Cardiac fibroblasts as the developmental and adult substrates of cardiac fibrosis - 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. Ruiz-Villalba in a project directly related to the study of cardiac fibrosis. Fibrosis is a common response of adult tissues to damage that causes the generation of a fibrotic scar. The main cell type that is responsible to this scar is the fibroblast, a mesenchymal-like cell that resides in the interstitium of every organ. In the case of the heart, the heterogeneity of this subpopulation is key to understanding the resolution of the pathophysiology of the disease. We tackle this heterogeneity from different points of view, including the transcriptomic profiling of all the subpopulations in the context of their embryonic origin. This approach is key to unraveling the process of activation that suffers this population after damage, which will allow us to control the size and maturation of this fibrotic scar.

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 -omic 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. Ruiz-Villalba research has focused on the study of cardiac fibroblasts heterogeneity in the context of the myocardial infarction. He described the subpopulation of cardiac fibroblasts that is responsible for the healing scar. This subpopulation, characterized by the expression of Cthrc1, is key in the early phase of the reparative process after damage to the adult heart. However, the molecular regulation of this subpopulation, its interactions with other cardiac interstitial cells subpopulations, and how these processes affect the cardiac interactome and the resolution of the scar after a myocardial infarction are currently unknown.

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

Description of the project/projects:

    • Number of positions available:  1
    • Project 1 Objective: To characterize and evaluate the impact of cell clonality in cardiac fibroblast expansion and response in both homeostasis and disease.

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. Ruiz-Villalba (b. 1980) got his PhD on Cardiovascular Developmental Biology from the University of Málaga (UMA) in 2014. He enjoyed two postdoctoral periods: (1) at the Department of Anatomy, Embryology and Physiology at the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam-The Netherlands as MSCA-PF (2014-2015); and (2) at the Department of Regenerative Medicine, CIMA, Pamplona-Spain) as Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación (2015-2019). He returned to Spain to work as senior Postdoc (2020-2021), Junior PI (2021-2022), and Ramón y Cajal Investigator (2022-currently). Dr. Ruiz-Villalba is junior PI of the “Cardiovascular Development and Disease” (DeCA) team at UMA; member of the Nucleus (Board) of the European Society of Cardiology – Working Group in Development, Anatomy and Pathology (ESC-WG DAP); and evaluator of different scientific agencies, such as Agencia Estatal de Investigación or Consejería de Salud (Regional Government of Andalusia).

Publications (last 10 years)

    1. Marín-Sedeño E, Cobos-Figueroa J, Sánchez-Mata A, Cano E, Díaz-Martínez L, Lescroart F, Ruiz-Villalba A*, Pérez-Pomares JM*. 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*. 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. Circulation. 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. Gil-Cabrerizo P, Saludas L, Prósper F, Abizanda G, Echanove-González de Anleo M, Ruiz-Villalba A, Garbayo E, Blanco-Prieto MJ. 2022. Development of an injectable alginate-collagen hydrogel for cardiac delivery of extracellular vesicles. Int J Pharm. 629:122356 (doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.122356).
    8. Pogontke C, Guadix JA, Sánchez-Tévar AM, Muñoz-Chápuli R, Ruiz-Villalba A*, Pérez-Pomares JM*. 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).
    9. Garbayo E, Ruiz-Villalba A, Hernandez SC, Saludas L, Abizanda G, Pelacho B, Roncal C, Sanchez B, Palacios I, Prósper F, Blanco-Prieto MJ. 2021. Delivery of cardiovascular progenitors with biomimetic microcarriers reduces adverse ventricular remodeling in a rat model of chronic myocardial infarction. Acta Biomater. 126:394-407. (doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.03.017).
    10. 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).
    11. Benitez-Martin C, Guadix JA, Pearson JR, Najera F*, Perez-Pomares JM*, Perez-Inestrosa E*. 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).
    12. Ruiz-Villalba A, Romero JP, Hernández SC, […], Prósper F. 2020. Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Analysis Reveals a Crucial Role for CTHRC1 (Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing 1) Cardiac Fibroblasts After Myocardial Infarction. Circulation, 10;142(19):1831-1847 (doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.044557).
    13. Guadix JA, Orlova VV, Giacomelli E, Bellin M, Ribeiro MC, Mummery CL, Pérez-Pomares JM*, Passier R*. 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).
    14. Ruiz-Villalba A, Mattiotti A, Gunst QD, Cano-Ballesteros S, van den Hoff MJ, Ruijter JM. 2017. Reference genes for gene expression studies in the mouse heart. Sci Rep. 2;7(1):24 (doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00043-9).
    15. Cano E, Carmona R, Ruiz-Villalba A, […], Pérez-Pomares JM*. 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, Hoppler S, van den Hoff MJ. 2016. Wnt signaling in the heart fields: Variations on a common theme. Dev Dyn. 245(3):294-306 (doi: 10.1002/dvdy.24372).
    17. Ruiz-Villalba A, Simón AM, Pogontke C, […], Pérez-Pomares JM*. 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).

Research projects (last 10 years)

    1. PI-0185-2024. Tittle: Rutas de señalización clave en la patogénesis de la enfermedad de Kawasaki: hacia la validación de CTHRC1 como marcador diagnóstico y pronóstico. Funding: Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía, 119.772, 50€. Dates: 01/2025-12/2027. PI: Adrián Ruiz Villalba
    2. CNS2022-135973. Tittle: Desenmarañado el interactoma celular del infarto de miocardio. Funding: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Agencia Estatal de Investigación (proyectos Consolidación Investigadora, 2022), 194.315,00 €. Dates: 09/2023-08/2025. PI: Adrián Ruiz Villalba
    3. 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€. Dates: 01/09/2022-31/08/2025. PI: J.M. Pérez-Pomares (UMA).
    4. 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€. dates: 01/06/2023-31/05/2025. PI/Coordinator: J.M. Pérez-Pomares (UMA).
    5. Engineering a living human Mini-heart and swimming Bio-robot (“BioRobot-MiniHeart”, #101070953). EU-European Research Council (Pathfinder Challenges). 975,000.00€ (UMA); Consortium: 4.000.000,00€. Dates: 01/11/2022-31/10/2027. PIs: J.A. Guadix and J.M. Pérez-Pomares (UMA). Coordinator: Jeroen Leitjen (University of Twente, The Netherlands).
    6. SEC/FEC-INV-BAS 22/016. Tittle: Nuevas perspectiva en los mecanismos fisiopatológicos de la Enfermedad de Kawasaki. Funding: Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), 15.000 €. Dates: 10/2022-09/2026. PI: Adrián Ruiz Villalba
    7. PID2020-119430RJ-I00. Tittle: Unravelling the cardiac cellular interactome of the infarcted heart: towards the regulation of the post-infarction fibrotic scar (INFARCTOME). Funding: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Agencia Estatal de Investigación (proyectos I+D+i Retos 2020, modalidad JIN), 181.500 €. Dates: 11/2021-10/2024. PI: Adrián Ruiz Villalba
    8. 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€. Dates: 2019-2021. PI: J.M. Pérez Pomares (UMA).
    9. Cardiac pericoronary niche: cell interaction, homeostasis and pathologic disregulation (BFU2015-65783-R). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. 100,000.00€. Dates: 2016-2018. PI: J.M. Pérez Pomares (UMA).
    10. Study on the development, structure and regulation of the cardiac interstitial pericoronary niche (BFU2012-35799). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. 100,000.00€. Dates: 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; adruiz@uma.es

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:

    • 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 (11 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