VIRGINIA
ARECHAVALA GOMEZA

Dr. Virginia Arechavala-Gomeza is an Ikerbasque Research Professor and leads the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics for Rare Diseases (NAT-RD) group at Biobizkaia HRI. She holds a Pharmacy degree from the University of the Basque Country, an MSc in Immunopharmacology from the University of Strathclyde, and a PhD in the molecular basis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from King’s College London. As a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London and University College London, she contributed to the development and early clinical trials of eteplirsen, an orphan drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Since 2013, Dr. Arechavala-Gomeza has led the NAT-RD group at Biobizkaia HRI, initially with support from a Miguel Servet Fellowship and a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant. In 2019, she was appointed as an Ikerbasque Research Professor. Her research aims to improve the evaluation methods for treatments of neuromuscular disorders, particularly advanced therapies. She chaired the COST Action “Delivery of Antisense RNA ThERapeutics (DARTER)” from 2018 to 2023, a network of over 460 researchers across 31 countries focused on enhancing oligonucleotide drug delivery and is a founding member of CERU/SRUK (Spanish Researchers in the UK). Dr. Arechavala-Gomeza has authored numerous scientific publications, cited over 4500 times. Her research is supported by multiple European, Spanish, and Basque institutions, as well as patient associations. She has played a key role in developing orphan drugs and created the “Arechavala-Gomeza method” for quantifying dystrophin expression, which has been used in several clinical trials. In 2019, Dr. Arechavala-Gomeza co-founded Miramoon Pharma, a spin-off company, and serves on its Scientific Advisory Board. She regularly contributes to various grant review panels and has collaborated with the European Medicines Agency. From 2020 to 2022, she served on the Basque Drug Research Ethics Committee. Dr Arechavala-Gomeza is dedicated to supporting women in STEM. As a mother of two, she has balanced her career with family life through part-time work and extended maternity leave. She was a member of the equality committee at IIS Biocruces Bizkaia responsible of the institution’s first Gender Equality Plan. She is also deeply involved in science communication, advocating for the accessibility of research and the publication of negative results. Her mentoring was recognized with the Outstanding Mentor Award by the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK in 2017. Over the years, she has supervised numerous students and served on many thesis tribunals.