Team

The Alegre Group is actively recruiting team members. The group is in the process of launching a variety of projects in organic synthesis and catalysis and is looking for researchers to lead them. If you have a background in computational and/or experimental mechanistic studies, or cheminformatics, please see the Working with Us tab for information about funding, scholarships and starting collaborations.

Postdoctoral Associates

David Dalmau Ginesta

David was born in Aragon, a northern region of Spain. He completed his BS, MS, and PhD in Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza under the supervision of Dr. Esteban P. Urriolabeitia and Dr. Juan V. Alegre Requena, focusing on the development of new amino acid-based luminescent compounds. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in data science and the automation of machine learning workflows for chemical applications. In his free time, he enjoys reading, hiking in his beloved Pyrenees, and travelling to new places.
               Contact:

Susana P. García Abellán

Susana was born in Andorra (Teruel), a town located in Aragón. She completed her BS in Chemistry and MS in Molecular Chemistry and Homogeneous Catalysis at the University of Zaragoza. Subsequently, she earned her PhD in Inorganic Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Manuel Iglesias Alonso, focusing on the design of new bidentate and hemilabile ligands for the development of catalysts based on Earth-abundant metals, specifically Co and Mn. During her PhD, she did a stay in Swansea University with Dr. Lino Carta, where she explored the synthesis of hybrid materials consisting of Tröger’s Base Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (TB-PIMs) and organometallic complexes based on Ir, Rh and Co. Currently, she is pursuing her postdoctoral research on cheminformatics and machine learning. In her free time, she enjoys reading, travelling and outdoor sports such as hiking, climbing or running.
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PhD Students

Juho Savola

Juho was born and raised in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. He completed his BS in Chemical Engineering and MS in Organic Chemistry in Aalto university. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in the University of Helsinki, focusing on photocatalytic C-C couplings using semiquinones as novel photoorganocatalysts. On his free time Juho likes to practice all kinds of sports, especially judo which has been his hobby for more than 20 years. Additionally, he enjoys gaming, reading and travelling. Cosupervised with Dr. Juho Helaja.
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Miguel Martínez Fernández

Miguel was born in Madrid. He completed his BS in Chemistry and MS in Organic Chemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid. Then, he immersed himself in the field of data science and machine learning by completing a master's program. This multidisciplinary journey unites his background in chemistry with computational tools. Currently, he is a PhD student working on cheminformatics and machine learning. In his free time, he enjoys nature, practices various sports, and has a keen interest in technology, particularly anything related to computer science.
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Jesús Moradell Ruiz

Jesús was born in Zaragoza, Aragón. He completed his BS in Chemistry and MS in Molecular Chemistry and Homogeneous Catalysis at the University of Zaragoza. Currently, he is a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Esteban P. Urriolabeitia and Dr. Juan V. Alegre Requena and he is focused on the design of new luminescent compounds via Machine Learning (ML) methods. In his free time, he enjoys playing videogames, reading manga and tinkering with computers. Cosupervised with Dr. Esteban Urriolabeitia.
Contact:

Julia Kaczmarek

Julia is originally from the seaside region of Poland. She completed her MChem degree at Newcastle University, where she became a member of the Penfold group. During her time there, she conducted research utilising machine learning to enhance the analysis of X-ray spectroscopic data for a summer project, and investigated the excited states of dicarbon for her final year project. In 2022, Julia was also awarded the RSC research bursary to synthesise fluorescent phosphine ligands, under the supervision of Lee J. Higham. Her current research focuses on the automation of quantum chemical reaction mechanisms. Cosupervised with Dr. Cristina Trujillo.
               Contact:

Itzel Muro Puente

Itzel was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, a region of Mexico. She obtained her BSC in Chemistry at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Subsequently, she went on to complete her MS in Chemistry and Materials at the Université de Lille in France. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Computational Chemistry and Machine Learning. In her free time she enjoys baking, running and being outdoors. Cosupervised with Dr. Marc Garcia-Borràs.
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Ashith Thayyil

Ashith was born in Kerala, a state in India. He completed his integrated master's in chemistry from Central University of Tamil Nadu. After Completing his MSc he worked with Dr. Priya Kumari C P for 2 years in the Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad. In his free time, he likes to travel and play football.
               Contact:

Alice Genovese

Alice was born in Turin, in the north of Italy. She completed her BS in Chemistry and Chemical Technologies and her MS in Chemistry at the University of Turin. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Zaragoza, where she is focusing on understanding reaction mechanisms with the help of machine learning tools. In her free time, she enjoys travelling cities and playing board games and video games.
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Undergraduate Students

Javier Cruz Oliver

Javier was born in Zaragoza, Spain. He recently completed his BS in Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza, where he is currently doing a research internship in The Alegre Group. He started out with a strong focus on experimental chemistry, particularly organic synthesis and homogeneous catalysis, but his interest gradually leaned towards theoretical approaches. As a result, he is going to pursue the Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling (TCCM). In his free time, he maintains an active life through going to the gym and running.
          Contact:

Darío M. Lorente Magallón

Darío was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where he is currently finishing his BSc in Chemistry. He has a strong interest in both the synthesis of biologically active compounds and computational chemistry. In the latter, he aims to deepen his knowledge under the guidance of Dr. Alegre, learning how to obtain the molecular descriptors required for QSAR and other tools that are essential for drug discovery. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, playing sports with his friends, or just spending time with them.
          Contact:

Valeria Núñez Fugón

Valeria lives in Zaragoza, Spain. She is currently finishing her BS in Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza. Her work focuses on computational calculations of TADF in organometallic azlactone derivatives. In her free time she enjoys going for a walk and reading books of any genre.
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Alumni

Luis Giner Tendero. Software developer intern (2025)
Brenda Manzanilla Viveros. Postdoctoral associate (2024-2025)
Daniel Juan Vicente. Master’s student (2023-2024)
Gonzalo Garcés Selvi. Undergraduate student (2022-2023)
Rafael Luna Madrid. Master’s student (2022-2023)

Previous visiting scholars

Christopher Collison. Professor and Director of AI Hub – Rochester Institute of Technology (2025)
David Valiente Garcia. Associate professor – Miguel Hernandez University (2022-2024)
Nil Sanosa. PhD student, Funes group – University of La Rioja (2024)
Md Bin Yeamin. Postdoctoral associate, Poater group – University of Girona (2023)
Iida Alanko. PhD student, Helaja group – University of Helsinki (2023)