development, Anatomy and Pathology and member of its Nucleus (Board, 2020-2022), Manager and Coordinator at the Biomedicine Board of the Spanish Research National Agency (2018-2022) Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Biomedicina, Fisiopatología de Órganos y Sistemas), and frequent reviewer for prestigious multidisciplinary (e.g. Nature), developmental (e.g. Development) or cardiovascular journals (e.g. Circulation Research).

Dr. Guadix (b. 1980) holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Málaga (Doctor Europaeus) (Summa Cum Laude+Extraordinary PhD award) since 08/07/2010. His PhD thesis subject was the study of vertebrate heart embryogenesis in various amniote animal models (avians and mammals). This predoctoral research was supported by a personal fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through a joint competitive action established between the National Centre of Biotechnology (CSIC) and the University of Málaga (UMA). After his PhD, Dr. Guadix became Manufacturing Manager of Advanced Therapies at the Regional Hospital (Málaga, Spain) (03/2011-11/2012). Shortly afterwards (01/2013-06/2016), he was awarded a Marie Curie post-doctoral fellowship. During this post-doc period, Dr. Guadix worked in Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC-The Neatherlands) under the supervision of Professors Christine Mummery and Robert Passier and became an expert in the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells (embryonic and induced) into cardiovascular tissues (cardiomyocytes and epicardium) (Ribeiro et al., 2015; Guadix et al., 2017). He also has a long experience working with different experimental animal model (Accreditation of animal care «B and C»). His current research focuses in the study of the evolutive implications of amniote vertebrate heart regeneration using in vivo and in vitro animal models. Dr. Guadix obtained the I3 certificate (2019) and he was promoted to Associate Professor at the Department of Animal Biology (University of Málaga) since April 2023.

Publications

    1. Marín-Sedeño E, Cobos-Figueroa J, Sánchez-Mata A, Cano E, Díaz-Martínez L, Lescroart F, Ruiz-Villalba A, Pérez-Pomares JM* (*AC, 7/8). Wt1+/Itga4+ progenitors drive epicardial-derived cell expansion via non-canonical Wnt signaling. Nature Communications (second revision).
    2. Oliveira C, Córdoba J, Pearson JR, Guruceaga E, Marín-Sedeño E, García-Caballero M, Guadix JA, Pérez-Pomares JM*, Ruiz-Villalba A* (*AC, 8/9). 2024. Revealing the Complexity of the Epicardial Secretome: Characterization and Functional Assessment of Epicardium-Derived Extracellular Vesicles and Matrix. Scientific report (second revision).
    3. Hernández SC, Marina Ainciburu, Laura Sudupe, […], José Mª Pérez-Pomares, Ming Wu, Stefan Janssens, Felipe Prósper, David Gómez-Cabrero, Adrián Ruiz-Villalba. 2024. Unravelling the molecular activation of the reparative cardiac fibroblasts after myocardial infarction. bioRxiv 2024.11.21.624638 (doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.21.624638).
    4. Coppiello G, Barlabé P, […], Pérez-Pomares JM, Ruiz-Villalba A, Ullate-Agote A, Prósper F, Aranguren XL. 2023. Generation of heart and vascular system in rodents by blastocyst complementation. Dev Cell. 58(24):2881-2895.e7 (doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.10.008).
    5. Siguero-Álvarez M, Salguero-Jiménez A, Grego-Bessa J, […], Pérez-Pomares JM, Sánchez-Cabo F, Pendas AM, Raya A, Gimeno-Blanes JR, de la Pompa JL. 2023. A Human Hereditary Cardiomyopathy Shares a Genetic Substrate With Bicuspid Aortic Valve. 147(1):47-65. (doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.058767).
    6. Palmquist-Gomes P, Ruiz-Villalba A, Guadix JA, […], Pérez-Pomares JM. 2023.  Origin of congenital coronary arterio-ventricular fistulae from anomalous epicardial and myocardial development. Experimental and Molecular Medicine, 55:228-239 (doi: 10.1038/s12276-022-00913-x). JCR-IF: 9.5 (D1).
    7. Palmquist-Gomes P, Marín-Sedeño E, Ruiz-Villalba A, Rico-Llanos GA, Pérez-Pomares JM*, Guadix JA* (AC 5/6). 2022. In Vivo and In Vitro Cartilage Differentiation from Embryonic Epicardial Progenitor Cells. Int J Mol Sci, 25;23:3614 (doi: 10.3390/ijms23073614).
    8. Ribeiro MC, Rivera-Arbeláez JM, Cofiño-Fabres C, Schwach V, Slaats RH, Ten Den SA, Vermeul K, van den Berg A, Pérez-Pomares JM, Segerink LI, Guadix JA, Passier R. 2022.  A New Versatile Platform for Assessment of Improved Cardiac Performance in Human-Engineered Heart Tissues. J Pers Med, 12:214 (doi: 10.3390/jpm12020214)
    9. Pogontke C, Guadix JA, Sánchez-Tévar AM, Muñoz-Chápuli R, Ruiz-Villalba A*, Pérez-Pomares JM* (AC 5/6). 2022. Dynamic Epicardial Contribution to Cardiac Interstitial c-Kit and Sca1 Cellular Fractions. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 10: 864765 (doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.864765). JCR-IF: 5.5 (Q1).
    10. Antequera-Gómez ML, Díaz-Martínez L, Guadix JA, Sánchez-Tévar AM, Sopeña-Torres S, Hierrezuelo J, Doan HK, Leveau JHJ, de Vicente A, Romero D.  2021. Sporulation is dispensable for the vegetable-associated life cycle of the human pathogen Bacillus cereus. Microb Biotechnol, 14:1550-1565 (doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.13816)
    11. Sampaio-Pinto V, Ruiz-Villalba A, Nascimento DS, Pérez-Pomares JM. 2021. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, 112:16-26. (doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.06.008). JCR-IF: 7.5 (Q1).
    12. Cano-Ballesteros S, Palmquist-Gomes P, Marín-Sedeño E, Guadix JA*, Pérez-Pomares JM*(AC 4/5). 2021.Fsp1 cardiac embryonic expression delineates atrioventricular endocardial cushion, coronary venous and lymphatic valve development. J Anat, 238:508-514 (doi: 10.1111/joa.13306)
    13. Benitez-Martin C#, Guadix JA#, Pearson JR, Najera F*, Perez-Pomares JM*, Perez-Inestrosa E* (#FA 1/2)(*AC 5/6). 2020. Indolenine-Based Derivatives as Customizable Two-Photon Fluorescent Probes for pH Bioimaging in Living Cells. ACS Sensors, 5:1068-1074 (doi: 10.1021/acssensors.9b02590). JCR-IF: 7.7 (D1).
    14. Guadix JA, Orlova VV, Giacomelli E, Bellin M, Ribeiro MC, Mummery CL, Pérez-Pomares JM*, Passier R* (*AC 7/8). 2017. Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Differentiation into Functional Epicardial Progenitor Cells. Stem Cell Reports, 9:1754-1764 (doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.10.023). JCR-IF: 6.5 (Q1).
    15. Cano E, Carmona R, Ruiz-Villalba A, […], Pérez-Pomares JM (AC 10/10). 2016. Extracardiac septum transversum/proepicardial endothelial cells pattern embryonic coronary arterio-venous connections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 113:656-661 (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1509834113). JCR-IF: 9.4 (D1).
    16. Ruiz-Villalba A, Simón AM, Pogontke C, […], Pérez-Pomares JM (AC 10/10). 2015. Interacting resident epicardium-derived fibroblasts and recruited bone marrow cells form myocardial infarction scar. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 65:2057-2066 (doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2015.03.520). JCR-IF: 17.8 (D1).
    17. Ziogas A, Ehrbar M, Pérez-Pomares JM (AC 4/4). 2013. Characterization of epicardial-derived cardiac interstitial cells: differentiation and mobilization of heart fibroblast progenitors. PLoS One, 8(1):e53694 (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053694). JCR-IF: 3.5 (Q1).
    18. Guadix JA, Lettice L, Velecela V, Muñoz-Chápuli R, Hastie ND, Pérez-Pomares JM*, Martínez-Estrada OM* (*AC 7/8). 2011. Development, 138:1093-1097 (doi: 10.1242/dev.044594). JCR-IF: 6.6 (Q1).

Research projects

    1. Cardiac fibroblast stratification: differential origin and spatial segregation of activated proliferative fibroblasts in cardiovascular pathophysiology (PID2021-122626-OB-I00). Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de investigación. 278,300.00€ (En ejecución: 01/09/2022-31/08/2025). PI: J.M. Pérez-Pomares (UMA).
    2. Integrated Research Network on Organic Fibrosis (RED2022-134485-T). National Research Agency-Spanish Ministry of Science. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de investigación. 19,100.00€ (En ejecución: 01/06/2023-31/05/2025). PI/Coordinator: J.M. Pérez-Pomares (UMA).
    3. Engineering a living human Mini-heart and swimming Bio-robot (“BioRobot-MiniHeart”, #101070953). EU-European Research Council (Pathfinder Challenges). 975,000.00€ (UMA); Consortium: 4.500.000,00€ (En ejecución: 01/11/2022-31/10/2027). PIs: J.A. Guadix and J.M. Pérez-Pomares (UMA). Coordinator: Jeroen Leitjen (University of Twente, The Netherlands).
    4. Origen embrionario del Síndrome de Canal Auriculoventricular Completo Tetralogía de Fallot (CAVC-ToF) y del Defecto de la Comunicación Interauricular (CIA): Mecanismos Celulares y Moleculares. Consejería de Salud y Familias, Junta de Andalucía. 69.000€. Dates: 12/2019-12/2022. PI: JA Guadix (UMA)
    5. Epicardial-derived mesenchymal stem cells in cardiac disease (RTI2018-095410-B-I00). Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación. 266,200.00€ (Ejecutado: 2019-2021). PI: J.M. Pérez Pomares (UMA).
    6. SEC/FEC-INV-BAS 18. Tittle: Evaluación del potencial regenerativo cardiovascular del mesénquima de la grasa epicárdica. Funding: Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), 15.000 €. Dates: 10/2018-09/2020. PI: J.A.Guadix
    7. Cardiac pericoronary niche: cell interaction, homeostasis and pathologic disregulation (BFU2015-65783-R). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. 100,000.00€. (Ejecutado: 2016-2018). PI: J.M. Pérez Pomares (UMA).
    8. Study on the development, structure and regulation of the cardiac interstitial pericoronary niche (BFU2012-35799). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. 100,000.00€. (Ejecutado: 2013-2015). PI: J.M. Pérez Pomares (UMA).

    Application Details

      • Foreseen job starting date: March 2026 (or later, depending on the GA signature)
      • Application deadline: 11 September 2025
      • How to apply: MSCA application website
      • Application e-mail: jmperezp@uma.es; jaguadix@uma.es; opi@ibima.eu  

    Candidate profile

      • You are a highly motivated PhD. graduate, in your first 8 years of research experience in the cardiovascular field, looking for a hosting institution to apply for a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.
      • You have not resided or carried out their main activities in the country of Spain for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the abovementioned deadline.
      • Your research expertise is related to cardiac cell and/or developmental biology (including cell differentiation), cardiac anatomy and function and cardiac pathophysiology.

    Required education level:

      • Required education level 1: PhD
      • Degree field: Biology, Biomedicine, Cell & Molecular Biology, Biotechnology

     Required experience level:

      • Main research field: Cardiovascular Biology
      • Sub research field: Cell Biology // Developmental Biology
      • Years of research experience: Max. 8 years of postdoctoral experience

    Required languages skills:

      • Language: English, Spanish.
      • Language level: C1 (English, advanced, fluent as speaker, writer and reader); B1 (Spanish, intermediate level, basic communication skills).

    Additional requirements:

      • Experience in mouse and human PSC (ESC and iPSC) differentiation into different cardiovascular cell types.
      • Skills: Histological analysis of cardiovascular tissues. Gene and protein expression techniques (including IHC, FACS, Western blot, ISH, PCR, etc.). Cell culture. Proficiency in the use of laser  confocal microscopy.
      • Specific requirements: Expertise in transcriptomics. Legally qualified for the handling of animals for experimental research.
      • Experience in proteomics and bioinformatics will be positively evaluated.

    At the deadline for the submission of proposals (10 September, 2025), researchers:

      • Shall be in possession of a doctoral degree.
      • Must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of award of the doctoral degree.
      • Must not have resided or carried out their main activities in the country of Spain for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the abovementioned deadline.

    Important and contac information