research group

Thomas earned his PhD in Translational Biomedicine (Pharmacology) from the Neuropsychopharmacology Laboratory at the University of Verona, Italy in 2014. His research focuses on the intersection of pharmacology, exercise physiology, and addiction science, specifically examining: (i) the prevalence and effects of psychoactive (nicotine), analgesic (tramadol), and anxiolytic drugs (benzodiazepines) on exercise and cognitive performance in sport and clinical settings; (ii) substance use disorders (SUD); (iii) physical exercise as an adjuvant treatment for SUD; (iv) exercise addiction; (v) drug-drug and drug-exercise interactions; and (vi) experimental and educational anti-doping research. He has methodological expertise spanning biomedical, pharmacological, physiological, and neurophysiological domains. Thomas contributes to the VIPPSTAR project (Visually Impaired children and adolescents: bridging the gap with Personalized Prevention Strategies, Tools, Approaches, and Resources), funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) through HORIZON Research. He is developing an AI-enhanced physical activity intervention protocol using avatars to improve neurophysiological function, gait, and balance while mitigating digital addiction risks in this population. As a 2024 Ramón y Cajal Fellow, he established and began leading the PHAE Lab in January 2026.

Pedro graduated with a degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1990, completed his residency specialization in Clinical Pharmacology (MIR) in 1995, and earned his Ph.D. in Medicine in 1996. He currently serves as Full Professor of Pharmacology at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and as Head of the Clinical Pharmacology Section at Alicante General University Hospital. His main research lines encompass: (i) inflammation in hepatic and digestive pathology; (ii) pharmacology in special populations, including cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and cancer; and (iii) autonomic nervous system pharmacology in relation to inflammation and cancer. He serves as Director of the Department of Pharmacology, Pediatrics, and Organic Chemistry at UMH, and is a member of the Network Center for Research on Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBER-EHD) at the Carlos III Health Institute, the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), and the Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IdiBE) at UMH. In November 2025, he was appointed President of the Spanish Society of Clinical Pharmacology (SEFC).

Ana is a Medical Specialist in Clinical Pharmacology (2002) and holds a PhD in Neuropsychology (2004). She is currently an Associate Professor at Miguel Hernández University (2019), where she has taught continuously as an adjunct professor since 2003. Her multidisciplinary training includes a degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology, a Graduate Diploma and Master's degree in Research Methodology: Design and Statistics in Social Sciences (UAB), and a Master's degree in Bioethics (EVES). She has supervised over 110 academic internships and participated in more than 100 research projects. She has supervised 10 doctoral theses (3 currently ongoing) and has authored 58 JCR-indexed publications and 200 communications at international conferences. As a clinical physician in the Pain Unit at Alicante General University Hospital (since 2012), she treats polymedicated patients with chronic pain and functional diversity. She is Director of the ISABIAL Research Group in Applied Neuropharmacology of Pain, coordinator of the ISABIAL Pharmacogenetics Platform, and a leading expert in Pharmacology with a Gender Perspective. She is currently on leave of absence and serves as Head of the Service for the Promotion of Networks and Centers of Excellence at the Regional Ministry of Health of the Valencian Community.

Cecilia obtained her medical degree in 2001 from the Faculty of Medicine of San Fernando at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Lima, Peru. She was awarded a PhD in 2016 by the University of Alicante, within the Doctoral Program in Experimental and Applied Biology. She completed her first medical specialization in Anatomical Pathology at the Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara in Peru, where she trained for four years. In 2012, she obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health jointly from Miguel Hernández University and the University of Alicante, as well as a Master’s degree in Advanced Techniques of Applied Statistics. In addition, she holds postgraduate diplomas in Quality and Management of the Clinical Laboratory and in Medical Genetics and Genomics. She subsequently completed a second medical specialization in Clinical Pharmacology through the Spain system. She currently works as a consultant specialist physician at the General University Hospital of Alicante in the Clinical Pharmacology Unit, where she serves as the medical lead and coordinator of the Phase I Clinical Trials Unit (UECA). Throughout her professional career, she has maintained an active involvement in research, participating in multiple multicenter projects and authoring publications in high-impact scientific journals.

Isidro graduated in Medicine from the University of Navarra (CUN) in 2018, where he completed his undergraduate dissertation on Neurophysiology of Lucid Sleep and Possibilities for Modification. He is a Specialist Physician in Clinical Pharmacology and practises as a clinical pharmacologist within the Clinical Pharmacology Department and the Pain Management Unit at the Hospital General Universitario Dr. Balmis. He also serves as researcher and deputy coordinator of the Alicante Clinical Trials Unit (UECA) and as an on-call physician in Internal Medicine. He is currently enrolled in the Doctoral Programme in Health Biotechnology at the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche and contributes as a lecturer on several university master's programmes (UMH, UNIR). His research interests encompass psychopharmacology and mental health, pharmacogenetics applied to opioid pain management, and pharmacoeconomics, with a particular focus on the real-world economic evaluation of biological medicines.

Noelia graduated with a degree in Biochemistry in 2022 (UCM) and a master's degree in Translational Neuropsychopharmacology in 2023 (UMH). She holds a postgraduate microcredencial in Pharmacogenetics (2025, UV) and currently works as the Subcoordinator of the Pharmacogenetics Platform at the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL) while doing her PhD studies in the Bioengineering Program at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche. She contributes to the PREVESTATGx clinical trial (NCT06262685) nested in the iPHARMGx Master Protocol "Phase IV adaptive randomised clinical trials evaluating efficacy and cost-efficacy of pre-emptive pharmacogenetic genotyping strategies in the Spanish National Health System", the MORPHEO project (A national collaborative study to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of implementing a risk prediction model for Opioid Use Disorder using artificial intelligence techniques), funded by the National Drug Plan Budget (2023I031) from the Spanish Ministry of Health (2024), and OPIC project (Opioid monitoring and evaluation of CYP2D6, OPRM1 and COMT phenotypes in pain management: towards an individualized therapy) in collaboration with the Universidade da Beira Interior in Covilhã, Portugal. Her research interests encompass: (i) the clinical implementation of Pharmacogenetic markers to personalize pharmacological treatments, (ii) the development of AI models to predict opioid use disorder in chronic non-cancer pain, (iii) the study of sex and gender differences.