My initial research (1990–95) focused on key enzymes in steroidogenesis, such as squalene oxidase and squalene oxide cyclase. Efficient inhibitors of both enzymes were therefore designed and developed, and the stereochemical factors involved in their enzymatic activity were studied. My postdoctoral stay was carried out at Rutgers University in New Jersey (USA, 1995–98) and focused on the preparation of locally labelled purine nucleosides, specifically with 15N and 13C, for their introduction into nucleotide fragments and subsequent structural study by NMR.

My return to the Spanish research system and the subsequent Ramón y Cajal contract (1998–2008) focused on the field of insect sex pheromone biosynthesis, with several specific objectives: (1) the design and synthesis of fatty acid desaturase inhibitors and (2) the synthesis of isotopically labelled probes with deuterium to study the stereochemistry and cryptoregochemistry of fatty acid desaturases. During the 2008–22 period, my research has focused on developing chemical tools to advance knowledge of sphingolipid metabolism and on discovering modulators of the different enzymes involved, both as pharmacological tools and as “hits” of therapeutic or diagnostic interest.

In recent years, I have been involved in a new line of research aimed at developing new strategies to direct protein degradation, stabilisation, and the manipulation of their intracellular localisation through specifically designed chemical entities.