Dr Juan Muñoz

Juan Cristóbal obtained his Licentiate degree in Biological Sciences (equivalent to an MSc) from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he investigated how circadian rhythms modulate the gene expression response to UV-induced DNA damage in skin cells.

He continued at the University of Buenos Aires for his PhD, studying how the nucleotide excision repair system and the ATR kinase regulate the transcriptional response to DNA damage. During this time, he completed two international stays at IFOM in Milan, and contributed to the discovery that RNA Polymerase II degradation triggered by DNA repair occurs in trans and independently of how the lesion is recognised.

After finishing his PhD, Juan joined the MRC Toxicology Unit as a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Willis group, where he is investigating how RNA damage induced by exogenous and endogenous toxic agents disrupts gene expression and influences cell fate.

Juan is interested in how cells adapt their gene expression programme in response to nucleic acid damage. During his PhD, he studied this at the level of transcription and DNA damage. He is now investigating how RNA damage activates stress responses that determine cell fate, with implications for chemotherapy toxicity, metabolic disorders and cancer.