Dr Ana Isabel Cubas Atienzar

Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ana obtained her degree on Veterinary Medicine from the University of Murcia in 2013. Shortly after her degree Ana moved to the UK and did her PhD in Salford University on the epidemiology and genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii in Mexico. After her PhD she was appointed as Research Fellow at the Roslin Institute where she worked on molecular characterisation and development of novel diagnostic methods for porcine viral and bacterial diseases.

Ana joined LSTM in 2019 as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work on novel and Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostics for Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and molecular diagnosis of AMR markers. In 2021 Ana was promoted to Senior Post-Doctoral Research Associate and Project Manager in Diagnostics. Ana is interested in improving diagnostics for High Consequence Infectious Diseases and Emerging Diseases that have the potential to cause epidemics such as SARS-CoV-2, CCHF, Ebola and Lassa Fever. She leads diagnostic clinical and analytical evaluations for COVID-19 and the development of POC diagnostics for CCHF and Lassa Fever.

Ana lectures on  LIVE361 and Translational Research in Global Health (MRes)

Other relevant expertise, professional memberships, awards

Ana is one of the diagnostics leads for LSTM’s Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics (CDD), she sits on the management committee of iiDiagnostics and is the project lead of the COVID-19 diagnostic portfolio for iiCON. Ana is an active member of the Clinical Reference Group at LSTM and Deputy representative for TDB for the Health and Safety Oversight Committee (HSOC).

Research grants and contracts

• The Pandemic Institute Emerging Threats Funding Call 2021-2023: Co-investigator (Co-I). Rapid development of an antigen lateral flow diagnostic test for Monkeypox virus. £200,000.
• Foundation of New Diagnostics (FIND) 2021-2023: Principal Investigator (PI). Implementation of accurate diagnostics for COVID-19 in point of care settings. £510,000.
• iTPA Welcome Trust 2021-2022: PI. Rapid detection of Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers: novel antigen detection systems to accurately diagnose and differentiate Lassa Fever and Ebola infections: £38,000.
• Director’s Catalyst Fund 2021-2022: PI. Accelerating diagnosis of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) through simultaneous detection of viral antigens and IgM: £46,221.
• Bill & Melinda Gates foundation 2021-2023: PI to evaluate digital diagnostic readers for Malaria RDTs: £31,270.
• MRC Confidence in Concept (CIC) 2021-2022: Co-I on the development of monoclonal antibodies towards an antigen test for CCHF: £47,268.
• FIND 2020-2021: Co-I to evaluate accurate diagnostics for COVID-19: £250,000.
• Welcome Trust 2020-2021: Co-I. Detecting and excluding COVID-19 at the point of need: £480,000.
• Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK PHRST): Co-investigator (Co-I) Rapid response molecular diagnostics for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever: £49,320.

Recent publications: 

    Selected publications

    • Analytical evaluation of thirty-two severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 lateral flow antigen tests demonstrates sensitivity remains with the SARS-CoV-2 Gamma lineage. Kontogianni, Konstantina, Bengey, Daisy, Wooding, Dominic, Buist, Kate, Greenland-Bews, Caitlin, Williams, Chris, Vos, Margaretha de, Santos, Victor Santana, Escadafal, Camille, Adams, Emily, Edwards, Thomas and Cubas-Atienzar, Ana. Analytical evaluation of thirty-two severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 lateral flow antigen tests demonstrates sensitivity remains with the SARS-CoV-2 Gamma lineage. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 2022 Jun; 55, e0016.

      Savage HR, Finch L, Body R, Watkins RL, Hayward G, Cubas-Atienzar AI, Cuevas LE, MacPherson P and Adams ER. A prospective diagnostic evaluation of accuracy of self-taken and healthcare worker-taken swabs for rapid COVID-19 testing. PloS one. 2022 Jun 30;17(6):e0270715

      Byrne RL, Kay GA, Kontogianni K, Aljayyoussi G, Brown L, Collins AM, Cuevas LE, Ferreira DM, Fraser AJ, Garrod G, Hill H, Grant L. Hughes, Stefanie Menzies, Elena Mitsi, Sophie I. Owen, Edward I. Patterson, Christopher T. Williams, Angela Hyder-Wright, Emily R. Adams, and Ana I. Cubas-Atienzar. Saliva Alternative to Upper Respiratory Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Diagnosis. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2020 Nov;26(11):2769.

      Staines HM, Kirwan DE, Clark DJ, Adams ER, Augustin Y, Byrne RL, Cocozza M, Cubas-Atienzar AI, Cuevas LE, Cusinato M, Davies BM. IgG Seroconversion and Pathophysiology in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection. Emerging infectious diseases. 2020 Nov 30;27(1):85.

      Cubas-Atienzar AI, Williams CT, Karkey A, Dongol S, Sulochana M, Rajendra S, Hobbs G, Evans K, Musicha P, Feasey N, Cuevas LE, Adams EA, Edwards T. A novel air-dried multiplex high resolution melt assay for the detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamase and Carbapenemase genes. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance. 2021 Dec;27:123-131.

      Cubas-Atienzar AI, Gerber PF, Opriessnig T. Use of the rSpaA415 antigen indicates low rates of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection in farmed cattle from the United States of America and Great Britain. BMC Veterinary Research. 2019 Dec;15(1):1-7.

      Cubas-Atienzar AI, Hide G, Smith JE. MAT Seroprevalence infers low rates of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic pigs from Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Parasitology. 2019 Oct;105(5):738-47.

      Cubas-Atienzar AI, Hide G, Jiménez-Coello M, Ortega-Pacheco A, Smith JE. Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii from pigs in Yucatan, Mexico. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports. 2018 Dec 1;14:191-9.

      Del Río L, Chitimia L, Cubas A, Victoriano I, De la Rúa P, Gerrikagoitia X, Barral M, Muñoz-García CI, Goyena E, García-Martínez D, Fisa R. Evidence for widespread Leishmania infantum infection among wild carnivores in L. infantum periendemic northern Spain. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 2014 Mar 1;113(4):430-5.