Alba Sabaté-Pérez - Metabolism & Reproduction Group

Dr. Alba Sabaté-Pérez is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Internal Medicine at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She studied Chemistry at the University of Barcelona, specializing in molecular design and drug synthesis, and later completed a Master’s degree in Biotechnology at the same institution. Driven by a growing interest in physiology and cell biology, she pursued a PhD in Biomedicine at IRB Barcelona, supported by a personal grant from the University of Barcelona. Her doctoral research explored autophagy-dependent molecular mechanisms regulating adipose tissue development and metabolism.
Her current research investigates how sex differences and hormonal signaling shape adipose tissue function and systemic energy balance. She combines molecular biology, endocrine approaches, and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived adipocytes models to study the mechanisms underlying metabolic regulation in health and disease.
During her scientific career, Dr. Sabaté-Pérez identified TP53INP2 as a molecular switch that promotes brown adipogenesis while repressing white adipogenesis, linking autophagy to energy expenditure and storage. She also characterized two adipocyte-secreted factors, Neuritin-1 and complement factor D, as key endocrine signals controlling brown adipose tissue metabolism.
In addition to her research, she is committed to mentorship and training of young scientists, and has supervised projects from bachelor’s to PhD level. She is also actively involved in scientific outreach, participating in scientific fairs for children and organizing scientific workshops for high school students. Dr. Sabaté-Pérez serves as a board member of the Association of Spanish Scientists in the Netherlands (CENL), where she promotes community building, fosters collaborations, and organizes conferences between institutions in the Netherlands and Spain.

Links:

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alba-Sabate-Perez