LS² Annual Meeting 2027

Dr.Theodora Constantin, Postdoc, University of Basel

Juan Manuel García-Arcos, Group Leader, EPF Lausanne

Juanma is a quantitative cell biologist interested in how the physical properties of cells shape their behaviour. His research focuses on the mechanics of the actin cortex, membrane tension, and the processes that allow cells to move, deform, and fragment. He combines advanced microscopy, microfluidics, and biophysical approaches to build mechanistic explanations of cell dynamics.

Juanma studied Biotechnology in Spain, France, and the United States, followed by two interdisciplinary masters in Paris. He obtained his PhD in Biophysics at Institut Curie, where he worked on confined cell migration and mechanical transitions in the actomyosin cortex. He then joined the University of Geneva as a postdoctoral researcher, where he developed new tools to measure membrane tension and explored how actin dynamics sustains spatial tension gradients in cells. In 2025 he was awarded an SNSF Ambizione grant to establish his independent research group at EPFL.

Alongside research, Juanma has a strong interest in teaching and mentoring. He holds a master’s degree in Education, has coordinated interdisciplinary courses in several countries, and is committed to creating an open, collaborative, and supportive environment for trainees. He has also been active in science outreach and open science initiatives, including co-founding two start-ups focused on biotechnology and open-source scientific tools.

Dr. Ana Blanco Doval, Postdoc, Agroscope

Ana Blanco Doval completed her PhD at the University of the Basque Country, Spain, where she studied the nutritional quality and functionality of milk. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Agroscope in Bern, where she works on several projects related to quality of dietary proteins and human digestion. Her research area is focused on studying the proteolytic dynamics during food digestion, the nutritional quality of protein sources, and the proteomic characterisation of foods and digesta.

Dr. Maria Rafaeva, postdoc, University Hospital Basel

Maria Rafaeva is a cancer cell biologist by training. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel. Her current research focus is on heterogeneity and cancer-stroma interactions in the development of breast cancer brain metastasis. She completed PhD studies at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where she studied extracellular matrix and its role in cancer progression and metastasis. At different stages of her international career, spanning Russia, Finland, Denmark and Switzerland, Maria was awarded multiple awards, including Lundbeck Doctoral Fellowship and SNSF Postdoctoral Fellowship to develop her research projects.