Dr. Sergi Padilla-Parra
Principal investigator and leader of the Cellular Imaging Platform (CIP) at the Welcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics (WTCHG), University of Oxford
After his MSc (major: Chemistry) obtained in Lund University (Sweden) he moved to the Neils Bohr Institute (Copenhagen, Denmark) to apply mathematical modelling to biological systems (from signaling to actin polymerization: towards a simplified mathematical model).
After that, he enrolled in a Research and Training Network on the Marie Curie FP7 (Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, 2006–2009) to apply his expertise in mathematics developing new methods in microscopy applied to complex biological problems (Regulation of actin assembly). In order to gain experience in biology and apply cutting edge microscopy approaches to retrovirus entry he moved to Emory University, Atlanta (2010–2012). After a period of two years he moved back to Europe to the University of Rennes in France, to implement the use of FRET biosensors in living embryos. Since April 2013, he is a principal investigator and leader of the Cellular Imaging Platform (CIP) at the Welcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics (WTCHG), University of Oxford. He develops novel quantitative microscopy approaches and apply them to better understand how some enveloped viruses (e.g. VSV, HIV or IAV) enter the host cell.