Sara Pischedda

Geneticist

"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought"

- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

I am from Italy and I have lived in Spain since 2016. I have a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics, both obtained in the University of Pavia (Italia) in 2013 and 2015 respectively, Recently I have obtained a PhD in Molecular Medicine in the University of Santiago de Compostela.

In 2012 I started working in a research laboratory of Human Genetics, where I had my first experience with the basic techniques for the manipulation of nucleic acid, PCR and sequencing. During this period of research experience, lasted almost three years, I started to be more aware and conscious about the scientific world and its different aspects and fields. Moved by the curiosity to put into practice what I have learnt in the laboratory, in the last year of my master’s, I carried out an Erasmus placement in Santiago de Compostela, where I collaborate in a project of population genetics in a laboratory of forensic genetics directed by the professor Antonio Salas. In 2016 after finishing my master’s, I came back to Santiago de Compostela where I had the possibility to work firstly, as laboratory technician and then, as Biologist in the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela. During these years I joined the research group GenPOB (Genética de poblaciones en Biomedicina) with which I continue collaborating at several projects sharing my experiences with a multidisciplinary and professional people.

In 2018 I received a scholarship for a PhD in Molecular Medicine that I concluded in July of 2021. My thesis project, supervised by Prof. Federico Martinón and Prof. Antonio Salas, focused on the study of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and on the epigenetic changes provoked in the host during and after the infection. In order to increase and improve my experience in data analysis and in the field of epigenomics, from September to December 2019 I moved to Oxford for a short placement thanks to which I had the opportunity to work with an excellent group, expert in vaccines and infectious diseases.

When I started my research career, I was absorbed by a plethora of doubts. It was not an easy choice following this carer, it happened often that I was not sure about what I was doing, I didn’t know if I really liked my job and I feel frustrated about this, but as soon as I started working at my thesis project, at the exact moment on which I begun to study and to enter the world of Epigenomics, it is there that I realized that this was exactly what I meant when I said “research”, and at the moment this is what I want to do all my life. Be part of this group is a great opportunity for me, to share ideas, to grow up as researcher and to learn as person. Here, I can collaborate at different National and European Projects, and I have the opportunity to compare myself with great researchers, people who have and continue making their mark for their discoveries and their work and I can only be honored to follow their excellent example.

Nowadays Epigenomics is becoming my daily food; this exciting new field let me to understand how environmental and external factors can interact with our genome, changing the way genes express and behave. It is incredible to think that through this study we can take the control and deal with these factors, to deal with our health and genetic destiny.

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Sara Pischedda

Publications within the group

  • 2025
    • Pischedda, Sara; Gómez-Carballa, Alberto; Pardo-Seco, Jacobo; Viz-Lasheras, Sandra; Camino-Mera, Alba; Bello, Xabier; Curras-Tuala, María José; Rivero-Calle, Irene; Dacosta-Urbieta, Ana I.; Martinón-Torres, Federico; Salas, Antonio; López, Miriam Cebey; Gliemmo, Ana Vega; Guitián, José Peña; Novo, Carmen Curros; Trabazo, Rosaura Leis; Torres, Nazareth Martinón; Sánchez, José María Martinón; Pérez, Belén Mosquera; Collazo, Lorenzo Redondo; Rodríguez-Tenreiro, Carmen; Puga, Miriam Taboada; Bellas, Ana Cotovad; Morelle, Ana María Pastoriza; Rey, Silvia Cerqueiro; Vázquez, Sara Rey; Ferreiro, Ana María Senín; Fernández, Sonia Serén; Iglesias, Maria Soledad Vilas; García, Mirian Ben; Casuso, Patricia Regueiro; Martinez, Lara Martinez; Rodríguez, Máximo Francisco Fraga; Lago, Orlando Fernández; Antúnez, José Ramón; Padilla, Carmen Martínez; de la CruzMoreno, Jesús; Martínez, Eugenia Villanueva; Espín, Ana González; de las Mercedes Martínez Rebollo, María; Moya, María Rocío Martín; Victoria Ramos Casado, M.; Rojo, Pablo; Alba, Palacios Cuesta; Orive, Francisco Javier Pilar; Tubert, Carla Pintos; Urabayen, Diego García; Sanchez, Esteban Gomez; Ramos, Juan Valencia; López-Herce, Jesús; Alvarez, Débora Sanz; Calvo, Cristina; Alcolea, Sonia; Sánchez, Rocio; Atucha, Jorge; Hurtado, Jara; Fernández, Ana López; González, Clara Gil; López, Teresa González; Vázquez, Delfina Suarez; Vázquez, Ángela Vázquez; García, Susana Rey; Sande, Nathalie Carreira; Pérez, Nuria Romero; Lozano, Diego Bautista; Jose, Alcaraz Romero Andres; Martin, Sara Guillen; Aragón, Ana Pérez; Paredes, Catalina Ortiz; Ferreiro, María Teresa Rives; Salgado, Jose Luis Moreno; Leiva, Olalla Moyano; Rubinos, Carla Taboada; Miranda, Ana Capilla; Contreras, Jorge; Torre, Andrés Concha; del Castillo Navío, Elena; Tejada, Ana Grande; García, Alfredo Tagarro; Herreros, María Luisa; del Valle, Rut; Galarraga, Laura Moreno; Iturbe, Enrique Bernaola; Álvarez, Jorge; Herranz, Mercedes; Gil, Francisco; Gembero, Eva; Rodríguez, Jorge; García, María Luz García; Rey, Cristina Calvo; Arnal, Iciar Olabarrieta; Rincón, Adelaida Fernández; Reyes, Susana Beatriz; León, María Cruz León; Alfayate, Santiago; Mercader, Beatriz; Sánchez, Francisco Giménez; Salas, Elvira González; De Miguel, Sira Fernández; García, Alfredo Tagarro; Sanchidrián, María Concepción Zazo; García-Fontecha, Esteban; Lorenzo, Marta González; Esteban, Mariano; Castello, María Carmen Vicent; Requena, Lorena Moreno; Martín, César Gavilán; Franco, Monterrat López; Bravo, Mª Nieves Glez; Cabero, María Jesús; Pareja, Marta; Carretero, Adriana Navas; Vazquez, Elvira Cobo; Perez, Patricia Flores; del Prado, María Yolanda Ruiz; Gianzo, José Antonio Couceiro; Perez, Nazareth Fuentes; Piñeiro, Roi; Abancens, Belen Joyanes; de Liria, Carlos Rodrigo Gonzalo; Méndez, Maria; Sánchez, Francisco Giménez; Forte, Miguel Sánchez; Ortega, María José Cilleruelo; Golmayo, Luz; Azorín, Francisca Portero and GENDRES Consortium (2025). DNA methylation signatures of severe RSV infection in infants: evidence from non-invasive saliva samples. Epigenetics & Chromatin; 18(1):25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13072-025-00587-5
  • 2024
    • A. Gómez-Carballa , S. Pischedda , J. Pardo-Seco , J. Gómez-Rial , F. Martinón-Torres & A. Salas (2024). Interferon gene expression declines over time post-COVID infection and in long COVID patients. Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2024.2389481
  • 2023
    • Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Laura Navarro, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, Xabier Bello, Sara Pischedda, Sandra Viz-Lasheras, Alba Camino-Mera, María José Currás, Isabel Ferreirós, Narmeen Mallah, Sara Rey-Vázquez, Lorenzo Redondo, Ana Dacosta-Urbieta, Fernando Caamaño-Viña, Irene Rivero-Calle, Carmen Rodriguez-Tenreiro, Federico Martinón-Torres & Antonio Salas (2023). Music compensates for altered gene expression in age-related cognitive disorders. Scientific Reports; 13(1):21259. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48094-5
    • Jacobo Pardo-Seco, Sandra Viz-Lasheras, Xabier Bello, Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Alba Camino-Mera, Sara Pischedda, María José Currás-Tuala, Irene Rivero-Calle, Ana Dacosta, Fernando Caamaño-Viña, Carmen Rodríguez-Tenreiro, Isabel Cifuentes, Cristina Méndez, Chiea Chuen Khor, Federico Martinón-Torres, Antonio Salas, the CAPPRIC study group (2023). Whole exome sequencing identifies new susceptibility candidates underlying community-acquired pneumonia. Genes & Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2023.101170
    • Alberto Gómez-Carballa, María José Currás-Tuala, Sara Pischedda, Miriam Cebey-López, José Gómez-Rial, Irene Rivero-Calle, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, Xabier Bello, Sandra Viz-Lasheras, Antonio Justicia-Grande, Julián Montoto-Louzao, Alba Camino-Mera, Isabel Ferreirós-Vidal, Máximo Fraga, José R. Antúnez, Rodolfo Gómez, Federico Martinón-Torres and Antonio Salas (2023). Multi-tissue transcriptomics of a unique monozygotic discordant twin case of severe progressive osseous heteroplasia. Genes & Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2023.05.001
    • Navarro, Laura, Gómez-Carballa, Alberto, Pischedda, Sara, Montoto-Louzao, Julián, Viz-Lasheras, Sandra, Camino-Mera, Alba, Hinault, Thomas, Martinón-Torres, Federico and Salas, Antonio (2023). Sensogenomics of music and Alzheimer’s disease: An interdisciplinary view from neuroscience, transcriptomics, and epigenomics. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience; 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2023.1063536
  • 2022
    • Cebey-López, Miriam, Currás-Tuala, María José, Gómez-Rial, Jose, Rivero-Calle, Irene, Pardo-Seco, Jacobo, Mendez-Gallart, Roberto, Sara Pischedda, Gómez-Carballa, Alberto, Barral-Arca, Ruth, Justicia Grande, Antonio José, Viz Lasheras, Sandra, Rodríguez-Tenreiro, Carmen, Gómez, Rodolfo, Salas, Antonio and Martinón-Torres, Federico. (2022). Everolimus reduced bone turnover markers but showed no clinical benefit in a patient with severe progressive osseous heteroplasia. Frontiers in Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.936780
    • Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Sara Pischedda, Irene Rivero-Calle, Julian Montoto-Louzao, Federico Martinón-Torres, Antonio Salas, Red de Investigación en Infecciones Respiratorias (GENDRES) Network (2022). CD14 and Related Genes in Respiratory Morbidity After Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection. The Journal of Infectious Diseases; 226(7):1295-1297. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiac248
    • Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, Sara Pischedda, Irene Rivero-Calle, Guillaume Butler-Laporte, JB Richards, Sandra Viz-Lasheras, Federico Martinón-Torres, Antonio Salas (2022). Sex-biased expression of the TLR7 gene in severe COVID-19 patients: Insights from transcriptomics and epigenomics. Environmental Research; 215(2):114288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114288
    • Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Irene Rivero-Calle, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, José Gómez-Rial, Carmen Rivero-Velasco, Nuria Rodríguez-Núñez, Gema Barbeito-Castiñeiras, Hugo Pérez-Freixo, Miriam Cebey-López, Ruth Barral-Arca, Carmen Rodriguez-Tenreiro, Ana Dacosta-Urbieta, Xabier Bello, Sara Pischedda, María José Currás-Tuala, Sandra Viz-Lasheras, Federico Martinón-Torres and Antonio Salas (2022). A multi-tissue study of immune gene expression profiling highlights the key role of the nasal epithelium in COVID-19 severity. Environmental Research; 210(1):112890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.112890
    • Heather Jackson, Irene Rivero Calle, Claire Broderick, Dominic Habgood‑Coote, Giselle D’Souza, Samuel Nichols, Ortensia Vito, Jose Gómez‑Rial, Carmen Rivero‑Velasco, Nuria Rodríguez‑Núñez, Gema Barbeito‑Castiñeiras, Hugo Pérez‑Freixo, Manuel Barreiro‑de Acosta, Aubrey J. Cunnington, Jethro A. Herberg, Victoria J. Wright, Alberto Gómez‑Carballa, Antonio Salas, Michael Levin, Federico Martinon‑Torres, Myrsini Kaforou, PERFORM consortium & GEN-COVID (www.gencovid.eu) study group (2022). Characterisation of the blood RNA host response underpinning severity in COVID‑19 patients. Scientific Reports; 12(1):12216. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15547-2
    • Sara Pischedda, Irene Rivero-Calle, Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Miriam Cebey-López, Ruth Barral-Arca, Jose Gómez Rial, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, María José Currás Tuala, Sandra Viz Lasheras, Xabier Bello, Ana B. Crujeiras, Angel Diaz-Lagares, Teresa María, Federico Martinon-Torres and Antonio Salas (2022). Role and diagnostic performance of host epigenome in respiratory morbidity after RSV infection: the EPIRESVi study. Frontiers in Immunology; 13:875691. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.875691
  • 2021
    • Antonio José Justicia-Grande, Jose Gómez-Rial, Irene Rivero-Calle, Sara Pischedda, María José Currás-Tuala, Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Miriam Cebey-López, Jacobo Pardo-Seco, Roberto Méndez-Gallart, María José Fernández-Seara, Antonio Salas, Federico Martinón-Torres (2021). Case Report: Two Monochorionic Twins With a Critically Different Course of Progressive Osseus Heteroplasia. Frontiers in Pediatrics; 9:508. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.662669
    • Pischedda S, O'Connor D, Fairfax BP, Salas A, Martinon-Torres F, Pollard AJ and Trück J. (2021). Changes in epigenetic profiles throughout early childhood and their relationship to the response to pneumococcal vaccination.. Clinical Epigenetics; 13(1):29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-021-01012-w
    • Alberto Gómez-Carballa, Ruth Barral-Arca, Miriam Cebey-López, Maria José Currás-Tuala, Sara Pischedda, José Gómez-Rial, Dominic Habgood-Coote, Jethro A Herberg, Myrsini Kaforou, Federico Martinón-Torres, Antonio Salas (2021). Host Transcriptomic Response Following Administration of Rotavirus Vaccine in Infants' Mimics Wild Type Infection.. Frontiers in Inmunology; 11(1):3517. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.580219
  • 2020
    • Barral-Arca R, Gómez-Carballa A, Cebey-López M, Currás-Tuala MJ, Pischedda S, Viz-Lasheras S, Bello S, Martinón-Torres F, Salas A (2020). RNA-Seq data-mining allows the discovery of two long non-coding RNA biomarkers of viral infection in humans. International Journal of Molecular Sciences; 21(8):2748. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21082748
  • 2019
    • Gómez-Carballa A, Cebey-López M, Pardo-Seco J, Barral-Arca R, Rivero-Calle I, Pischedda S, Gómez-Rial J, Barros F, Martinón-Torres F, Salas A (2019). A qPCR expression assay of IFI44L gene differentiates viral from bacterial infections in febrile children. Scientific reports; 9:11780. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48162-9
    • Salas A, Pardo-Seco J, Cebey-López M, Gómez-Rial J, Pischedda S, Barral-Arca R, Justicia-Grande A, Rivero-Calle I, Vilar J, Martinón-Torres F (2019). Impact of rotavirus vaccination on childhood hospitalizations for seizures: Heterologous or unforeseen direct vaccine effects?. Vaccine; 37:3362-3368. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.04.086
  • 2018
    • Salas A, Pardo-Seco J, Barral-Arca R, Cebey-López M, Gómez-Carballa A, Rivero-Calle I, Pischedda S, Currás-Tuala M, Amigo J, Gómez-Rial J, Martinón-Torres F, GENDRES Network (2018). Whole Exome Sequencing identifies new host genomic susceptibility factors in empyema caused by streptococcus pneumoniae in children: A pilot study. Genes; 9:240. http://doi.org/10.3390/genes9050240
  • 2017
    • Pischedda S, Barral-Arca R, Gómez-Carballa A, Pardo-Seco J, Álvarez-Iglesias V, Martinón-Torres F, Vullo C, Salas A (2017). Phylogeographic and genome-wide investigations of Vietnam ethnic groups reveal signatures of complex historical demographic movements. Scientific reports; 7:12630. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12813-6
  • 2016
    • Barral-Arca R, Pischedda S, Gómez-Carballa A, Pastoriza A, Mosquera-Miguel A, López-Soto M, Martinón-Torres F, Álvarez-Iglesias V, Salas A (2016). Meta-Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Variation in the Iberian Peninsula. PloS one; 11:e0159735. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159735