Welcome to a new edition of Meet the Team!
In this new post, we are delighted to introduce David Talavera Cortés, a PhD student at ProtoQSAR.
David holds a degree in Biotechnology from the Miguel Hernández University and completed a Master’s in R&D in Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the University of Valencia. During his academic journey, he demonstrated a strong interest in complementing his theoretical learning with practical experience, engaging in internships in both laboratory work and bioinformatics. These experiences allowed him to develop skills in molecular biology techniques, cell cultures, virology, and the use of bioinformatics tools to study and analyze viral protein structures.
His research career
David completed his Bachelor’s Thesis at the Institute for Research, Development, and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IDiBE), where he investigated the immunological and antiviral effects of certain drugs on fish viral infections. Later, during his Master’s Thesis at the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), he focused on using bioinformatics tools to predict cellular targets of CVB3 virus proteases, delving into the study of virus-host interactions. To further enhance his training, David has also completed several specialized courses in programming, bioinformatics, and biomedicine.
His work at ProtoQSAR
At ProtoQSAR, David serves as a Junior Researcher and has recently begun his industrial PhD studies. In his daily work, he provides technical support to his colleagues on various projects, enabling continuous learning and a comprehensive understanding of the company’s operations. His contributions are particularly focused on microbiology-related projects such as SulfaTOX, Paint4IRAS, and BioCODES, which aim to identify new compounds with antimicrobial activity. His primary tasks include developing QSAR models, preprocessing databases, and searching for key information to optimize project strategies and approaches. Recently, he has also started exploring molecular modeling techniques.
When asked what he enjoys most about his work, David highlights the constant learning about microorganisms—a subject that has fascinated him since childhood—and the challenge of tackling new scientific or programming tasks daily. Without a doubt, one of the aspects he values most is the ProtoQSAR team, whose support and camaraderie he considers essential for his daily motivation.
His hobbies and recommendations
Outside of work, David is a person with a wide range of interests. He enjoys reading, philosophy, sabre fencing at his fencing club, learning languages, and spending time in nature. Among his personal recommendations, he suggests listening to Charli XCX, reading works by Simone Weil and Ursula K. Le Guin, and exploring films by Paula Ortiz.
In this post, we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know David Talavera Cortés in greater depth—a young talent with significant potential within ProtoQSAR.
