Belén Requena | Biotechnology | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Belén Requena | Biotechnology | Research Excellence Award

San Pablo CEU University | Spain

Belén Paula Fernández Requena is a biotechnologist and academic researcher specializing in metabolomics, bioanalysis, lipid metabolism, and advanced imaging technologies. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology, a Master’s degree in Genetics and Cellular Biology, and a PhD in Health Sciences and Technology from CEU San Pablo University, where she is currently a full-time Profesor Contratado. Her doctoral work was conducted within the Excellence Research Group in Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), focusing on molecular and metabolic mechanisms relevant to human health. Her international research experience spans leading European institutions, including Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg, IMDEA Food Institute, and Maastricht University, where she trained in single-cell imaging under the supervision of Prof. Ron Heeren. Her research interests include lipidomics, epigenetic regulation of metabolism, extracellular vesicles, plant and insect signaling mechanisms, and host–pathogen interactions, particularly lipid alterations associated with Leishmania infection and therapeutic response. Her work has contributed to interdisciplinary advances across biotechnology, molecular biology, and translational health research. Through sustained international collaboration and methodological innovation, she continues to advance metabolomics-driven approaches with long-term impact in biomedical and biotechnological sciences.


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Featured Publications


Plasma miRNA–Metabolite Dysregulation in People with HIV with Cirrhosis Despite Successful HCV Cure
Ana Virseda-Berdices, Raquel Behar-Lagares, Juan Berenguer, Juan González-García, Belén Fernández Requena et al.,
Pharmaceuticals, 2026. (Journal Article)

Addressing the Untargeted Lipidomics Challenge in Urine Samples: Comparative Study of Extraction Methods by UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS
Belén Fernández Requena, Carolina González-Riaño, Coral Barbas,
Analytica Chimica Acta, 2024. (WOS)

Comprehensive Lipidomic Analysis Reveals Further Insights into the Molecular Mechanism of Podocyte Lipotoxicity in Alport Syndrome
Amir Shabaka, Belén Fernández Requena, Carolina González-Riaño et al.,
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2024. (WOS)

LiLA: Lipid Lung-Based ATLAS Built Through a Comprehensive Workflow Designed for Accurate Lipid Annotation
Belén Fernández Requena, Sajid Nadeem, Vineel P. Reddy et al.,
Communications Biology, 2024. (Nature Portfolio)

Milad Shirvaliloo | Genetics and Genomics | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Milad Shirvaliloo | Genetics and Genomics | Best Researcher Award

Iran University of Medical Sciences | Iran

Milad Shirvaliloo holds an MD and an MBA in Health Sciences and is an aspiring physician-researcher with over six years of investigative experience in epigenetics, cancer biology and pulmonary medicine. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter, and serves on the Editorial Board of Epigenomics and as reviewer for 60+ Web of Science-indexed journals. His academic journey includes medical education at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and postgraduate research at Iran University of Medical Sciences  focusing on nanoparticle-based therapeutic interventions and histone acetylation in cancer. His work spans diagnostics (e.g., nano-biosensor assays for SARS-CoV-2), lung epithelium development (epigenetic cues in human lung organoids) and cancer nano-theranostics (targeted magnetochemotherapy and histone modification mapping). According to h-index is 16 and he has amassed over 819 citations to date. His main research interests include histone modifications, chromatin accessibility, nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery and epigenetic biomarkers in respiratory and oncologic diseases. He brings strong skills in scientific communication, evidence synthesis, statistical & bioinformatics analysis and R programming. In conclusion, Milad’s interdisciplinary expertise positions him at the interface of molecular epigenetics and translational nanomedicine with the aim to advance precision diagnostics and therapies.

Profiles : Scopus | Google Scholar 

Featured Publications

Heris, R. M., Shirvaliloo, M., Abbaspour-Aghdam, S., Hazrati, A., Shariati, A., & Youshanlouei, H. R., et al. (2022). The potential use of mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes in Parkinson’s disease treatment. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 13(1), 371.

Sheervalilou, R., Shirvaliloo, M., Dadashzadeh, N., Shirvalilou, S., Shahraki, O., & Pilehvar-Soltanahmadi, Y., et al. (2020). COVID‐19 under spotlight: A close look at the origin, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of the 2019‐nCoV disease. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 235(12), 8873–8924.

Aghbash, P. S., Eslami, N., Shirvaliloo, M., & Baghi, H. B. (2021). Viral coinfections in COVID‐19. Journal of Medical Virology, 93(9), 5310–5322.

Shirvalilou, S., Khoei, S., Esfahani, A. J., Kamali, M., Shirvaliloo, M., & Sheervalilou, R., et al. (2021). Magnetic hyperthermia as an adjuvant cancer therapy in combination with radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for recurrent/progressive glioblastoma: A systematic review. Journal of Neuro-Oncology, 152(3), 419–428.

Razlansari, M., Jafarinejad, S., Rahdar, A., Shirvaliloo, M., Arshad, R., & Fathi-Karkan, S., et al. (2023). Development and classification of RNA aptamers for therapeutic purposes: An updated review with emphasis on cancer. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 478(7), 1573–1598.

Avinash Kumar | Biology and Life Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Assist. Prof. Dr. Avinash Kumar | Biology and Life Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Long Island University Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences | United States

Assist. Prof. Dr. Avinash Kumar, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY. With a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the University of Pune, India, his doctoral work focused on biochemical and biophysical characterization of class II α-mannosidases. He completed postdoctoral research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and National Center for Cell Science, India, investigating transcriptional and post-translational programs driving prostate cancer progression. His research aims to develop personalized and precision medicine strategies targeting metastatic and high-risk prostate cancer, including health disparities in African American men. Dr. Kumar utilizes high-throughput single-cell genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics in combination with genetically engineered and xenograft mouse models, patient tissues, and complementary cell line studies. He has mentored numerous graduate, undergraduate, and Pharm.D. students, directed the Molecular Imaging Core at LIU, and actively serves on institutional committees and as a reviewer for top journals. Dr. Kumar has published 28 peer-reviewed articles, 5 book chapters, and over 20 conference abstracts, with an h-index of 17 , 873 citations, and 29 publications. He has received multiple fellowships, awards, and research grants and continues to advance translational cancer therapeutics through rigorous preclinical and mechanistic studies.

Profile : Scopus | Orcid

Featured Publications

“Reprogrammed Lipid Metabolism-Associated Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in Prostate Cancer”

“The Therapeutic Efficacy and Mechanism of Action of Gnetin C, a Natural Compound from the Melinjo Plant,     Preclinical Mouse Model of Advanced Prostate Cancer”

“AI & experimental-based discovery and preclinical IND-enabling studies of selective BMX inhibitors for       development of cancer therapeutics”

“Data from Dietary Pterostilbene for MTA1-Targeted Interception in High-Risk Premalignant Prostate Cancer”

“Supplementary Figure 1-2; Supplementary Table 1-4 from Dietary Pterostilbene for MTA1-Targeted Interception   in   High- Risk Premalignant Prostate Cancer”