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.
Helena Santiago Lima, Postdoctoral Researcher
Helena obtained her BSc in Agronomy from the Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil), where she also completed her MSc and PhD in Agricultural Microbiology, including a doctoral research stay at KU Leuven (Belgium). Her work focuses on investigating the dynamics of microbial communities in environmental samples and their associated ecosystem services. Currently, Helena is a postdoctoral researcher in the Citrus Microbiome project at the Centro de Citricultura of the Agronomic Institute (IAC), Brazil, where she investigates plant–microbe interactions through the design of synthetic microbial communities aimed at promoting citrus growth. In parallel, she joined the Carrion Lab to investigate genomic traits associated with plant growth promotion in citrus rhizobacteria using cultivation-based and genomic approaches.
Ivana Staiano, Postdoctoral Researcher
Ivana obtained her BSc, MSc and PhD in Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Naples “Federico II.” During her studies, she focused on optimizing fermentation strategies to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates using renewable carbon sources derived from agricultural waste. Currently pursuing a PhD in Biotechnology at the same university, she is expanding her knowledge in microbiology by investigating plant-microbe interactions that promote plant growth under abiotic stress conditions. Through an internship at CarrionLAB, she is now studying the molecular mechanisms by which bacteria alleviate drought stress in plants, aiming to enhance crop yields in water-scarce environments.
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 microbiology 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.
José María Urquizu Ruiz, Msc 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.
Rubén Repiso Chinchilla, MSc, Research Support Technician
Rubén obtained his BSc in Biochemistry and later completed an MSc in Advanced Biotechnology at the University of Málaga (Spain), specializing in plant molecular biology and phytopathology. He is currently working as a Research Support Technician, collaborating with multiple research groups on plant-microbe interactions and sustainable crop protection strategies. His work integrates molecular biology techniques with microbiological assays across diverse experimental approaches and laboratories, contributing to experiments aimed at understanding how microbial communities and specific bacterial strains enhance plant tolerance to stress conditions. He also participated in a research staff exchange within the MicroSOS project, studying the effects of a bacterial synthetic community on plants under biotic stress. His interests focus on bridging molecular phytopathology and microbiome-based approaches to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for plant protection.
Ei Ei Phyoe, Research Assistant
Ei Ei got her BE specialized in Civil Engineering from Technological University in Myanmar 2018. After working more than 2 years in an environmental consulting firm in Myanmar, she joined Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) in 2021 to study for her master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Management. Her master thesis mainly emphasized on the study of methane dynamic fluxes from urban water bodies to understand the potential methane storage capacity in sediment. She returned to AIT as a Research Associate in 2023 under the supervision of Dr. Simon Guerrero Cruz working on MicroGRICE and MicroSPARK projects, in which both projects focus on investigating the complex interrelationship between soil properties, microbial activity, and methane emission to tackle GHG emission from rice agriculture systems. She participated the secondment/ staff exchange program under the MicroSOS project at The Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture “La Mayora”, (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Malaga, Spain for studying and working on the synthetic microbial community response to suppress the growth of fungus in the plant.
Eleazar Quiero Gatela, Jr., Research Associate
Eleazar obtained a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Eastern Visayas State University. Subsequently, he earned an MSc in Environmental Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology. During his master’s thesis, he investigated the effects of various electron acceptors and macrophytes on methane flux in freshwater bodies. Following his MSc, he worked as a Research Associate, where he conducted bioinformatics analysis on soil, sediment, and water samples, focusing specifically on microorganisms involved in methane and microplastic degradation. In December 2025, he joined the Carrión Lab on a secondment under the MicroSOS project as part of mobility between academic and non-academic partners from the agricultural and environmental sectors.
Kim Hong Eav, Research Associate
Kimhong Eav is a Research Associate at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) working on greenhouse gas mitigation in rice cultivation. His research focuses on methane dynamics, methanotroph enhancement through trace element amendments, and water management strategies. He holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Chemistry at Prince of Songkla University (Thailand) and a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering and Management at AIT (Thailand). He joined CarrionLab for 5 months (December, 2025 – May, 2026) as the staff exchange under MicroSOS project.