Dr. Estrella Montero is a Doctor of Biology who currently serves as Coordinator of the Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory and Head of the Malaria and Emerging Protozoa Unit at the National Centre for Microbiology at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) in Madrid, Spain. She leads research on Babesia, a tick-borne parasite that causes human babesiosis. Dr. Montero completed her PhD studying cestodes and Plasmodium falciparum at the ISCIII. She then undertook postdoctoral research at New York University and the New York Blood Center, investigating erythrocyte invasion by Babesia divergens and P. falciparum. Since 2009, she has led research focusing on the molecular and cellular biology of Babesia, applying advanced microscopy and sequencing techniques. Her team collaborates internationally with institutions such as Yale University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study different Babesia species and develop genetic tools. Dr. Montero is the author of numerous scientific publications, reviews, book chapters and clinical guidelines, and holds a patent. Dr. Montero also supervises graduate students and is co-directing a PhD thesis. Her laboratory serves as Spain’s reference centre for human babesiosis diagnosis and conducts epidemiological studies in collaboration with institutions in Europe, Africa and Antarctica.