Professional profile

Current Position and Education. I have served as a Tenured Associate Professor (Profesor Titular) in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) since December 2009.Dr. José Antonio Encinar I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Salamanca (1992), where I also completed my Licentiate Thesis (1993). I subsequently obtained my Ph.D. from the Institute of Neurosciences of Alicante, graduating with an Extraordinary Doctorate Award. My postdoctoral training includes three research stays: at the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (Paris, Nov 2000-Sept 2001), the Academisch Medisch Centrum (Amsterdam, Aug 2000-Oct 2000), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL-Heidelberg). The latter involved between 2004 and 2006 under the supervision of Proffesor Luis Serrano.

Teaching Experience and Accreditation. My teaching career began in 1994 as an FPU fellow (University Teacher Training), participating in Biochemistry laboratory sessions at the University of Alicante Faculty of Medicine. I formally began university teaching in the 1997/98 academic year. By the end of the 2025/26 academic year, I will have completed a teaching career spanning 29 years, accumulating 3,878 teaching hours certified by the UMH General Secretariat. With the implementation of the current Degree programs, I developed the teaching guides for the two subjects for which I am responsible: Biochemistry and Food Biochemistry, both taught within the Degree in Food Science and Technology at the (Higher Polytechnic School of Orihuela (Miguel Hernández University of Elche), EPSO-UMH). Regarding teaching quality, I hold two positive evaluations from the DOCENTIA program (covering the 2018/22 and 2019/23 periods). Furthermore, I hold university certification for six recognized five-year teaching merit terms (quinquenios). At the postgraduate level, I have been responsible for the course Instrumental Methods for the Structural and Functional Analysis of Biomolecules within the PhD Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology at UMH. I currently participate in the PhD Program in Health Biotechnology.

Research Activity and Transfer. My research career is recognized by five six-year research merit terms (sexenios) granted by CNEAI-ANECA (1994-2024). I have participated in National Plan projects—serving as Principal Investigator (PI) in 4 and as a researcher in 21—as well as in one European project. Additionally, I have been involved in two infrastructure acquisition projects and 12 R&D contracts under Art. 60 of the L.O.S.U. Regarding technology transfer, I am a co-inventor of three patents: WO2022152800A1 (currently licensed to SERVATRIX BIOMED S.L.), WO2025104221A1, and WO2026008907. These patents align with my research interests, which focus on using computational approaches to discover compounds that modulate protein activity with biomedical relevance (cancer, obesity, diabetes, etc.). My work employs molecular modeling, docking, and molecular dynamics to perform high-throughput screening of chemical libraries to identify candidate compounds, which are subsequently evaluated experimentally.

Publications and Metrics. To date, I have co-authored 92 original and review articles. The UMH curriculum registry records 103 contributions to national and international conferences. My research involves active collaborations with groups within my institute (IDiBE-UMH), national entities (Autonomous University of Madrid, Univ. of Castilla-La Mancha, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Univ. of Granada, Univ. of Alicante), and international partners (University College London, Université Libre de Bruxelles). As of January 2026, my bibliometric indicators include an h-index of 35, and an i10-index of 75 (Google Scholar). Notably, 50 of the publications contributing to the i10-index have been published in the last 5 years.
- Total citations: 3681 (January 2026), h-index: 35 (Google Scholar): https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jTdMuycAAAAJ
- Total citations: 2637 (January 2026), h-index: 30 (Scopus): https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=35268584800

Academic Management. I have held significant administrative roles within the university. I served as Secretary of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology for 39 months (2016-2019), a statutory position equivalent to Faculty Secretary at UMH. I was a member of the UMH University Senate (Claustro) from 2007 to 2015 (93 months), a role equivalent to Department Secretary. Additionally, I served as Secretary of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMH from 2006 to 2011 (61 months). I also served on the ANECA evaluation panel during the 2012-2015 period.


Contact address

Instituto de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación en Biotecnología Sanitaria de Elche (IDiBE).
Av. de la Universidad. Edif. Torregaitan. E-03202. Elche. Alicante. Spain.
Despacho E10P2004. 2.08 (Elche).
Despacho O12P2045 (Orihuela).
Telephone number: + 34 96-665 8453
E-mail: jant.encinar@umh.es

Professional background

Teaching activities

Biography

Born in Cardeñosa (Ávila - Spain) in 1968.

Born in Ávila: before and after.