• Number of six-year recognized periods of research ‘sexenios’: 3 (last date: 2020)
• PhD supervised: 15 (all Cum Laude, 2 PhD extraordinary award); 4 more ongoing
• Postdoctoral mentoring: 8 (including Juan de la Cierva (2022-24), MSCA-Beatriu de Pinós (2022-25, 2023-26, 2024-27), Maria Zambrano (2022-24) and Margarita Salas (2022-24)).
• Total Publications: 114
• Publications as first author: 10
• Publications as corresponding author: 74
• Top-Quartile Q1 publications: 92
• Top-Decile D1 publications: 52
• Citations: 5744 (13 papers with ≥ than 100 citations)
• H index: 45
• i10 index: 90

Highlights from the last 7 years: 

• 72 SCI-publications: 56 in Q1 journals and 33 in top-decile journals
• 13 projects, 7 as PI
• 24 national and 30 international conferences, 10 as Invited

Dr. Alba Hernández Bonilla (ORCID: 0000-0001-6938-1233) is Full Professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Head of the UAB Mutagenesis Technical Service, and leader of the Environmental Mutagenesis in Health and Disease Group, a multidisciplinary team integrating mechanistic and molecular toxicology with clinical case studies and human biomonitoring. She holds an ICREA-Academia distinction (2022–2027), awarded to researchers demonstrating outstanding scientific leadership and international impact.
Her research focuses on environmental mutagenesis and health risk assessment, with particular emphasis on micro- and nanoplastics and other emerging contaminants. A defining strength of her work is the integration of mechanistic toxicology, advanced New Approach Methodologies and multi-omics approaches with structured clinical investigations in exposed and at-risk populations. This bidirectional experimental–clinical framework enables the translation of mechanistic findings into preventive strategies for public health and clinical practice.
Dr. Hernández has published 114 peer-reviewed articles (65% as corresponding author; 80% in Q1 journals, 45% in top-decile journals), including 72 publications in the last seven years, accumulating more than 5,500 citations and an h-index of 45. She has supervised 15 PhD theses (all Cum Laude; eleven with International Mention; two with Extraordinary Award; four more ongoing) and mentored eight postdoctoral researchers, contributing actively to the development of independent scientific leaders.
She has extensive experience in competitive funding and international project coordination, having served as PI, co-PI or collaborator in more than 20 projects and securing over €7.5M since 2022. She coordinated the Horizon 2020 project PLASTICHEAL (€6M; 11 institutions), leading the integration of toxicology, omics, clinical biomonitoring and risk assessment, and positioning her research at the forefront of the European debate on emerging contaminants. She also chaired the €30M European CUSP cluster and was principal contributor to the CUSP Research Roadmap 2026–2032 shaping future Horizon Europe priorities. Her international engagement extends further through participation in OECD and EFSA expert groups, as well as contributions to WHO ministerial processes and European Commission policy dialogues, where she has played an active role in translating scientific evidence into preventive public-health policies and improved healthcare standards.
Additionally, her research has achieved notable regulatory and policy impact, with key studies cited in CUSP Policy Brief 2 and 3, referenced in the European Comission’s Future Brief on Nanoplastics, and discussed at the CUSP Final Policy and Stakeholder Meeting with EC representatives and key stakeholders, helping to consolidate the prioritization of long-term MNPLs health impacts in European research agendas.
Beyond scientific excellence, Dr. Hernández has consolidated structured translational and innovation pathways. She directs the UAB Mutagenesis Service, which provides regulatory-aligned genotoxicity and biomonitoring support to hospitals and ISCIII-funded projects, and leads PLASTIKIT, a biomarker-based diagnostic platform recognised as “Market Ready” by the European Commission Innovation Radar. These initiatives illustrate her capacity to convert mechanistic knowledge into clinically and socially actionable tools.
Her commitment to Open Science further reinforces the impact and transparency of her research, with most datasets deposited in FAIR-compliant repositories (e.g., CORA.RDR, eNanoMapper, IPCHEM, GEO). Since 2022, her results have been disseminated through 24 national and 30 international conferences (ten as invited presentations) and 16 specialized workshops. This activity is complemented by sustained societal engagement, including outreach initiatives (e.g. EU researchers night, Pelagos expedition), the development of educational resources for schools (e.g. Plastichealers), and international media coverage (e.g., ARTE’s Homo Plasticus, The New York Times, National Geographic), contributing to informed public debate on emerging environmental risks.
Through this combined scientific, policy and societal engagement, Dr. Hernández has established herself as a leading figure advancing knowledge aimed at protecting human health and the environment.