Víctor J Carrion, PhD, Assistant Professor
Víctor studied Biology and did his PhD at the University of Málaga (Spain). During his PhD he used molecular microbiology techniques to characterize virulence factors in Pseudomonas syringae, under the supervision of Prof. Antonio de Vicente and Prof. Francisco M. Cazorla. In October 2012 he joined the group of Prof. Jos M. Raaijmakers, at the Wageningen university and later at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, in Wageningen (The Netherlands), where he studied how the endophytic microbiome can protect plants against fungal diseases. Since September 2020 he leads the group of Metagenomics and Plant-Microbe Interactions at Leiden University.
Adam Ossowicki , Postdoctoral Researcher
Adam studied biotechnology at the University of Gdańsk where he obtained his BSc and MSc degrees working on the mechanisms of biological control in bacteria. Later he moved to the Wageningen, the Netherlands to study disease suppressive soils what resulted in defending his PhD. After that Adam, as a postdoctoral researcher, worked on geosmin mediated interactions in soil in the Biology Centre CAS in České Budějovice, Czechia and on plant-insect-microbe interactions at the Leiden University in the Netherlands. Currently, he joined Carrion Lab in Málaga, Spain to work on his MSCA founded project microTRIAS focusing on training microbial communities for the benefit of sustainable agriculture.
Cristi Sarmiento, PhD candidate
Cristina did her BSc in Biology at the University of Málaga (Spain) and currently she is finishing her master degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the same university. Her bachelor thesis was about the role of the quorum sensing system in Pseudomonas Syringae pv. syringae. In October 2023, Cristina has joined Carrion Lab as part-time technician while she is studying for her master thesis.
Xinya Pan, PhD candidate
Xinya obtained her BSc in Agriculture in Southwest University in China in 2018. After that she studied Environmental Biology in Utrecht University (The Netherlands). During two MSc internships, Xinya investigated the impact of phyllosphere microbiome on Arabidopsis leaf disease by bioassays, and analyzed the metagenomics data of tomato rhizosphere for QTL analysis. In October 2020, Xinya joined Carrion Lab as a PhD student (in collaboration with Prof. Jos M. Raaijmakers, NIOO-KNAW). In her project she aims to decipher endophytic microbial functions activated upon pathogen infection. In addition, Xinya is also involved in the development of bioinformatic tools and its use for the prediction of endophytic lifestyle and confirmation by mutagenesis.
Pascal Nuijten, PhD candidate
Pascal obtained his BSc in Bioinformatics at LIACS Leiden University. Then he finished his master degree in Molecular Genetics & Biotechnology where he expanded his molecular and microbiological skills. Now he combines both disciplines for his work in the CarrionLAB. As a PhD student of the MicroRES project he is aiming to decipher the molecular mechanisms involved in the drought stress alleviating symbiose of microbes and plants to improve crop health and sustainability.
Kevin Bretscher, PhD candidate
Kevin obtained his BSc and MSc in Biology at Leiden University. During two internships at the Carrion lab, he worked on the experimental validation of the comparative genomics pipeline MicroLife and conducted a meta-analysis of disease-suppressive soil microbiomes. Now, he is a PhD student at the Carrion lab, working on the MicroGRICE project, whose primary goal is to reduce methane emissions from rice paddies through bacteria. In addition, he studies the role of microbiomes and bacteria in alleviating salt stress on rice plants. Kevin’s overarching research goal is the development of microbe-centered strategies that will improve the sustainability of rice cultivation.
Marcos Pedraza, PhD candidate
Marcos studied Biochemistry at the University of Malaga and the Master’s degree in Advanced Biotechnology at the same university. During this time, he obtained a research initiation scholarship, which allowed him to start his scientific career by researching plant viruses. Now he is a PhD student at the CarrionLAB, whose project focuses on the omic study of the avocado microbiome and its potential as a strategy for the biological control of fungal diseases.
Niccoló Marrocco, MSc
Niccolò Marrocco is a Master’s graduate in Experimental Biology and Bioinformatics from Università degli Studi della Tuscia (Italy). His academic background integrates molecular biology and plant-microbe interactions. His thesis focused on biotic stress tolerance in tomato plants infected with beneficial fungi. He has experience in laboratory analysis, including biochemical assays, stress testing, and clinical diagnostics. In May 2025, he joined CarrionLAB for his Erasmus Traineeship, where he is currently studying the mechanisms involved in drought stress-alleviating symbiosis between microbes and plants, as well as the techniques used in these ongoing studies.
José María Urquizu Ruiz, BSc student
José María Urquizu Ruiz is now coursing his 4th grade of biology in the University of Málaga. In 2022 he participate in the iGEM competition with the Málaga team, where he grow his knowment about molecular and synthetic biology. His team made a bacteria with the hability of degrade cellulose and make starch with the product. He participated in many divulgation projects like the Europeans night of researchers or Science IES project in his city.