Ester Ballana graduated in Biology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in 2001. She completed a health and life sciences PhD under the supervision of Dr. Xavier Estivill at the Barcelona-based Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in May 2007, with a thesis on the subject of the molecular basis of deafness linked to mitochondrial DNA mutations. In June 2007 she joined IrsiCaixa as a post-doctoral researcher, investigating the contribution of host genetic factors to viral replication and disease outcomes. In January 2015 she was awarded a Miguel Servet fellowship. Her research currently focuses on viral restriction factors as regulators in human infection susceptibility and clinical evolution.

HIV, Molecular biology, Virology, Genetics