Nacho Molina

Nacho Molina is Professor of Machine Learning and Data Science in Biotechnology at IE University, and Head of the Health & MedTech Lab within the IEX Research Xcelerator. Before joining IE, he served as a CNRS Research Director at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC) in Strasbourg, where he led an interdisciplinary team at the intersection of biophysics, machine learning, and computational regulatory genomics. Prof. Molina has held academic positions across Europe, including Adjunct Professor at the University of Strasbourg, Group Leader and Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, and Postdoctoral Researcher at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He holds a Ph.D. in Computational Biology from the University of Basel, an M.Sc. in Fundamental Physics from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and completed his M.Sc. thesis in Quantum Field Theory at NIKHEF in the Netherlands.

Prof. Molina’s research team develops interpretable, biophysics-informed deep learning models to understand how gene regulation drives cell proliferation, differentiation, and reprogramming in health and disease. By integrating single-cell and spatial multi-omics data, as well as single-molecule footprinting data, his group aims to uncover the molecular logic underlying dynamic cell cycle and cell fate decisions. Their computational frameworks, such as DeepCycle, FateCompass, FourierCycle, and HiddenFoot, combine machine learning with mechanistic modeling to reveal how transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation operate across developmental systems and cancer. Their findings have been published in leading journals such as Nature Communications, PNAS, and Science. This research lays the foundation for next-generation biomedical applications by integrating artificial intelligence with systems biology to develop predictive, mechanistic tools for regenerative medicine, precision oncology, and cell-based therapies.

Prof. Molina has received several distinctions throughout his career, including the SIB Award for Best Young Bioinformatician, the Chancellor’s Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh, the USIAS Fellowship from the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study, and the Theory@EMBL Fellowship from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). He was a member of the coordination team the European Innovative Training Network PEP-NET, which brought together international partners to bridge epigenetics and mathematical modeling. His work has been consistently supported by competitive funding bodies, most recently with a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to explore cell cycle regulation in cancer through interpretable deep learning.

Academic Experience

• Professor, IE University, Spain, 2025 – Present

• Head of the Health & MedTech Lab, IE School of Science and Technology, Spain, 2025 – Present  

• Member of the Scientific Council, IGBMC, France, 2019 – 2025

• Research Director, CNRS, France, 2024 – 2025

• Research Scientist, CNRS, France, 2016 – 2024

• Group Leader, IGBMC, France, 2016 – 2025

• Adjunct Professor, University of Strasbourg, France, 2016 – 2025

• Group Leader and Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2013 – 2016

• Postdoctoral Researcher, EPFL, Switzerland, 2009 – 2013

Academic Background

• Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, University of Strasbourg, France, 2019

• Ph.D. in Computational Biology, University of Basel, Switzerland, 2008

• B.Sc in Physics and M.Sc. in Fundamental Physics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 2004

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

3 - Good health and well-being

4 - Quality Education

9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure