José Luis de la Pompa obtained a MSc in Biology (Universidad Complutense, Madrid, 1985) and a PhD in Genetics (Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, 1990). During his postdoc with T.W. Mak at the Ontario Cancer Institute and Amgen Institute in Toronto, he gained expertise in mouse genetic manipulation, contributing to studies on tumor suppressor genes and signaling pathways in embryonic development. His interest in cardiac development began with work on NFATc1 mutants showing defective cardiac valve morphogenesis, leading to his focus on Notch signaling in heart development.
He held leadership roles at EMBL (Monterotondo, Italy) and the CADB (Rochester, USA) before returning to Spain in 2001 to lead the Molecular Oncology Department at Institut de Recerca Oncològica, Barcelona, where his group pioneered research on Notch in cardiac valve formation. Since moving to the CNB (Madrid) in 2004 and later joining CNIC in 2009, his research has explored the role of Notch and interacting pathways in heart development, disease, and regeneration. Currently, his group investigates signaling and genetic networks in heart development to understand congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies, aiming to inform heart repair strategies.
