Department: FISIOLOGIA, GENETICA Y MICROBIOLOGIA

Area: Physiology

Research group: Visual System Neurobiology and Neurodegenerative Disease Therapy (NEUROVIS)

Was part of these groups:

Email: pedro.lax@ua.es

Doctor by the Universidad de Murcia with the thesis Ritmos circadianos de alimentacion en la rata efecto de la iluminacion, la disponibilidad de alimento, el ejercicio fisico y la melatonina exogena 1998. Supervised by Dr. Salvador Zamora Navarro.

My early scientific interest has been in knowing the mechanisms by which organisms, tissues or cells respond to stress, and understanding the delicate balance between health and disease. This motivation has led me to focus on the study of the retina and the factors causing stress, dysfunction and pathology, as well as the search for potential targets and successful therapies for the treatment of retinal diseases. After my first studies in chronobiology at the University of Murcia, and my first researches in electrophysiology, fluorimetry and cell signaling at the universities of Alicante and Rome, in 2008 I assumed the direction of the electrophysiology and electroretinography laboratory at the University of Alicante. Since then, I have participated in different lines of research involved in the study of the visual system, the molecular mechanisms involved in the neurodegenerative processes of the retina and the development of new therapies for the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases. These studies have shown the correlation between retinal degeneration and the alteration of circadian rhythms, the interaction between microbiome and retinal disease, as well as the neuroprotective effect of different therapeutic agents, with demonstrated effectiveness on experimental models for retinitis pigmentosa, ischemia, excitotoxicity, etc. I have published 62 scientific papers in journals of high impact, most of them in the first quartile, with a total of more than 1750 citations and a h-index of 25. Four positive research assessments (six years each). Last one: 1/1/2018. The fifth one is currently under evaluation. I have participated as a collaborative researcher in national research projects since 1992, as well as in five international projects. I have been PI in two national project, three projects granted by Generalitat Valenciana, and a university-industry transfer project from University of Alicante. I am currently co-principal investigator of a “Prometeo”, granted by Generalitat Valenciana. I have supervised four doctoral theses. From 2022 I am the head of our Department.