ICREA Research Professor, ERC Advanced Grant
IRB Barcelona Emeritus Professor (2026–present). ICREA Emeritus Professor (2026–present). Head of the Cell Division Laboratory at IRB Barcelona (2004–2026). Elected EMBO member in 2007.
Research activity
Throughout his career, Dr. González’s research centred on the mechanisms of cell division and malignant growth. His primary contributions include the cloning of essential mitotic regulators, the discovery of the non-canonical centrosome cycle in asymmetrically dividing Drosophila neural stem cells, and the demonstration that cell fate determination within this lineage serves as a critical tumour-suppressing mechanism.
The González Laboratory also pioneered the discovery of cancer/testis (CT) genes that actively drive malignancy in somatic tissues, alongside the identification of key proteins responsible for sex-linked differences in cancer. More recently, his research continued to break new ground through the development of innovative Drosophila and yeast models to elucidate the molecular pathways controlled by oncogenes in pediatric cancers, such as Ewing sarcoma.