Prof. José Carlos Pastor
Director of Research
Currently Emeritus professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Valladolid. Experience in the retinal diseases and surgery and in the evaluation of medical devices in eye surgery. Member of the Advisory Committee on ISO standards and the European Commission expert panels on medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices (‘Expamed’)
Principal researcher and project manager of medical devices evaluation. Expert in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), safety and physico-chemical analysis of medical devices and ophthalmic medical device development and improvement. Technical Expert of ISO 16672 (CTN 019). Contract co-financed by the Torres Quevedo grant (PTQ2021-011880) awarded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency: MCIN/AEI/10.13039/
Principal researcher and preclinical manager expert in the development of in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Experience in stem cells and regenerative medicine.
Optometrist and project manager of the Controlled Environment Laboratory (CELab). Her main research is focused on ocular surface diseases, such as dry eye disease, meibomian gland dysfunction, ocular pain and contact lens discomfort.
Carla Daniela Guantay
Project manager
Pre-Doctoral researcher and project manager in the clinical evaluation of medical devices according to Medical Device Regulation (MDR). Experience in the retinal and neuro-ophthalmological diseases. Her research also includes the study of the vision problems due to acquired brain diseases and the development of visual neurorehabilitation programs.
Maite García-Gutierrez
Technician
Pathology anatomy and cytology technician expert in cell culture and molecular biology. Experience in the evaluation of cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of ocular medical devices.
Dr. Reinaldo Vallejo
Researcher of Ocular Medical Device Evaluation Area
Industrial engineer specialised in industrial chemistry, Master in fluid thermodynamic engineering and PhD in chemical engineering whose thesis was focused on the production of new controlled release devices based on recombinant proteins for different applications such as ophthalmology or cancer treatment.
Other collaborators
Michael E. Stern, Ph.D., FARVO
Scientific Advisor
Purdue University – BS (Biology) Medical College of Wisconsin – MS (Physiology) PhD (Ophthalmic Physiology). Currently Chief Scientific Officer at ImmunEyeZ, LLC. Visiting Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cologne (Cologne, Germany. Seven years in the Department of Toxicology at Alcon Laboratories, (Fort Worth, Texas) focused on ocular surface wound healing. . He moved to Allergan in 1989 where he spent the next 26 years. He decisively contributed to elucidate the pathophysiology of Dry Eye, defining this disease as an immune based inflammation of the Lacrimal Functional Unit.
Manuel Vidal-Sanz, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Professor of Experimental Ophthalmology, teaches neurophysiology of the visual system, directs the Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology at University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. MD Valladolid Univ (1979). Medical Internship Residency Program in General Surgery (1980-1984) H Clínico S Carlos,Madrid. PhD in Medicine 1984, Complutense University, Madrid. Postdoc Fellow Medical Research Council of Canada at Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University where he obtained a Ph.D. in Neurosciences in 1991. Dr Vidal-Sanz’s main research interests are neurodegeneration, neuroprotection and repair of the adult mammalian visual system.
Jesús Montero Iruzubieta, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Ophthalmologist, professor at the University of Seville. Coordinator of the Research Committee of University Hospital “Virgen de la Macarena” (Sevilla, Spain). Vast experience in methodological courses on Good Clinical Practices for both academic institutions and industry. Expert in diseases of the ocular surface with special orientation to dry eye and ocular allergy. Principal investigator of numerous clinical trials, most of which have been multicentric. Member of more than 20 scientific societies (national and international). Author of more than 100 scientific publications.
Dr. Margarita Calonge
Scientific Advisor
Full professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Valladolid and Director of the Ocular Surface Inflammation Research Group and The Ocular Immunology & Cell Therapy Clinical Units at IOBA. She coordinates the Ocular Surface Disease Research Group with clinical and research interests in ocular surface inflammation (more specifically Dry Eye Disease, Ocular Allergy, and Stem Cell Deficiency), search for biomarkers of inflammation (Dry Eye Disease especificaly), and its management through medical therapies and stem cell-derived therapies. She has been heavily involved in the development of a unique environmental chamber within the Controlled Environment Laboratory (CELab).
Dr. María Jesús González-García
Scientific Advisor
Senior Lecturer in Optometry at the University of Valladolid and principal researcher at IOBA. Her research is focused on contact lens and its interaction with the ocular surface, specifically in the topic of contact lens tolerance, looking for biomarkers that could be used in the diagnosis and treatment of contact lens discomfort. Additionally, she works in the dry eye field, studying the interaction of environmental factors such as relative humidity, temperature, airflow…with the ocular surface and the development of dry eye. She has been heavily involved in the development of a unique environmental chamber within the Controlled Environment Laboratory (CELab).
Dr. Amalia Enriquez-de-Salamanca
Scientific Advisor
Principal researcher at IOBA. Her main research field is ocular surface inflammation, where she investigates about characterization of potential biomarkers (disease, activity, therapeutic…), in tears and/or epithelial cells in immune-based chronic inflammatory diseases of the ocular surface, such as Dry Eye Syndrome, chronic allergy (atopic keratoconjunctivits and vernal keratoconjunctivits) and ocular chronic pain. Her research also includes the study of the role of corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells for these diseases.
Dr. Iván Fernández-Bueno
Scientific Advisor
Lecturer of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Valladolid and Director of Research at IOBA. His main research is focused on neuroprotection and retinal repair and on the development of preclinical in vivo and in vitro models to evaluate biocompatibility, tolerance and toxicity of ophthalmic medical devices.
Dr. Girish Srivastava
Scientific Advisor
Principal scientific investigator at IOBA and editor-in-chief of Journal of Allbiosolution. Technical expert in stem cells, neuroprotection, drug discovery, medical devices and preclinical in vitro models. Possesses three patents and one of them based on a new cytotoxicity test for medical devices is licensed to our company Vision R&D.
Andrés G. Fernández, MS, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Senior Pharma Executive combining Scientific and Business expertise. Over 30 years of experience in Drug Discovery & Development, Strategy Definition, Valorization, Asset Evaluation and co–development deals.
Prof. José M. Benítez-del-Castillo, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology at Complutense University of Madrid and Director of the Ocular Surface and Inflammation Unit at Hospital Universitario Clínico San Carlos in Madrid, Spain. He is General Secretary of the European Dry Eye Society (EuDES). He is also Member of the Board of Directors and Vice-President of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology (SEO), Member of the Scientific Committee for the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (TFOS), Vice-President of the Spanish Society of Ocular Inflammation (SEIOC) and President of the Spanish Society of Ocular Surface and Cornea (SESOC). He is a reviewer for more than ten scientific journals, including Ocular Surface, Ophthalmology and the Lancet, and has published more than 250 papers, contributed to several books and presented more than 650 posters and oral presentations at international conferences.
Joe Sullivan
Strategic Advisor
Business leader and strategist with a proven track record of success in positions of senior management in international business organizations. Joe is Founder & CEO of Emmetropes, a global advisory firm dedicated exclusively to Eye Health. He is an Executive Committee Member of the American European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS.)
Before Emmetropes, Joe was Managing Director of Esteve Pharma. He was also Vice President of Marketing & Sales at AstraZeneca Spain. Prior to AZ, Joe spent 10 years at Alcon in a variety of roles including Director of Surgical Spain and Founding Director of Alcon’s Surgeon Education Program (which became Alcon Experience Academy.)