David Gómez-Varela PhD
1993-1998 (Oviedo University, Spain): Master studies (“Licenciatura”) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
1998-2003 (Oviedo University, Spain): PhD studying ion channels using electrophysiology, biochemistry and mathematical modelling.
2003-2005 (Max Planck of Experimental Medicine, currently MPI-NAT, Goettingen, Germany): PostDoc at Walter Stühmer’s lab working on ion channels and developing, at the time, a novel single-particle tracking microscopy technique. Tutor of the IMPRS program assisting the lectures of Prof. Erwin Neher and Pro. Walter Stühmer.
2006-2012 (University of California San Diego, USA): Postdoc (until 2009) and Senior Scientist (until 2012) at Darwin Berg’s lab, where I interrogated the role of Acetylcholine receptors in memory and addiction. For this, I directed MSd and PhD projects using mass-spectrometry proteomics, single-particle tracking microscopy and molecular biology in mouse brains.
2012-2016 (Max Planck of Experimental Medicine, currently MPI-NAT, Goettingen, Germany): Senior scientist at Manuela’s Schmidt lab, where I set up electrophysiological and microscopy methods for the recording of Piezo and TRP ion channels. I established, what at this time, was a novel mass spectrometry method termed Data Independent Acquisition (DIA).
20016-2020 (Max Planck of Experimental Medicine, currently MPI-NAT, Goettingen, Germany): Independent Group Leader of the Systems Medicine Innovation lab. Our interdisciplinary projects focused on developing tools for Personalize Health: from medical device design/prototyping to DIA mass-spectrometry proteomics and Machine Learning.
March 2020-July 2021 (Max Planck of Experimental Medicine, currently MPI-NAT, Goettingen, Germany): During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was commissioned by the MPG Presidential Office to direct two ambitious projects. On the one side, together with my colleague Prof. Walter Stühmer, we designed, produced and validated the first pocket PCR machine, termed SaLux: enables the detection of SARS-CoV-2 (or any other organisms with genetic material) from saliva and using only the energy from a USB connection (REF). In a second project, I directed an international team of >1000 Medical Doctors from >200 hospitals on 3 continents. We designed, tested, and validated two machine-learning-based algorithms able to predict with high accuracy the in-hospital mortality of a COVID-19 patient (termed, CODOP and COEWS). These algorithms have been implemented in several hospitals during the pandemic, based on its accuracy, extensive validation (>40,000 patients), and clinical utility in very diverse populations.
From November 2021 (Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology,
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of Vienna, Austria): Permanent position as a Senior Scientist in Prof. Manuela Schmidt’s Division. Leading a team of Postdocs, PhD and MSd students. We are deploying several technologies (DIA-PASEF mass spectrometry, ML-based data analysis, in-vivo mouse behaviour, etc.) with the goal to find new molecular targets for treating chronic pain syndromes, with a special interest in the role of the gut microbiome in this disorder.