Carlos Martin

Biography

Carlos Martin MD, PhD. Is Professor of Microbiology at the Faculty of Medicine at University of Zaragoza, Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Miguel Servet. He is member of the Steering Committee of Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI) (https://www.tbvi.eu/about-us/organisation/steering-committee/), with more than 30 years of experience in mycobacterial genetics and molecular epidemiology of TB. He and his team aim to develop novel tuberculosis vaccines and vaccination strategies to improve protection against pulmonary TB. Carlos Martin team designed and constructed MTBVAC (https://www.tbvi.eu/university-of-zaragoza/), the first attenuated live M. tuberculosis vaccine in clinical trials, in collaboration with Professor Brigitte Gicquel team of Institut Pasteur in Paris.

From the Microbiology School of Professor Gomez-Lus, focused his studies in the mechanisms of resistance in bacteria. Dr. Martin came to the University of Zaragoza from Pasteur Institute in Paris, where he worked as permanent researcher in the Unité de Génie Microbiologique (Professor Julian Davies) and under the direction of Brigitte Gicquel specializing in Bacterial Genetics and Molecular Biology of Mycobacteria. Prior at Pasteur, he studies the mechanisms of resistance, transposition and plasmids in bacteria in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Cantabria under the Direction of Juanma García-Lobo and Fernando de la Cruz.

Carlos Martin has published more than one hundred eighty international publications cited more than 10.000 times in the last years. Dr. Martin's research has been continuously funded by National and European Union Research Programs in tuberculosis research since 1992. Carlos Martin Team is part of CIBERES, a research network on respiratory diseases of the Spanish Ministry of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III). He currently works in collaborative tuberculosis research projects together with research groups of Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Carlos Martin is co-inventor of several patents on "tuberculosis vaccine" owned by the University of Zaragoza, which, are exclusive licensed to Biofabri as industrial and clinical developer partner.

Some Relevant Publications:
- "MTBVAC vaccination protects rhesus macaques against aerosol challenge with M. tuberculosis and induces immune signatures analogous to those observed in clinical studies"White et al NPJ Vaccines 2021 Jan 4;6(1):4.
- "Live attenuated TB vaccines representing the three modern M. tuberculosis lineages reveal that the Euro-American genetic background confers optimal vaccine potential"Perez et al EBioMedicine 2020 . Apr 28;55:102761.
-"New live attenuated TB vaccine MTBVAC induces trained immunity and confers protection against experimental lethal pneumonia." Taracón et al PLOS Pathogens 2020. Apr 2;16(4):e1008404. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008404. eCollection 2020 Apr.
- "Live-attenuated M. tuberculosis vaccine MTBVAC versus BCG in adults and neonates: a randomised controlled, double-blind dose-escalation trial" Tameris et al; Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2019. (9):757-770.
- “New insights into the transposition mechanisms of IS6110 and its dynamic distribution between M. tuberculosis Complex lineages. Gonzalo-Asensio et al . PLoS Genetics 2018. 12;14(4):e1007282.
- "Reactogenicity to major TB antigens absent in BCG is linked to improved protection against M. tuberculosis" Aguilo et al Nature Communications 2017. 8, 16085.
- "MTBVAC vaccine is safe, immunogenic and confers protective efficacy against M. tuberculosis in newborn mice". Aguilo et al Tuberculosis 2016. 96:71–74.
- "Pulmonary but not subcutaneous delivery of BCG vaccine confers protection to tuberculosis-susceptible mice by an interleukin 17-dependent mechanism". Aguilo et al Journal of Infectious Diseases 2016. 1;213(5):831-9.
- “First Human Immunization with A Live-Attenuated M. tuberculosis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled phase I trial.” Spertini et al Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2015. (12):953-62.
- "Construction, characterization and preclinical evaluation of MTBVAC, the first live-attenuated M. tuberculosis-based vaccine to enter clinical trials". Arbues et al Vaccine 2013. 1;31(42):4867-73.
- "The live M. tuberculosis phoP mutant strain is more attenuated than BCG and confers protective immunity against tuberculosis in mice and guinea pigs". Martín et al Vaccine 2006. 4: 3408-19
- "An essential role for phoP in M. tuberculosis virulence". Pérez et al Molecular Microbiology 2001 41: 179-87.
- "Strain identification of M. tuberculosis by DNA fingerprinting - recommendations for a standardized methodology "– Van Embden et al.Journal of Clinical Microbiology 1993. 31 406-9.
- "Transposition of an antibiotic-resistance element in mycobacteria". Martín et al. Nature 1990. 345:739-43.