Joaquin Caro-Astorga, PhD [email protected] +44 7706291992

QUALIFICATION: • 2018: PhD in Cellular and Molecular , Malaga University. • 2011: MSc in Advanced , Malaga University and International University of Andalucía. • 2006: BSc Environmental Sciences, University of Malaga.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: • Research associate. December 2018 - Present. Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Achievements: , production, functionalization, regeneration and modification of bacterial cellulose produced by K. rhaeticus. Reference: Tom Ellis, [email protected].

• PhD student. March 2013 - July 2018. Fellowship from the Ministry Economy of the Spanish Government, in the Department of at Málaga University. “Study of the molecular bases governing biofilm formation in Bacillus cereus”. Reference: Diego Francisco Romero Hinojosa, [email protected]

PhD visiting: - March-July, 2016. Roberto Kolter´s Lab. Dpt. Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School. Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. Objectives: Fluorescent microscopy of transcriptional and translational fusions. Reference: Roberto Kolter, [email protected].

- April-July, 2015. Oscar Kuipers´s Lab. Dpt. Molecular . , The . Objectives: Isolation, sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of RNA to uncover biofilm transcriptome in B. cereus. Reference: Oskar Kuipers, [email protected].

• Research assistant. September 2011 – February 2013. Department of Molecular Biology and . Malaga University, Spain. Main responsibility: Study of the cellular effects of newly synthetized histamine and its implication on polyamine , cell proliferation, neurodegenerative diseases and rare diseases, using a human cell model and a proteomic approach. Reference: Francisca Sánchez Jiménez, [email protected].

• Master project. September 2010 – January 2011. Department of Genetics of University of Malaga, Spain. Achievements: determination of the ability of three of geminivirus (TYLCSV) of interfering with the transcriptional silencing of Tomato plants, using a yeast model. Highest honors. Reference: Eduardo Bejarano, [email protected].

• Internship at Biosearch Life. July-September 2010. Achievements: industrial optimization of bacterial probiotic strains growth and product conservation and searching for new probiotic strains. Reference: Santiago de la Escalera, [email protected].

PUBLICATIONS: Articles:

6. Two genomic regions encoding exopolysaccharide production systems have complementary functions in B. cereus multicellularity and host interaction. Scientific Report. Jan 2020. Impact factor: 4.011. Authors: Caro-Astorga Joaquín, Alvarez-Mena Ana, Heredia-Ponce Zahira, Antonio de Vicente, Romero Diego. 5. Biofilm formation displays intrinsic offensive and defensive features of Bacillus cereus. Nature Partner Journal-Biofilms and Microbiome. Jan 2020. Impact factor: 6.3. Authors: Caro-Astorga Joaquin, Frenzel Elrike, Perkins James Richard, Antonio de Vicente, Juan A.G. Ranea, Oscar P. Kuipers, Romero Diego. 4. Molecular architecture of bacterial amyloids in Bacillus biofilms. FASEB Journal. August 2019. Impact Factor: 5.5. Authors: El Mammeri N, Hierrezuelo J, Tolchard J, Cámara-Almirón J, Caro-Astorga J, Álvarez-Mena A, Dutour A, Berbon M, Shenoy J, Morvan E, Grélard A, Kauffmann B, Lecomte S, de Vicente A, Habenstein B, Romero D, Loquet A. 3. Beyond the expected: the structural and functional diversity of bacterial amyloids. Critical Reviews in Microbiology. May 2018. Impact factor: 6.28. Authors: Cámara-Almirón, Jesús1; Caro-Astorga, Joaquín1; de Vicente, Antonio; Romero, Diego. 2. A genomic region involved in the formation of adhesion fibers in Bacillus cereus biofilms. Frontiers in Microbiology. January 2015. Impact factor: 4,10. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Alejandro Pérez Martín, Antonio de Vicente Moreno, Diego Francisco Romero Hinojosa.

1. Nascent histamine induces a-synuclein and caspase-3 on human cells. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. July 2014. Impact factor: 2,37. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Ignacio Fajardo, María Victoria Ruiz-Pérez, Francisca Sánchez-Jiménez, José Luis Urdiales.

Conference presentations: 9 oral presentations, 5 posters (speaker underlined): • 4th International Symposium on Bacterial Nanocellulose, Porto, Portugal, 3rd-4th October 2019. Oral presentation: Functionalization, Regeneration and Modification of Bacterial Cellulose. Authors: Caro-Astorga J., Gilbert C., Lee K., Ellis T. • Designer Biology 2019. Newcastle, United Kingdom, 30th Jul-2nd Ago 2019. Oral presentation: Functionalization, modification and regeneration of bacterial cellulose. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Charli Gilbert, Tom Ellis. Speaker: Joaquín Caro-Astorga. • 19th International Conference on Bacilli and Gram-Positive . Berlin, Germany, 11th-15th June 2017. Oral presentation: Analysis of the molecular machinery implicated in multicellularity in Bacillus cereus. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Elrike Frenzel, Antonio de Vicente, Oscar Kuipers and Diego Romero. Speaker: Joaquín Caro-Astorga. • XI Meeting of the Molecular Microbiology Group of Microbiology Spanish Society. Seville, Spain, 6th-8th September 2016. Oral presentation: Bacillus cereus biofilm transcriptome. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Elrike Frenzel, Antonio de Vicente, Oscar Kuipers and Diego Romero. Speaker: Joaquín Caro-Astorga. • 6th Congress Federation European of Microbiologist (FEMS), The Netherland, 7th-11st June 2015. Oral presentation: Adhesin proteins in B. cereus biofilms. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Alejandro Pérez Martín, Antonio de Vicente Moreno, Diego Francisco Romero Hinojosa. Speaker: Joaquín Caro-Astorga. • Congress of the Group of Plant Microbiology of the Spanish Society of Microbiology (MIP-SEM). Madrid, Spain, 11st-13rd February 2015. Oral presentation: A genomic region implicated in the formation of amyloid fibers in Bacillus cereus biofilms. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Alejandro Pérez Martín, Antonio de Vicente Moreno, Diego Francisco Romero Hinojosa. Speaker: Joaquín Caro-Astorga. • 25th Congress of The Spanish Society of Microbiology (SEM), Logroño, Spain. 7th-10th July 2015. Oral presentation: Amyloid type adhesion fibers in Bacillus cereus biofilm. Authors: Caro-Astorga J., Pérez-García A., de Vicente A., Romero D. Speaker: Diego F. Romero Hinojosa. • 7th Congress Federation European of Microbiologist (FEMS), Valencia, Spain, 9th-13rd June 2017. Poster: Analysis of the molecular machinery implicated in multicellularity in Bacillus cereus. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Elrike Frenzel, Antonio de Vicente, Oscar Kuipers and Diego Romero. • XII ASM Congress on Biofilm, Chicago, EEUU, 24th-29th October 2015. Poster: A short version of the amyloid-like TasA fibrillates and supports biofilm formation in B. cereus. Authors: J. Caro-Astorga, A. Pérez-García, A. de Vicente, D.F. Romero. • XVII Congress of the Spanish Society of Phytopathology (SEF), Lérida, Spain, 7th-10th October 2014. Poster: Interaction of the human pathogen Bacillus cereus with plants of agricultural interest. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Alejandro Pérez Martín, Antonio de Vicente Moreno, Diego Francisco Romero Hinojosa. • XVI International Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (MPMI), Rodhes, Greece. 6t -10th July 2014. Poster: Adhesive proteins in the -borne pathogen Bacillus cereus. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Alejandro Pérez Martín, Antonio de Vicente Moreno, Diego Francisco Romero Hinojosa. • Polyamine: Biological and Clinical Perspectives, Istambul, Turkia 2nd-7th September 2012. Oral presentation: New findings on the cellular effects on newly synthetized histamine in mammalian cells. Authors: Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Hicham Abrighach, Ignacio Fajardo, Francisca Sánchez-Jiménez, José Luis Urdiales. Speaker: F. Sánchez-Jiménez. • European Histamine Research Society 41st Annual Meeting held jointly with COST Action BM0806, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. 2nd- 5th May 2012. Oral presentation: A multiapproach strategy to reveal the roles of histamine-related elements in rare diseases. Authors: F. Sánchez- Jiménez, A. Pino-Ángeles, A. Reyes-Palomares, C. Acosta, Joaquín Caro-Astorga, Rosario Castro-Oropeza, Esther Melgarejo, José.L. Urdiales. Speaker: Francisca Sánchez-Jiménez.

FUNDING: • PhD 4-year Fellowship from The Ministry of Economy and Competitivity of the Spanish Government, Mar 2013- Mar 2018.

TEACHING AND SUPERVISION: • 2014/2015: Degree in Environmental Sciences: - Microbiology: 42 h. - Toxicology and public health: 15h. • 2015/2016: Degree in Environmental Sciences: - Microbiology: 60 h. • 2016/2017: Degree in Environmental Sciences: - Microbiology: 60 h. • 2017/2018: Degree in Biology: - Principles, instruments and methods in genetic microbiology: 48 h.

• MSc research students: - MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2015/16, University of Malaga. Project: “Study of the polysaccharides in the cellular behaviour of Bacillus cereus”. Student mark: 8.5. - MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2017/18, University of Malaga. Project: “Design and development of genetic constructions for the molecular report and the study of the protein TasA of the extracellular matrix of the biofilm of Bacillus subtilis 3610”. Student mark: 9.

• Undergraduate students: - Currently I am leading a team of 8 undergraduate students at Tom Ellils´ Lab. Imperial College London. - Degree in Biology, 2014/15, University of Malaga. Project: “Biofilm formation in Gram-positive bacteria within the genus Bacillus and particularly in the species Bacillus cereus”. Student: Zahira Heredia Ponce. Mark: 8.5. - Degree in Biotechnology, 2016/17, University of Malaga. Project: “Biofilm formation in Gram-positive bacteria within the genus Bacillus”. Student mark: 8.25. - Degree in Biology, 2016/17, University of Malaga. Project: “Study of the extracellular matrix of Gram-positive bacteria”. Student mark: 8.7.

AWARDS AND PRIZES: • 400€ FEMS Early Career Scientists Grant. July 2017. • 600€ from COST Action BM0806 to attend the Training School on Pharmacological Models of Inflammatory and Immunological Disorders. Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 30 Jan – 1st Feb 2013. • 800€ from COST Action BM0806 to attend the Training School on Histamine Bioinformatics. Medical University Innsbruck, Austria,9th – 13th July 2012.

EXPERIENCE IN METHODS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES: • Microbiology: microbiology methods; extracellular matrix and exopolysaccharide purification from Bacillus spp.; plant colonization; human cell culture adhesion and toxicity assays; zebra fish intestine colonization; C. elegans-bacteria interactions; Galleria melonella bacterial infection; human cells bacterial infection.

• DNA and RNA techniques: cloning methods; RAPID, PCR, joining PCR, RT-PCR; transcriptional and translational fusions; mutant generation in Bacillus spp. using phage spp1, natural competence and electroporation; isolation of RNA from Bacillus spp. and analysis of transcriptome.

• Proteomic: SDS-PAGE; western immunoblotting; immunocytochemistry; protein purification, protein labeling with CyX; ELISA; protein quantitation by the Bradford and optical methods; antibody arrays; protein expression in E. coli and protein purification with FPLC; protein structure analysis by FT-IR; tests of enzyme activity by activity of C14; proteolysis activity using azocasein assay; amyloids techniques including dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), circular dichroism (DS), ThT assay and Congo Red assay.

• Human Cell cultures: culture of Cos-7, MDA, Hela and HEK293 cells; culture methods including cryopreservation, medium preparation, subculture and counting; culture of bone marrow MSC cells treated with TGF-β and BMP-2 for their differentiation into chondrocytes and differentiation monitoring; cell transfection; MTT assays and determination of DL50 for antitumor molecules; measurement of cellular respiration; trials of DiOC6 for measurement of membrane mitochondrial potential.

• Other Eukaryotes: Yeast transformation and protein heterologous expression; transformation of plants by Agrobacterium and biolistic techniques; works with rats: Implantation and extraction of a MOD chamber with differentiated chondrocytes and subsequent histological analysis.

• Bioinformatics: databases management and analysis tools like Clustal Omega, BLAST, primer analysis and design; amyloid analysis software, Benchling; expression pattern clustering with STEM; T-Rex Webserver tools; Clone Manager.

• Microscopy and equipment: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), confocal microscopy and fluorescent microscopy; management of laboratory-scale bioreactors; FPLC: protein purification and desalting; flow cytometry and sorting, Mo-Flo equipment; Oxygraph-2k equipment; spectrometry and fluorimetry equipment.

• Biomaterials: stiffness tests; compression tests; material composites trials;

EVIDENCE OF STEEM: • Public outreach: European Researchers´ Night 2018, Malaga, Spain. • Committed work: o Postdoc rep at Imperial College London. June 2019 - present. Role: scientific meetings organization, postdocs networking events, socializing events, postdoc support and postdoc representation in the Bioengineering Department, Faculty of Engineering an Imperial College meetings. o Secretary for the Opera Choir of Malaga. June 2007 - June 2008. Role: management of the society, minutes record and certificates issue. o Public Relations for the Choir of Malaga University. June 2003 - June 2005. Role: management of the public relation, marketing, sponsoring, merchandising and social media. o Conference organization: Bioengineering Postdoc and Fellows Symposium. Imperial College London. 27th November 2019, London, United Kingdom. Role: management committee. Place, coffee, program and speaker panel organization. o Conference organization: International meeting: The future of H4R research: The power of interaction. 16th-18th November 2012, Malaga, Spain. Role: management committee. Place, meals, material, events and accommodation organization. o IV Andalusian Congress of Environmental Sciences. 7th -9th, April 2005, Malaga, Spain. Role: management committee. Meals, material and communication organization.

OTHER STUDIES: • COST Training School “Pharmacological Models of Inflammatory and Immunological Disorders” Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity college Dublin, Ireland. January 2013. • Symposium “Cancer Genomes: Clinical and Therapeutics implications”. Organized by Lilly Foundation. November 2012. • Initiation to research with genetically modified animals. Ciberer and College of Veterinary of Madrid. 27-28th September 2012. • COST Training School “Histamine Bioinformatics”. Organized by Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria. 9-13th of July 2012. • Workshop “Genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics applied to the study of rare diseases”. Organized by Genoma España. May 2010. • Symposium “Microbiome: deciphering the last organ of human body”. Organized by Foundation Lilly. November 2010. • "Proteomics applied to biomedical research". Organized by IMABIS Foundation. November 2009.

LANGUAGES: • English: C1, University of Malaga Foundation. • Portuguese: B1, University Nova of Lisbon. • Italian: A1, Official Languages School of Malaga. • French: A1, High School. • Spanish: native.