ECR Spotlight – Miguel López-Unzu Free

Miguel López-Unzu

How did you become interested in biology?

I have always been interested in the life sciences, probably because since I was a child, I have been lucky enough to be in contact with nature. Over time I learned more, thanks to wonderful teachers and mentors at school and university, about the complexity that lies in each living being and in each of the systems that constitute them. It was then that I decided that I wanted to dedicate an important part of my time to better understand the secrets hidden in these biological systems.

Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus

After high school I decided to study biology at the Faculty of Science of the University of Málaga. During those 4 years I was lucky enough to meet professors who really transmitted to me their love for research. This was the inspiration that pushed me to enter the research laboratory led by Prof. Sans-Coma in the Department of Animal Biology in order to learn how to study the differences in the hearts of vertebrates. Although it was a laboratory where purely morphological studies were carried out, I was always interested in discovering more about all those samples that surrounded us. That's why I did a Master's degree in molecular and cellular biology at the same institution after my degree. Thanks to this training, I fell madly in love with structural proteins and how they condition the form and function, as well as the development, of the cardiac muscle. After obtaining one of the most competitive fellowships in Spain, I started my PhD research under the supervision of Profs Ana C. Durán and Borja Fernández on the organization, vascularization and development of the myocardium in chondrichthyans (i.e. sharks, chimaeras and rays). This path allowed me to learn more about more complex molecular techniques, such as proteomics, to travel around different countries learning from colleagues at conferences and even to carry out a short research stay at the Sorbonne Université, France (with Prof. Jorge Cubo), to learn about the evolutionary mechanisms underlying organic systems. After finishing my PhD, I completely changed the course expected of a morphology-trained researcher and joined the Molecular Mechanics group led by Prof. Jorge Alegre-Cebollada, at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (Spain). After obtaining highly competitive junior postdoctoral fellowships in my country, I have started to study with novel molecular techniques and animal models how the mechanical functions of myocardial structural proteins, such as titin, govern myocardial function.

How would you explain the main message of your paper to a member of the public?

The main function of the heart is to pump blood through the circulatory system. For that, the heart needs the myocardium, the cardiac muscle which compounds its walls, to contract properly. Although the heart's function is common to all vertebrates, their shape varies greatly and, therefore, so does their myocardium. In this article, we have brought together all the available information on the myocardium types found in the group of vertebrates with the greatest cardiac diversity, fishes. Throughout our Review, we show that not all myocardia are the same, they do not develop in the same way, and therefore classifying them correctly is an essential task in order to better understand their function and learn how to solve biomedical problems in which the structure of this tissue is compromised.

What do you enjoy most about research, and why?

Undoubtedly, I love making little discoveries. Sitting in front of a microscope and realizing that you are probably the first person to have noticed what you are observing is a fantastic feeling. Making discoveries is not only exciting because of the simple observation but also because of the path that leads to it. Designing experiments, controlling the conditions and choosing which problem to tackle are certainly skills that researchers have to perfect little by little so that no observation is overlooked and we can continue to enjoy every day in the lab.

What is the most important piece of equipment for your research, what does it do and what question did it help you address?

As a researcher with a background in morphology, my favorite working tool is the microscope. When I enter the microscopy room, I am able to spend hours and hours endlessly observing and analyzing the samples. During my PhD, my supervisors taught me to focus on every little detail and to educate my eye to be able to compare different structures. That is why I believe that a microscope and a clear and educated mind can answer many of the questions that arise in research.

What is your favourite animal, and why?

I have been lucky enough to work with different species and groups of animals: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish... But without a doubt, sharks have a special place in my heart. Studying the biological systems of these animals is like traveling in a time machine and discovering what our vertebrate ancestors might have been like. Without a doubt, they are ideal companions to discover more about our past, why we have changed and how we can use all this information to challenge serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease.

Do you have a top tip for others just starting out at your career stage?

You do not have to be afraid to make the decisions. When you do research, you develop different soft-skills and one of them is intuition: a set of ideas and thoughts that come into your head without conscious reasoning, but which is based on thousands of experiences you have had throughout your life. This ability comes to the surface not only when we do experiments or analyze data but also when we make decisions in our lives and we have to trust it, even if sometimes we don't understand it at the time.