email: felipe.espigares(at)gmail.com

Short Bio
I graduated in Marine Sciences from Universidad de Cádiz (University of Cádiz, Spain), and after this I was awarded a predoctoral fellowship (CSIC-JAE-Predoc Research Grant from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)). During this period, I was working in the field of fish neuroendocrinology at the Torre la Sal Institute of Aquaculture (IATS-CSIC, Spain). My PhD research was focused on the characterisation of the molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms triggered by kisspeptins in the brain of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in relation to puberty and fertility.  Shortly after finishing my PhD dissertation, I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships; Ref.: 703285), following which I transferred to the Integrative Behavioural Biology Group (Gulbenkian Science Institute, Lisbon, Portugal), led by Dr. Rui Oliveira.

Research Interests
My research career has been focused on the study of neural circuits controlling physiological functions in fish, with a special emphasis on the characterisation of the molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms triggered by different neuropeptides in the fish brain. Currently, I am interested in understanding the neural mechanisms involved in the cognitive bias and its role in the triggering of the stress response in zebrafish.

Publications
Espigares, F., Zanuy, S., Gómez, A. (2015) Kiss2 regulates Lh and Fsh secretion via paracrine/autocrine signaling in the teleost fish European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Biol. Reprod. 93(5): 114 (doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.115.131029).

Espigares, F., Rocha, A., Molés, G., Gómez, A., Carrillo, M., Zanuy, S. (2015) New insights into the factors mediating the onset of the puberty in a teleost fish, European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 224: 176-85 (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.08.013).

Felip, A.*, Espigares, F.*, Zanuy, S., Gómez, A. (2015) Differential activation of kiss receptors by Kiss1 and Kiss2 peptides in the sea bass. Reproduction 150(3): 227-43 (doi:10.1530/REP-15-0204). *These authors contributed equally to this work.

Espigares, F., Carrillo, M., Gómez, A., Zanuy, S. (2015) The forebrain-midbrain acts as functional endocrine signaling pathway of Kiss2/Gnrh1 system controlling the gonadotroph activity in the teleost fish European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Biol. Reprod. 92(3): 70 (doi:10.1095/biolreprod.114.125138).

Mazón, M.J., Molés, G., Rocha, A., Crespo, B., Lan-Chow-Wing, O., Espigares, F., Muñoz, I., Felip, A., Carrillo, M., Zanuy, S., Gómez, A. (2015) Gonadotropins in European sea bass: endocrine roles and biotechnological applications. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 221: 31-41  (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.05.002).

Carrillo, M., Espigares, F., Felip, A., Escobar, S., Molés, G., Rodríguez, R., Alvarado, M.V., Gómez, A., Zanuy, S. (2015) Updating control of puberty in male European sea bass: a holistic approach. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 221: 42-53 (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.06.019).

Escobar, S., Servili, A., Espigares, F., Gueguen, M.M., Brocal, I., Felip, A., Gómez, A., Carrillo, M., Zanuy, S., Kah, O. (2013) Expression of kisspeptins and kiss receptors suggests a large range of functions for kisspeptin systems in the brain of the European sea bass. Plos one 8: e70177 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070177).

Molés, G., Rocha, A., Espigares, F., Gómez, A., Carrillo, M., Zanuy, S. (2011) FSH plasma levels during testicular recrudescence of precocious and non-precocious male European sea bass using a newly developed species specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Indian J. Sci. Technol. 4: 58-59 (doi: 10.17485/ijst/2011/v4iS8/30883).