Roger Castells-Graells designs nanomachines for therapeutic applications in cancer, using AI. He has returned to Spain, to the CNIO, after conducting research at some of the world's leading centers. He shares his experience in 'Nature Cancer', describing it as “a dream come true.”
“Launching the Biomolecular Design and Structural Nanomedicine Group at the CNIO has been exciting (...), it is deeply fulfilling to watch them develop skills, obtain results, and explore new scientific questions".
“In Sophien Kamouna's laboratory, I learned that ‘TEAM’ stands for ‘Together Everyone Achieves More.’"
Roger Castells-Graells joined the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in 2025 to establish and lead the Biomolecular Design and Structural Nanomedicine Group, dedicated to creating protein nanoparticles to detect cancer and accelerate the development of better drugs. After five years at some of the world’s leading research centers, the program Construyendo la Generación IA (part of the Generation D initiative promoted by Red.es) enabled him to return to Spain. Here we reproduce his story, as told by himself to Nature Cancer magazine.
“My passion for science began in childhood, with a love of plants, and deepened as a teenager, when I first stepped into a molecular biology lab. I remember thinking, “Wow, this is super cool, I want to be at the bench doing experiments”. Since then, my path has taken me from plant biochemistry to virology, and now to protein design and cancer research. After years of moving across five countries, namely Spain, Switzerland, Germany, the UK and the USA, 2025 marked the start of my own lab — a dream come true after much effort and persistence.
“Launching the Biomolecular Design and Structural Nanomedicine Lab at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid has been exciting, but also a steep learning curve. Setting up an empty lab, applying for funding, navigating bureaucracy, and establishing protocols all require patience and resilience. Yet, it is deeply fulfilling to train talented new lab members and watch them develop skills, obtain results, and explore new scientific questions.
“‘TEAM’ equals ‘Together everyone achieves more’“
“At CNIO, we combine protein design, AI and structural biology to engineer proteins, and nanomachines for therapeutic applications in cancer. With so much still to discover, shaping the scientific direction from the ground up gives me goosebumps. As a mentor taught me, I keep a notebook full of ideas, questions and experiments — a simple habit that helps bring order to the excitement.
“Establishing a new lab comes with many challenges, and asking for help and advice has been essential. I am deeply grateful to the supportive mentors, colleagues, friends, family and faculty at my institute. Sharing experiences with peers has been invaluable and has also sparked new collaborations. Good management is equally important, investing time to build a cohesive team that shares the lab’s vision, nurturing a healthy culture, and fostering team spirit are all crucial. I always remember a lesson I learnt in Sophien Kamoun’s lab: ‘TEAM’ equals ‘together everyone achieves more’.
“Now that our lab is set up and running, with new members joining, experiments advancing, and our first grants secured, this year feels like both a beginning and a launchpad. I am excited and optimistic that our lab will make discoveries that benefit patients while also training the next generation of scientists.”
Reference article
Nature Cancer: The 2025 generation