Caffarel Lab > Team > María Caffarel

María M. Caffarel

Group leader

Dr. Maria M Caffarel is an Ikerbasque Associate Professor at the Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute in San Sebastian (Spain), where she leads the Breast Cancer Group. Her laboratory focuses on studying tumour-promoting inflammation to design new therapeutic strategies for breast cancer. In particular, she is interested in understanding how different cells within a tumour (tumour cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, etc.) communicate with each other through cytokines to promote tumour progression and spread to other organs (metastasis).

María completed her PhD in 2008 at the Complutense University of Madrid, where she characterized the antitumour role of cannabinoids in breast cancer. In 2009, she moved to the University of Cambridge, where she worked for over five years studying the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer and other tumour types, such as cervical cancer. In 2015, she started her independent research line through an Ikerbasque Fellowship, followed by a Miguel Servet Fellowship. She has led the Breast Cancer Group since 2020.

María is a member of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) Early Career Researchers Council and President of the Biogipuzkoa Equality Committee. She enjoys training new scientists and teaching, and is actively involved in science outreach by organising activities to promote the role of women in science, as well as giving talks to cancer patients and the general public. In 2024, she received the EmakumeEkinn Award from Fomento San Sebastián for outstanding women researchers. She has also received prestigious grants, including the Leonardo Grant from FBBVA, the FERO Award in breast cancer, and the labAECC grant.