Antonio Esquivel Gaytan

Physician-Scientist (MD, MSc, PhDc)
Bridging clinical research and responsible AI in healthcare.

AI in Healthcare Heart Failure & Cardiorenal Clinical Trial Workflows Ethics & Governance
Antonio Esquivel Gaytan

Professional Profile

Physician-scientist (MD, MSc, PhD candidate at UMCG) with core expertise in heart failure and cardiorenal research and practical experience applying LLM-based tools in clinical research and laboratory workflows.

I have co-designed AI-assisted solutions for protocol-to-visit extraction, investigational product inventory, and structured clinical reporting; and initiated my own tools including an offline RAG system for heart failure guidelines, an AI-assisted patient prioritisation MVP, a discreet adherence companion concept, and a local SOP-based lab assistant. My work prioritises safety, traceability, MDR/GCP-conscious design, GDPR-aware data minimisation, and real-world usability — bridging clinicians, technical teams, and decision-makers.

  • Pangaea Oncology: Led AI-assisted visit schedules, inventory automation, and structured clinical reporting with strong human-in-the-loop governance.
  • QGuard-Med (MVP): Co-founder of an AI-assisted cardiovascular patient prioritisation system; finalist at Break The Gap 2025.
  • Offline & Local-first Tools: Built and designed privacy-preserving assistants (offline RAG, SOP-based lab support) focused on auditability and constrained outputs.
  • Open to: roles in AI in healthcare, clinical research, translational programs, advisory work, and AI literacy workshops in the Netherlands, Spain, and EU.

Professional Experience

Jun 2025 – Sep 2025

Clinical Research Investigator & AI Project Lead

Pangaea Oncology — Barcelona, Spain

Supervised an AI-assisted visit management system converting trial protocols into structured visit schedules. Developed LLM-based draft clinical reporting with structured prompts and systematic audits. Designed workflows that achieved a substantial reduction in clinically relevant hallucinations.

AI in Clinical Trials GCP Workflow Design SOPs & Governance

2024 – 2025

Co-founder — QGuard-Med (MVP), AI Patient Prioritisation

Groningen / Barcelona

Co-developed an MVP for an AI-assisted prioritisation system for cardiovascular patients, integrating waiting time, symptoms, clinical criteria, and biomarkers. Considered fairness, explainability, and regulatory implications from the start.

Patient Prioritisation FastAPI Explainability Award Finalist

Nov 2018 – present

PhD Researcher — Experimental Cardiology

University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), Netherlands

Investigated 5-oxoproline/OPLAH, oxidative stress, and cardiorenal interactions in heart failure. Developed high-throughput screening assays, nanoparticle-based AMP delivery concepts, and biomarker analyses.

Heart Failure Biomarkers HTS Translational Research

Selected Projects

Break The Gap 2025 — Finalist

QGuard-Med (MVP)

AI-assisted cardiovascular patient prioritisation

Co-founded and co-designed a transparent prioritisation system integrating clinical criteria, biomarkers, symptoms, and waiting time.

Privacy-first | Citation-backed

Offline RAG for Heart Failure Guidelines

Local guideline assistant (MVP)

Built a local retrieval-augmented assistant for HF guidelines using open-weight models and on-device retrieval. Ensured no PHI leakage.

Concept / Early Design

Digital Health & Lab Assistant Concepts

Adherence & SOP-centric assistants

Designed discreet, privacy-aware concepts for medication adherence support and a local, SOP-based lab assistant with checklists.

Education

PhD in Biomedical/Medical Sciences

University of Groningen / UMCG, NL (2018 – present)

MSc Nanotechnology & Regenerative Medicine

University College London (UCL), UK (2016 – 2017)

MD (Physician)

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (UNAM), MX (2009 – 2016)

Core Skills

AI in Healthcare LLM Workflow Design Heart Failure & Cardiorenal Clinical Trial Workflows Ethics & Governance MDR / GCP / GDPR Translational Research Project Management Python (Prototyping) FastAPI RAG Prompt Engineering

Languages

Spanish (Native) English (Full professional) Dutch (B1–B2 in progress) French (Basic) Catalan (Basic)

Publications

Peer-reviewed · 2024

404-error “Disease not found”: unleashing the translational potential of -omics approaches...

European Journal of Heart Failure

Peer-reviewed · 2025

Glutathione deficiency and heart failure: a systematic review...

ESC Heart Failure

Peer-reviewed · 2022

A translation re-initiation variant in KLHL24 also causes epidermolysis bullosa simplex...

British Journal of Dermatology

Personal Interests

CrossFit

Strength, conditioning, and long-term performance.

Artificial Intelligence

LLMs, responsible AI, and practical tools for care and research.

Travel

Exploring cultures, systems, and healthcare environments.

Animal Welfare

Ethical practice and reduction of animal use in research.