Ikerbasque Research Fellow Juan de la Cierva Fellow
0000-0001-8999-7131Amaia Ercilla obtained her BSc in Biotechnology with a special mention in Biomedicine from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona. She continued her scientific pursuits by completing her MSc in Biomedicine and PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Barcelona working on cell cycle and the replication stress response.
In 2016, Dr. Ercilla joined the laboratory of Dr. Luis Toledo at the Center for Chromosome Stability – University of Copenhagen in Denmark where she gained a unique expertise on High-content & High-throughput microscopy approaches by studying how leading and lagging strand syntheses are coupled during the DNA replication process.
In 2019, she joined the Cancer Cell Signaling and Metabolism Lab at CIC bioGUNE to implement state-of-the art microscopy and deep learning approaches first as a Juan de la Cierva Fellow (2020) and later as an Ikerbasque Research Fellow (2023). In 2025, Dr. Ercilla was awarded a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship and since then she holds the position of Emerging Scientist at CICbioGUNE.
Her line of research is focused on exploiting High-tech microscopy to decipher the molecular determinants of genome homeostasis in health and disease. More specifically, her research aims to explore the universal evolutionary nature of stress-induced mutagenesis (SIM) to adapt to growth-limiting environments, and its interplay with the mechanisms that govern cell proliferation.
Research line 1: Elucidating the role of polyamines on cell proliferation
Polyamines are small cations that regulate critical cellular processes such as cell proliferation and survival. Their levels are known to fluctuate throughout the cell cycle and polyamine deprivation strongly abrogates cell growth through mechanisms that are still unknown. By combining different omics approaches together with gain and loss of function experiments, they aim to shed light on the role of polyamines in sustaining cell proliferation.
Research line 2: High-content microscopy-based characterization of the non-cycling / slow cycling phenotypes upon growth-limiting stimuli
Cell proliferation dynamics are exquisitely controlled based on microenvironmental offers and demands with a great variety of insults impacting on this process. The high-content microscopy coupled to deep learning approaches exploited in the lab offers a unique opportunity to deeply characterize the proliferation defects caused by growth-limiting stimuli in a throughput manner.
Research line 3: Deciphering the drivers and consequences of stress-induced mutagenesis (SIM) in humans
In bacteria, SIM is a universal mechanism activated irrespective of the stress causing insult, but whether this is also the case in higher eukaryotes remains to be elucidated. Moreover, the drivers of SIM and their contribution to cellular adaptation in a human context have barely been explored. By combining targeted and unbiased empiric approaches, they aim to uncover the actual drivers of SIM and evaluate the extent of the genomic alterations caused by this process upon different stimuli
Dr. Ercilla has co-supervised the PhD thesis of Jana Crespo Trives (2025), and she is co-supervising the work of Sara del Palacio alongside Prof. Arkaitz Carracedo.
Awards & recognitions
Ramon y Cajal Research Fellow (2025). Ikerbasque Research Fellow (2023). Juan de la Cierva Fellow (2020). Graduate Research Fellow-FPI program (2010).
Personal and group social networks
Latest Publications
2024
2022
2021
2020
The research in the Carracedo lab is aimed at deconstructing the essential requirements of cancer cells with special emphasis on the translation of the acquired knowledge from bench to bedside. In order to define the genuine features of cancer cells, we focus on the signalling and metabolic alterations in prostate and breast cancer. Through the use of a hierarchical approach with increasing complexity, we work on cell lines and primary cultures (using cell and molecular biology technologies), mouse models of prostate cancer that are faithful to the human disease and the analysis of human specimens through the development of prospective and retrospective studies. Our work stems from the hypothesis that cancer is driven by signalling and metabolic alterations that, once identified, can be targeted for therapy. The center and our collaborator institutions offer state-of-the-art technologies (from OMICS to in vivo imaging), which allow us to build and answer our hypotheses with high level of confidence.
To address our scientific questions in cancer, the Carracedo lab has developed a series of research lines:
- Bioinformatics-based discovery. The lab takes full advantage on publicly available human prostate and breast cancer datasets in order to identify candidate genes to contribute to cancer pathogenesis, progression and response to therapy. Best hits are then validated employing genetic mouse models, xenograft surrogate assays and the latest advances in cellular and molecular biology combined with OMICs technologies.
- Genetic mouse models as a source for the identification of novel cancer players. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) can faithfully recapitulate many aspects of human cancer. Dr. Carracedo envisions the molecular analysis of GEMMs with high throughput technologies as a mean to identify novel cancer-related genes. These hits are then validated through the analysis of human cancer specimens and cellular and molecular biology approaches.
- Multi-OMICs analysis for non-invasive biomarker identification. Biofluids are the perfect source for cancer biomarkers that can inform about the presence or features of cancer. The lab has undertaken a biomarker discovery approach by applying the latest OMICs technologies to biofluid specimens from well-annotated prostate cancer patients, in order to define better molecules that inform about this disease.
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Group Leader
Arkaitz Carracedo
ERC Consolidator Grant - Ikerbasque Research Professor Associate Principal Investigator -
Edurne Berra
Emerging Scientist -
Marco Piva
Ikerbasque Research Fellow - Ramón y Cajal (RyC) Programme -
Isabel Mendizabal
Ikerbasque Research Fellow - Ramón y Cajal Programme IKERBASQUE RESEARCH FELLOW -
Oihana Iriondo Martinez de Zuazo
Ikerbasque Research Fellow RESEARCH ASSISTANT -
Amaia Zabala Letona
AECC Researcher -
Natalia Martín Martín
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER -
Jaione Auzmendi Iriarte
Juan de la Cierva Fellow -
Mikel Pujana Vaquerizo
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Laura Bozal Basterra
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Blanca Calle Ciborro
TECHNICIANS / DOCTORAL CANDIDATES -
Irati Aguirre Vicente
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Mikel Arana Castañares
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Adrián Vicente Barrueco
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Victoria Cid I Centelles
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Encarnación Pérez Andrés
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Onintza Carlevaris
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Kathrin Keim
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Maria Camila Salazar Palacio
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Candela Gerediaga Ruiz de Velasco
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Belén Martínez La Osa
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Uxue Lazcano Dobao
AECC Predoctoral Fellow -
Ianire Astobiza
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María Ponce Rodríguez
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Alex Rodríguez Alonso
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Saioa García Longarte
Members
Latest Publications
Aggressive prostate cancer is associated with pericyte dysfunction
Martinez-Romero, A; Martinez-Larrinaga, A; Grego-Bessa, J; Garcia-Longarte, S; van Splunder, H; Astobiza, I; Ercilla, A; Bozal-Basterra, L; Mendizabal, I; Villacampa, P; Carracedo, A; Graupera, ...
Molecular Oncology
2025-11-03
Unravelling the role of L-and Dalanine in prostate cancer: a Positron Emission Tomography study in a genetic mouse model
Castellnou, P; Gómez-Martínez, M; Gómez-Vallejo, V; Baz, Z; López-Gallego, F; Rondon-Lorefice, I; Zabala-Letona, A; Poot, AJ; Mendizabal, I; Carracedo, A; Rejc, L; Llop, J;
NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
2025-09-25
A bioinformatics screen identifies TCF19 as an aggressiveness-sustaining gene in prostate cancer
Ercilla, A; Crespo, JR; Garcia-Longarte, S; Fidalgo, M; del Palacio, S; Martin-Martin, N; Carlevaris, O; Astobiza, I; Fernández-Ruiz, S; Guiu, M; Bárcena, L; Mendizabal, I; Aransay, AM; Graupera, ...
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
2025-09-15
Role of CNNM4 in the progression of cholangiocarcinoma: implications for ferroptosis and therapeutic potential
Mercado-Gómez , M; Goikoetxea-Usandizaga, N; Giné, AE; Rodrigo, MAM; Afonso, MB; Azkargorta, M; Zapata-Pavas, LE; Rejano-Gordillo, CM; Romero, MR; Mendizabal, I; Rodrigues, PM; Wu, HH; Rodríguez-Agudo, ...
GUT
2025-08-05
Transcriptional analysis of metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer primary tumor biopsies reveals a relevant role for SOX11 in prostate cancer cell dissemination
Martin-Martin, N; Garcia-Longarte, S; Corres-Mendizabal, J; Lazcano, U; Astobiza, I; Bozal-Basterra, L; Herranz, N; van Splunder, H; Carlevaris, O; Pujana-Vaquerizo, M; Blasco, MT; Aransay, ...
GENOME BIOLOGY
2025-06-03
Secreted spermidine synthase reveals a paracrine role for PGC1α-induced growth suppression in prostate cancer
Schaub-Clerigué, A; Hermanova, I; Pintor-Rial, A; Sydorenko, M; Valcarcel-Jimenez, L; Macchia, A; Lectez, B; Garcia-Longarte, S; Fagoaga-Eugui, M; Astobiza, I; Martín-Martín, N; Zabala-Letona, ...
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
2025-04-23
Syndecan-3 positively regulates the pro-inflammatory function of macrophages
Lee, SY; Prieto-Fernández, E; Egia-Mendikute, L; Antonaña-Vildosola, A; Velasco-Beltrán, P; Bosch, A; Jimenez-Lasheras, B; de Blas, A; de Durana, JED; Valdaliso-Díez, E; Bozal-Basterra, L; Ercilla, ...
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES
2025-04-07
A class I PI3K signalling network regulates primary cilia disassembly in normal physiology and disease
Conduit, SE; Pearce, W; Bhamra, A; Bilanges, B; Bozal-Basterra, L; Foukas, LC; Cobbaut, M; Castillo, SD; Danesh, MA; Adil, M; Carracedo, A; Graupera, M; McDonald, NQ; Parker, PJ; Cutillas, PR; ...
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
2024-08-21
MetSCORE: a molecular metric to evaluate the risk of metabolic syndrome based on serum NMR metabolomics
Gil-Redondo, R; Conde, R; Bruzzone, C; Seco, ML; Bizkarguenaga, M; González-Valle, B; de Diego, A; Lain, A; Habisch, H; Haudum, C; Verheyen, N; Obermayer-Pietsch, B; Margarita, S; Pelusi, S; ...
CARDIOVASCULAR DIABETOLOGY
2024-07-24
Metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer: a distinct biological entity
Corres-Mendizabal, J; Zacchi, F; Martín-Martín, N; Mateo, J; Carracedo, A;
TRENDS IN CANCER
2024-07-23
The PP2A regulator IER5L supports prostate cancer progression
Crespo, JR; Martín-Martín, N; Garcia-Longarte, S; Corres-Mendizabal, J; Carlevaris, O; Astobiza, I; Zabala-Letona, A; Guiu, M; Azkargorta, M; Gonzalez-Lopez, M; Macías-Cámara, N; Doan, P; Elortza, ...
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
2024-07-18
Metabolic adaptations in prostate cancer
Pujana-Vaquerizo, M; Bozal-Basterra, L; Carracedo, A;
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
2024-07-05
SERS analysis of cancer cell- secreted purines reveals a unique paracrine crosstalk in MTAP- deficient tumors
Valera, PS; Plou, J; Garcia, I; Astobiza, I; Viera, C; Aransay, AM; Martin, JE; Sasselli, IR; Carracedo, A; Liz-Marzan, LM;
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
2023-12-26
STAT3/LKB1 controls metastatic prostate cancer by regulating mTORC1/CREB pathway
Pencik, J; Philippe, C; Schlederer, M; Atas, E; Pecoraro, M; Grund-Gröchke, S; Li, W; Tracz, A; Heidegger, I; Lagger, S; Trachtová, K; Oberhuber, M; Heitzer, E; Aksoy, O; Neubauer, HA; Wingelhofer, ...
MOLECULAR CANCER
2023-08-12
METTL1 promotes tumorigenesis through tRNA-derived fragment biogenesis in prostate cancer
García-Vilchez, R; Anazco-Guenkova, AM; Dietmann, S; López, J; Morón-Calvente, V; DAmbrosi, S; Nombela, P; Zamacola, K; Mendizabal, I; García-Longarte, S; Zabala-Letona, A; Astobiza, I; Fernández, ...
MOLECULAR CANCER
2023-07-29
Metabolism in the tumor cell and beyond
Carracedo, A;
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
2023-06-06
Machine Learning-Assisted High-Throughput SERS Classification of Cell Secretomes
Plou, J; Valera, PS; García, I; Vila-Liarte, D; Renero-Lecuna, C; Ruiz-Cabello, J; Carracedo, A; Liz-Marzán, LM;
SMALL
2023-04-12
Identifying prognostic parameters related to surgical technique in patients treated by robotic radical prostatectomy
Iriarte, AL; Viscasillas, IL; Gonzalez, SR; Martín, AS; Aparicio, DG; Olano, AU; Pérez, AC; Urzaiz, MU;
ACTAS UROLOGICAS ESPANOLAS
2023-01-01
Master Transcription Factor Reprogramming Unleashes Selective Translation Promoting Castration Resistance and Immune Evasion in Lethal Prostate Cancer
Santasusagna, S; Zhu, S; Jawalagatti, V; Carceles-Cordon, M; Ertel, A; Garcia-Longarte, S; Song, WM; Fujiwara, N; Li, P; Mendizabal, I; Petrylak, DP; Kelly, WK; Reddy, EP; Wang, L; Schiewer, ...
CANCER DISCOVERY
2023-01-01
CiberAMP: An R Package to Identify Differential mRNA Expression Linked to Somatic Copy Number Variations in Cancer Datasets
Caloto, R; Lorenzo-Martín, LF; Quesada, V; Carracedo, A; Bustelo, XR;
BIOLOGY-BASEL
2022-10-01