Trinidad Montero Melendez

Trinidad Montero-Melendez

Dr Trinidad Montero-Melendez, PhD, FHEA

t.monteromelendez@qmul.ac.uk

Trinidad Montero-Melendez is a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Pharmacology at the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London.

Trinidad trained as a Pharmacologist and obtained her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Granada, Spain. She later joined the William Harvey Research Institute to work on understanding the pro-resolving potential of melanocortin receptors. During that period, she discovered the pro-resolving activities of the molecule AP1189 and its novel biased mode of action, which entered clinical development shortly after.

In collaboration with several biotech and pharmaceutical companies, she has also contributed to the pre-clinical development of several other drug candidates for the treatment of inflammatory conditions and has participated in large high-throughput drug screening programmes for the identification of novel pro-resolving drugs. Another contribution to science includes the discovery of a novel mechanism of induction of senescence in synovial fibroblasts with therapeutic potential in diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Her research is now focused on autoimmune diseases associated with chronic inflammation, and in developing innovative drugs that can target common mechanisms on autoimmune diseases.

Trinidad has published over 40 peer-reviewed publications as well as articles for the general public and children in the magazines The Biochemist and Frontiers for Young Minds. She also founded AutoImmunity Research Advisors (AIRA), a patient and public involvement and engagement group, focused on autoimmune diseases.

Trinidad is currently the Teaching Lead of 'The Business of Pharmacology', one of the Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics Program modules at Queen Mary. She has served as guest Associate Editor of several journals and sat at funding panels, among other contributions.