Pablo Rodríguez Mier

Biography

I am currently a research staff member in the Saez-Rodríguez group at EMBL-EBI. My research focuses on network inference, optimization, and machine-learning models for perturbation biology. I apply this work within NetworkCommons, an Open Targets research project, where we develop, integrate, and benchmark network contextualization methods to study disease pathways, mechanisms of action, and drug-target prioritization. Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the same group at Heidelberg University, contributing to projects including PerMedCoE, focused on scalable computational methods for personalized medicine, and DECIDER, focused on ovarian cancer. Before that, at INRAE in Toulouse, I developed computational approaches to study metabolic dysregulation in cancer by combining biological knowledge, experimental data, and optimization methods. I hold a PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Research Interests

My research focuses on network inference and computational modeling of complex biological systems, with an emphasis on integrating prior biological knowledge with large-scale experimental and perturbation data. I develop methods to reconstruct and analyze biological networks, including signaling, metabolic, and protein–protein interaction networks, aiming to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, treatment response, and potential therapeutic targets. I am particularly interested in optimization-based approaches to network inference and modeling, including CORNETO, a framework I continue to maintain and expand. More recently, my work has increasingly focused on biologically informed machine-learning models for perturbation biology, including methods to predict cellular responses to genetic and pharmacological interventions. My research spans methodological development, scalable algorithms, and the integration and benchmarking of computational approaches, with applications in drug discovery and precision medicine.

Professional Career

Education

Contact Information