Tomas Marques-Bonet

Tomas Marques-Bonet is a Full Professor in the Department of Genetics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), specializing in comparative, conservation, and evolutionary genomics. He has held prestigious roles including directing the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (2016-2020) and serving on scientific councils for LABEX CeMEB (Montpellier) and CENIEH (Center for Human Evolution). Currently, he advises Flomics (Spain) and Colossal Genomics (USA), while participating as a panelist for the European Research Council and the External Scientific Panel for developmental gTEX (NIH).

Research Focus: His work explores genome diversity in primates and other species, human-specific genomic features, and the evolution of epigenetics and gene regulation. This includes pioneering contributions to primate genomics, ancient DNA analysis, and transcriptome innovations using long-read sequencing technologies.

Scientific Awards:

• City of Barcelona Award in Sciences (2023)
• ERC Consolidator Grant (2019)
• AAAS Breakthrough of the Year (2019)
• Howard Hughes International Early Career Award (2017)
• EMBO Young Investigator Award (2013)
• ERC Starting Grant (2010)

Grants & Patents: Recipient of HHMI Early International Career Award, two ERC grants (2010, 2019), two NIH R01 grants (2016, 2019), and Revive&Restore funding (2023). Holds a European patent (EP22382590, 2022). Founded Cryozoo (2019), a cell line banking infrastructure partnered with UPF, Barcelona Museum of Natural Science, and EMBL.

Mentorship: Mentored 10 PhD students and 5 postdocs, many of whom now hold successful academic careers. Organized symposia including the 2015 EMBO Young Investigator meeting in Barcelona.

Recent Publications: Coordinated a 2023 Science special issue on primate genomics with 5 manuscripts (3 corresponding authorships). Published 40 high-impact papers in journals like Nature, Science, and Genome Research, including 1 first-author and 7 senior-author publications.