SCIENTIST · HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENING

Mirabai Cuenca Ardura, PhD

I am a scientist with 6+ years of experience in High-Throughput Screening for therapeutic target discovery and prioritization. I combine screening, automation workflows and in vitro models to accelerate target assessment and optimization.

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Current position
Roche
Field
Gene therapy
Approach
Wet lab · dry lab · hybrid scientist
Other fields of interest
Cardiovascular · Metabolism · Oncology
PROFILE CURRENT
Professional portrait of Mirabai Cuenca Ardura
ROCHE Scientist

CAREER

Professional experience

International research experience across industry and leading academic institutions in Germany, Spain and the UK.

  1. PRESENT
    RochePenzberg, Germany

    Postdoctoral Researcher

    CRISPR screening and Massive Parallel Reporter Assays (MPRAs) in gene therapy and functional genomics. Patent application filed in April 2025.

  2. DOCTORAL RESEARCH
    CRG (Centre for Genomic Regulation)Barcelona, Spain

    PhD in Biomedicine

    CRISPR screening and drug/phenotypic screening in regulatory genomics and diabetes.

  3. MASTER'S RESEARCH
    Imperial College LondonLondon, UK

    Master's research in Molecular Medicine

    Genome-wide CRISPR KO screening in human beta cells, including hit prioritization and validation.

  4. EARLY RESEARCH
    CNIO (Spanish National Cancer Research Centre)Madrid, Spain

    Research Intern · Epithelial Carcinogenesis

    One year of epigenetics and cell-signalling research in Francisco X. Real's group. AECC Grant and selection for the CNIO International Summer Training Programme.

EXPERTISE

Technical expertise

Screening, target validation and experimental systems.

Functional genomics

Design and interpretation of experiments to study genetic regulation, resolve cellular heterogeneity and investigate disease mechanisms.

MPRAsSingle-cell RNA-seqSingle-cell ATAC-seqCUT&TagChIP-seqNGS library prep

High-Throughput Screening & target prioritization

Genome-wide genetic and chemical perturbation screens to establish drug-target associations, prioritize targets and support therapeutic repositioning.

CRISPRaCRISPR KODrug / phenotypic screensTarget prioritizationFACS

Computational and data analysis

Transformation and integration of large-scale screening and single-cell datasets into validated drug-target associations and mechanistic hypotheses.

RbashGraphPad PrismFlowJoAdobe Illustrator

Functional assays & molecular biology

Implementation and optimization of arrayed assays and data-analysis workflows for target validation and mechanistic characterization.

Viral transductionCRISPR gene editingStable cell line generationFlow cytometryImmunofluorescencePlasmid design & cloningRT-qPCR

Cellular models

Disease-relevant cellular systems to model pathophysiology, characterize functional responses and support target validation.

rAAVs / lentivirus productionhPSCs / hESCsOrganoidsPrimary cells

Cross-functional & leadership

International collaborations with computational and machine learning teams, supervision and coordination of experimental planning, workflow transfer and troubleshooting.

Project managementInterdisciplinary leadershipSupervisionScientific communication

EDUCATION

Education and languages

Academic training, languages and selected recognition.

PhD in Biomedicine

Universitat Pompeu Fabra · CRG (Centre for Genomic Regulation) · Barcelona

Cum LaudeBoehringer Ingelheim Fonds Fellow (2020–2023)

MSc in Molecular Medicine

Imperial College London · London

Pass with DistinctionFaculty of Medicine Dean's Prize

BSc in Biochemistry

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid · Madrid

Extraordinary AwardFour Academic Excellence Scholarships

LANGUAGES
Spanish
Native
English
C2
French
B2
German
A1

SELECTED OUTPUT

Publications & patent

RECOGNITION

Awards & scientific communication

  • 2026ASGCT Meritorious Abstract Travel Award · Oral Presentation · Boston
  • 2023SHBD Best Oral Presentation Award · Berlin
  • 2022BIST Precision Medicine Best Flash Talk Award · Barcelona
  • 2022–2025Oral and poster presentations at ASHG, EASD, SHBD and SED conferences
SIDE PROJECT

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Cuerpo y Metas

A podcast about health, nutrition, physiology and sport. I explain scientific evidence clearly and practically for a general audience.

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Professional contact

For professional opportunities or scientific collaborations, get in touch.

contact@mirabai.es LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)