Postdoc Appreciation Week: Natalia Jimenez Moreno

For Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025, we speak to Natalia Jimenez Moreno about her role as a postdoc at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer.

What was your route to becoming a postdoc?

I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry from the Autonomous University of Madrid in 2014 and completed a Masters in Molecular Biomedicine there a year later. Seeking opportunities abroad for my PhD, I discovered the Wellcome Trust PhD studentships available at various UK universities. I applied to several, and ultimately, the University of Bristol offered me a place on the Dynamic Cell Biology Wellcome Trust PhD programme.

This excellent programme allowed me to rotate through three different labs with unique projects in the first year, enabling me to choose a project and a lab I truly loved. I completed my PhD under the supervision of Professor Jon Lane, researching autophagy – the body’s natural ‘clean-up’ process – and its regulation in neurons affected by Parkinson’s disease.

In the final year of my PhD, I met Professor Simon Wilkinson, an autophagy expert, at a conference. He had just received the prestigious CRUK Senior Fellowship, providing the opportunity for me to join him as a postdoc in Edinburgh, where I could continue exploring autophagy with a focus on cancer. Although leaving Bristol was challenging, moving to Edinburgh was a great choice due to its scenic beauty, rich history and educational opportunities, making it an ideal fit for my family and me.

What does your role as a postdoc involve?

The workload of a postdoc can be quite demanding, and thus a passion for research is a must. Being a postdoc comes with loads of responsibilities in comparison to the PhD, however there is also more independence to drive your own projects. As a senior postdoc, I am the second in command and often referred to as the “mum”, the go-to person for feedback, advice and support.

I would say generally as a postdoc, the role involves a mix of research and supervision. I particularly love wet lab work and often immerse myself in it. My typical day involves conducting experiments or analysing data for ongoing projects, as well as mentoring students and providing guidance on their projects. However, there are also some very important tasks outside the lab including writing research papers and grant applications or attending seminars or conferences for networking and presenting data.

What kind of research do you do?

For the past ten years, I have focused on understanding the role of autophagy in health and disease. Autophagy is the cell’s recycling system. It breaks down and removes damaged or unnecessary components, helping keep cells healthy. This process is important for fighting infections, responding to stress and preventing diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Autophagy’s significance was underscored when Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2016. However, I believe we are only beginning to uncover how this pathway functions, its role in disease, and its potential as a therapeutic target. In Bristol, I focused more on the transcriptional regulation of this process that was specific to the subset of neurons lost in Parkinson’s disease. Over the past five years, I’ve focused on the regulatory mechanisms of autophagy in pancreatic cancer. Our recent paper in Developmental Cell, co-authored with my PhD student Carla Salomo-Coll, proposes a model where failed autophagic degradation in the endoplasmic reticulum forms aggregates, which, combined with genetic mutations, promotes tumour initiation. I also lead my own project, which I’ve been spearheading since I started as a postdoc, where we discovered that the autophagy proteins FAM134B and FAM134C require adjacent liquid-like structures to activate cytoskeletal remodelling, impacting cell invasion and metastasis in pancreatic cancer. This work inspired the project proposal for the Tenovus pilot grant.

Tell us more about your Tenovus Scotland grant how important is it for your research/career?

The Tenovus Scotland Small Pilot Grant is an excellent funding initiative for early-stage research in health and medical sciences. Our awarded project focuses on targeting endoplasmic reticulum (ER) degradation to stop metastasis in pancreatic cancer, with £25,000 funding over 18 months.

Pancreatic cancer is highly deadly due to late detection and rapid progression. Understanding its biology can help identify new treatment targets. Key to this progression is the cancer cells acquiring the ability to spread, which involves changes to cell morphology linked to the ER. As I mentioned before, in my recent work we identified how two ER membrane proteins, FAM134B and FAM134C, might act as brakes to prevent metastasis by regulating cell morphology changes via autophagy. With this Tenovus Pilot grant, we aim to validate these proteins as biomarkers for cancer cell invasion using a panel of pancreatic cancer patient-derived cell lines and explore targeting them therapeutically to slow metastasis using a new peptide in mouse models.

During my time as a postdoc, I have focused on developing my independence as I developed my own project in the lab and got involved in other activities such as volunteering for associations like women in autophagy (WIA); teaching and supervising; and reviewing for different journals. Now, I am ready to progress in my career and this Tenovus Small Pilot grant offered me the opportunity to apply for my very first grant and gave me the confidence to present my own project. It has assured me that securing funding is possible, greatly encouraging me to pursue larger grants in the future. This grant is based on preliminary data from my postdoc work, where I expanded my focus from cellular biology to biomedicine. It has also opened up collaborations, as we will be teaming up with the organic chemistry group at the IGC (Professor Asier Unciti-Broceta and Dr Alvaro Lorente-Macias) to synthesize these peptides.

What are your career aspirations?

During this grant, I hope to establish my research identity and gain experience in project design, execution and management, from which to continue a future path towards leading my own independent research programme aiming to study the role of autophagy in disease.

My plan is to become independent in the UK in the next few years, though I’m open to returning to Spain eventually. I’ve always wanted my own lab, and five years as a postdoc have reinforced this ambition. I’ve contacted a few universities to arrange seminars and explore potential fits. In the meantime, I’m focused on securing funding and fostering collaborations. This next step is a significant responsibility – flying solo can be daunting, with the challenges of funding and publishing. However, the creative freedom is exciting. Fortunately, my mentors, Simon Wilkinson and Jon Lane, have been incredibly supportive and have guided me throughout my career. Achieving their level of excellence is my goal, and I owe much to their support.

What is your favourite thing about working at IGC?

My favourite aspect is definitely my host lab. I’m fortunate to work with a wonderful group, and I always look forward to our social gatherings. I’m proud of my protégés and have always felt welcomed. In our lab, every success and failure is celebrated and shared.

Beyond the lab, the various groups and facilities have elevated my research. The Institute offers incredible resources, from sequencing to proteomics and microscopy, with a variety of microscopes for all imaging needs. Ann and her colleagues are always ready to assist with new imaging experiments, and Alex’s team keeps us updated with the latest techniques, enriching our research.

Additionally, I appreciate the IGC’s support through funding opportunities like travel grants, early career awards, and development fellowships, which are rare and make me feel valued by the Institute.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I volunteer on mentoring committees for organisations like Women in Autophagy and Spanish Researchers in the UK, aiming to help those pursuing similar career paths. Most importantly, I prioritise family time, particularly with my six-year-old daughter, Selena. We love exploring new activities together, whether it’s walking in the park, doing art projects, or going on adventures.