PhD from the University of Zaragoza (1991, supervisors Prof J. Forniés and Prof. R. Navarro), with a 16-month postdoctoral stay at the University of Strasbourg under Prof. Michel Pfeffer (1993-94). Returned to ICMA (a joint center of CSIC and the University of Zaragoza) as a contracted researcher (1994-96, 1997-99). Permanent position as a Tenured Scientist at ICMA (2000-07) and promotion to Research Scientist in 2007 (ICMA, since 2011 part of ISQCH). Since 2021, I am Deputy Director of the Institute of Chemical Synthesis and Homogeneous Catalysis (ISQCH; CSIC-University of Zaragoza), re-elected for the 2025 term. I was the scientific head of the NMR service (2003-2007) and have been in charge of the Elemental Analysis service (2008-2024) at CEQMA (Zaragoza).
From 2004 to 2023, I have been Principal Investigator (PI) of two independent research groups (Molecular Activation through Organometallics from 2011-2016, and Amino Acids and Peptides from 2019-2023), leading all funded research projects from the academia and also from industry, totaling 20 years as an independent PI and more than €500,000 in research funding. I published more than 155 scientific papers (cited 4165 times, H = 36), I was Guest Editor of a volume of Current Organic Chemistry (2011, Vol. 15, No. 18), and I belong to the Editorial Board of Journal of Chemistry (Wiley) since 2012 and of Molecules (MDPI) since 2019. I have been invited many times to give guest lectures at national and international universities (16). I have presented more than140 contributions at national and international conferences, most of them oral presentations since 2012. I have supervised several postdoctoral contracts (Juan de la Cierva, JAEDoc) and 10 PhD students, as well as numerous master and degree's students. I am an evaluator for research projects, grants, and infrastructure proposals in Spain, the USA, France, Argentina, and Romania, and I review manuscripts for over 20 JCR/SCI-indexed journals.

Research Lines and Main Achievements
- Functionalization of high value-added molecules through metal-mediated C-H bond activation (1993-present)
- Photochemical synthesis of high value-added compounds catalyzed or mediated by transition metals (2005-present)
- Luminescence of organometallic species (2016-present). In all these lines, our main focus is on amino acids, bis-amino acids, their precursors, and derivatives, and we will continue developing these approaches in the future.

(a) Using late-stage C-H bond activation strategies, we have functionalized phenylglycines via Ru catalysis (J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 2017, 426, 407), phenylalanines and dehydroaminophosphonates via Pd catalysis (J. Org. Chem. 2015, 80, 3321; Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2024, e202400146), and phenylglycines vis stoichiometric Pd-mediated processes (J. Organomet. Chem. 2020, 925, 121482; Molecules 2025, 30, 236). We developed a general method for the synthesis of fused heterocycles using Ru catalysis (J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 5254; Synfacts 2013, 9, 0943; Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 21, 8626; Org. Lett. 2015, 17, 3178; Org. Biomol. Chem. 2017, 15, 8904; Org. Biomol. Chem. 2019, 17, 2542), and a method for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted alkenes via Cu-promoted acetoxythiolation of internal alkynes (Chem. Eur. J. 2018, 24, 13124). Reviews: ChemCatChem 2025, e01931; Tetrahedron Lett. 2016, 57, 3413; C-H and C-X Bond Functionalization (Editor: Xavi Ribas, RSC Catalysis Series 11, 2013); Comments Inorg. Chem. 2012, 33, 55.

(b) Photochemical reactions are currently one of our main research topics. The [2+2] photocycloaddition of C=C double bonds in 4-arylidene-5(4H)-oxazolones was unprecedented. We developed two complementary methods for the synthesis of bis-amino acid derivatives of 1,3-diaminotruxilics-compounds with pharmacological activity—via [2+2] cycloaddition. One method involves orthopalladation of the oxazolone via C-H activation using Pd complexes as templates (Chem. Commun. 2009, 4681; Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 8132; Chem. Eur. J. 2016, 22, 144 - cover article; Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2019, 3481; Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1111). This approach provides 1,3-diaminotruxilic derivatives in a stereoselective manner. The other method is based on (photo)sensitized or direct irradiation of the oxazolones with monochromatic light (ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2017, 5, 8370; J. Org. Chem. 2021, 86, 12119; J. Org. Chem. 2022, 87, 3529; Org. Biomol. Chem. 2023, 21, 3203; Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 7583).

(c) Regarding luminescence, we are developing palladium organometallics that enhance the fluorescence of natural chromophores derived from GFP through orthopalladation and conformational restriction (Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2018, 6158; Molecules 2021, 26, 1238; Org. Biomol. Chem. 2021, 19, 2773; Inorg. Chem. 2023, 62, 9792; Dalton Trans. 2024, 53, 8948; Inorganics 2024, 12, 271). Review: Molecules 2023, 28, 2663.