Mariola
Munárriz

Ever since I was little, I have been passionate about research, fascinated by the perfect machine- a.k.a human body, especially the immune system. But, ups, a tiny little error could alter this defense, so I decided to study Biochemistry at the University of Navarra (2016-2020) to understand the mechanisms and the connections between all the components.  

In science, you never stop studying…During my master’s thesis (MSc in Biomedical Research), I immersed myself in the translational Immunotherapy world at CIMA (Pamplona, Spain). I became fascinated by the impact of the immune system in the development of cancer, but I also realized the immune system does not work as simply as it seems. I had the privilege to collaborate on a project of a combination of adjuvant treatments in a murine model of breast cancer for the Translational Immunotherapy lab at CIMA (Pamplona, Spain).

I joined Maria’s lab in November 2022 and it is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. We are studying the relationship between myeloid cells in metastatic sites and how signals raised by primary tumors impact their phenotype and function. We aim to establish the contribution of trained immunity in the primary and the metastatic breast tumor microenvironment by focusing mainly on neutrophils and their pro-metastatic roles.

I always try to make time for my hobbies; I can spend hours reading from literature books to fashion magazines, hiking, and traveling anywhere!