Research Group
Cereal Symbiosis at the Crop Science Centre
Biography
Gabriel is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Cereal Symbiosis group at the Crop Science Centre. He completed his PhD in Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where he worked on the spatio-temporal regulation of pre-symbiotic signalling in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis between rice (Oryza sativa) and the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. His research now focuses on more broadly using spatio-temporally resolved omic, genetic and microscopic technologies to investigate how phosphate starvation signalling feeds into AM symbiosis in distinct cell-types or developmental stages of the interaction. He collaborates with University of Cranfield, University of Bonn and Penn State University to expand this research from molecular mechanisms to agriculturally-relevant phenotypes in greenhouse and field trials.
Previous Positions
2023 – Teaching Assistant – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, United States of America
2019 to 2021 – Student Research Assistant – Institute for Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis, CSIC, Seville, Spain
Qualifications
2021 to 2025 – PhD Student in Plant Sciences – Crop Science Centre, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2017 to 2021 – Bachelor’s in Biochemistry – University of Seville, Spain
Key Publications
Awards & Fellowships
2025 – Cambridge Philosophical Society Research Studentship 2025
2023 – Frank Smart Studentship from the Department of Plant Sciences
2021 – St John’s College Benefactor’s Scholarship
2021 – La Caixa Postgraduate Fellowship Abroad (declined in favour of the previous)
2021 – Top 2nd biochemistry graduate in SEDEA’s (Spanish Society of Academic Excellence)
Committees
2021 to 2024 – Postgraduate Representative – Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2023 to 2024 – President – MCR, St John’s College, University of Cambridge
2023 – Treasurer – Norwich-Cambridge Science Symposium for Plant and Microbial Sciences
2022 to 2023 – Environmental Officer and Treasurer – MCR, St John’s College, University of Cambridge
2019 to 2021 – Class representative – Class of 2017, BSc Biochemistry, University of Seville, Spain
Teaching
Teaching Assistant at the Frontiers and Techniques in Plant Sciences – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, United States of America
Supervised 2 summer students and 1 Part II project
Demonstrator for Part Ia and Part Ib courses
