María Villalba Esparza
Associate Research Scientist in PathologyAbout
Research
Publications
2026
NSCLC brain metastases exhibit reduced HLA-I antigen presentation machinery and immune evasion independent of IFNγ signaling defects
Vilariño N, de Rodas M, Villalba-Esparza M, Rajendran B, Huang B, Hijazo-Pechero S, Costantini A, Ranjan K, Ramos-Paradas J, Lu B, Nadal E, Goldberg S, Nguyen D, Schalper K. NSCLC brain metastases exhibit reduced HLA-I antigen presentation machinery and immune evasion independent of IFNγ signaling defects. Molecular Cancer 2026 PMID: 42210261, DOI: 10.1186/s12943-026-02687-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSafety, Feasibility, and Pharmacodynamic Activity of Intratumoral Injections of the Agonist Anti-CD137 (4-1BB) mAb Urelumab in Combination with Nivolumab.
Sanmamed M, de Andrea C, Ruiz-Guillamón D, Rodriguez-Ruiz M, Ortego I, Eguren-Santamaría I, Benito A, López-Janeiro A, Gonzalez Gomariz J, Villalba-Esparza M, Molina A, Krasko A, Ponz-Sarvise M, Lopez-Picazo J, Gomis G, Molero-Glez P, Alexandru R, Pérez-Domínguez P, Rodriguez I, Sánchez-Gregorio S, Perez-Gracia J, Melero I. Safety, Feasibility, and Pharmacodynamic Activity of Intratumoral Injections of the Agonist Anti-CD137 (4-1BB) mAb Urelumab in Combination with Nivolumab. Clinical Cancer Research 2026, 32: 1036-1045. PMID: 41543348, DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-25-2502.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2025
Biological and clinical significance of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in the era of immunotherapy: a multidimensional approach
Villalba-Esparza M, Sanmamed M, Chen L, Rimm D, Schalper K. Biological and clinical significance of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in the era of immunotherapy: a multidimensional approach. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology 2025, 22: 163-181. PMID: 39820025, DOI: 10.1038/s41571-024-00984-x.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus Statements
2023
Weakly supervised deep learning to predict recurrence in low-grade endometrial cancer from multiplexed immunofluorescence images
Jiménez-Sánchez D, López-Janeiro Á, Villalba-Esparza M, Ariz M, Kadioglu E, Masetto I, Goubert V, Lozano M, Melero I, Hardisson D, Ortiz-de-Solórzano C, de Andrea C. Weakly supervised deep learning to predict recurrence in low-grade endometrial cancer from multiplexed immunofluorescence images. Npj Digital Medicine 2023, 6: 48. PMID: 36959234, PMCID: PMC10036616, DOI: 10.1038/s41746-023-00795-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSpatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury
Cross A, de Andrea C, Villalba-Esparza M, Landecho M, Cerundolo L, Weeratunga P, Etherington R, Denney L, Ogg G, Ho L, Roberts I, Hester J, Klenerman P, Melero I, Sansom S, Issa F. Spatial transcriptomic characterization of COVID-19 pneumonitis identifies immune circuits related to tissue injury. JCI Insight 2023, 8: e157837. PMID: 36472908, PMCID: PMC9977306, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.157837.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2022
Cell‐Specific Dysregulation of Iron and Oxygen Homeostasis as a Novel Pathophysiology in PSP
Lee S, Martinez‐Valbuena I, de Andrea C, Villalba‐Esparza M, Ilaalagan S, Couto B, Visanji N, Lang A, Kovacs G. Cell‐Specific Dysregulation of Iron and Oxygen Homeostasis as a Novel Pathophysiology in PSP. Annals Of Neurology 2022, 93: 431-445. PMID: 36309960, DOI: 10.1002/ana.26540.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchIL-6/STAT3 signaling in tumor cells restricts the expression of frameshift-derived neoantigens by SMG1 induction
Meraviglia-Crivelli D, Villanueva H, Zheleva A, Villalba-Esparza M, Moreno B, Menon A, Calvo A, Cebollero J, Barainka M, de los Mozos I, Huesa-Berral C, Pastor F. IL-6/STAT3 signaling in tumor cells restricts the expression of frameshift-derived neoantigens by SMG1 induction. Molecular Cancer 2022, 21: 211. PMID: 36443756, PMCID: PMC9703761, DOI: 10.1186/s12943-022-01679-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThe association between the tumor immune microenvironments and clinical outcome in low‐grade, early‐stage endometrial cancer patients
López‐Janeiro Á, Villalba‐Esparza M, Brizzi M, Jiménez‐Sánchez D, Ruz‐Caracuel I, Kadioglu E, Masetto I, Goubert V, Garcia‐Ros D, Melero I, Peláez‐García A, Hardisson D, de Andrea C. The association between the tumor immune microenvironments and clinical outcome in low‐grade, early‐stage endometrial cancer patients. The Journal Of Pathology 2022, 258: 426-436. PMID: 36169332, PMCID: PMC9828119, DOI: 10.1002/path.6012.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTranslation of a tissue epigenetic signature to circulating free DNA suggests BCAT1 as a potential noninvasive diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer
Palanca-Ballester C, Hervas D, Villalba M, Valdes-Sanchez T, Garcia D, Alcoriza-Balaguer M, Benet M, Martinez-Tomas R, Briones-Gomez A, Galbis-Caravajal J, Calvo A, Juan O, Lahoz A, Cases E, Sandoval J. Translation of a tissue epigenetic signature to circulating free DNA suggests BCAT1 as a potential noninvasive diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer. Clinical Epigenetics 2022, 14: 116. PMID: 36123616, PMCID: PMC9487112, DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01334-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchA pan-tumor-siRNA aptamer chimera to block nonsense-mediated mRNA decay inflames and suppresses tumor progression
Meraviglia-Crivelli D, Villanueva H, Menon A, Zheleva A, Moreno B, Villalba-Esparza M, Pastor F. A pan-tumor-siRNA aptamer chimera to block nonsense-mediated mRNA decay inflames and suppresses tumor progression. Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids 2022, 29: 413-425. PMID: 35991316, PMCID: PMC9379514, DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.07.017.Peer-Reviewed Original Research