Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Research Unit: Instituto de Biotecnología y Salud (IDiBE)

Research Gate:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ana_Maria_Fernandez-Escamilla/research

Research Fields:

-Computational design and experimental characterization of therapeutic inhibitors:

• Identification of small molecules and peptides with pharmacological potential.
• Biochemical, biophysical, and structural identification and characterization of macromolecules as therapeutic targets.
• Molecular characterization of protein–ligand interactions with pharmacological potential.

 Representative Publications:

• Synergistic antiviral effects of structure-guided peptides and a mutagenic base analog on SARS-CoV-2 replication: Sergio Ortega Del Campo, Gregorio Joaquín Fernández Ballester, Clara Blanes Mira, Víctor Guirado Osorio, Luis Díaz Martínez, Ana Isabel de Ávila, María Eugenia Soria, Brenda Martínez-González, Francisco José Villena González, Josefa Gómez-Maldonado, María Isabel Viciana Ramos, Encarnación Clavijo Frutos, Jesús L. Santos González, Ugo Bastolla, Celia Perales, Esteban Domingo, Enrique Viguera, Ana María Fernández Escamilla*, Ana Grande Pérez*. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (2026). DOI: 10.1128/aac.01885-25.
• Brain Permeable SGK1 Inhibitors: A Promising Therapeutic Strategy for Neurodegenerative Diseases: Enrique Madruga, Alfonso Garcia-Rubia, Carlos Sanchez-Nuñez, Loreto Martinez-Gonzalez, Ana María Fernandez-Escamilla, Isabel Lastres-Becker, Carmen Gil, and Ana Martinez. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c03050
• Dermcidin has antiviral activity and protects against influenza: Paula Corell Escuin; Anmol Adhav; Alberto Marina; Laura Gadea; Luis Martinez; Elnaz Aledavood; Ana María Fernández Escamilla; Ana Gomez; Kieran Dee; Pablo Murcia; Eliza Adriana Magos; Carmen Llena; Cristina Peris; Giuseppe D’Auria; Alejandro Artacho; Beatriz Mengual; F. Xavier López; Alex Mira; María Desamparados Ferrer. PNAS (2026). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2424461123.
• West Nile Virus Unmasked: from Gene Variability to Future Challenges: Samuel Prieto-Vega; Alfredo Berzal-Herranz; Juan J Garrido; Armando Arias; Ana Grande-Pérez; Ana María Fernández-Escamilla*; Maria Montoya*. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.  (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1690827.
• Artificial intelligence and first-principle methods in protein redesign: A marriage of convenience?: Damiano Cianferoni 1; David Vizarraga; Ana María Fernandez Escamilla; Ignacio Fita; Rahma Hamdani; Raul Reche; Javier Delgado; Luis Serrano. Protein Science (2025). DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.70210.
• Prediction of sequence-dependent and mutational effects on the aggregation of peptides and proteins: Fernandez-Escamilla AM, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Serrano L. Nat Biotechnol. (2004). DOI: 10.1038/nbt1012.
• Solvation in protein folding analysis: Combination of theoretical and experimental approaches: A.M. Fernández-Escamilla,M.S. Cheung,M.C. Vega,M. Wilmanns,J.N. Onuchic, & L. Serrano. PNAS (2004). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0304180101.

 Patents and Available Technologies:

1. Patent Application (2023) P202330781: Spanish Patent Application ES3007932A1: 5-Fluorouracil as an Antiviral Agent Against Coronaviruses. UMH–University of Málaga (UMA).
2. Patent application (2024) P202430551: Compounds identified as CDK4 inhibitors for use as drugs. FISABIO-UMH.
3. Commercially licensed software (2004): TANGO: A computational algorithm that predicts polypeptide regions most prone to aggregation (tango.crg.es). It is owned by EMBL-Germany and CRG-Barcelona.

 Company agreements: 

• Project Name: Detection of Toxic Compounds Using a Bacterial Biosensor Based on the TtgR Repressor from Pseudomonas Putida DOT-T1E.

  Project Type: Research and Development (including Translational Research) Level of Involvement: Overall project coordinator, network, or consortium.

  Principal Investigators (PIs, co-PIs, etc.): Ana María Fernández Escamilla

  Participating Entity/Entities: Zaidín Experimental Station and Grontal Soluciones Biotecnológicas SL.