IBEC Seminar: David Caballero
2023-04-13 15:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Madrid) | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Engineering the cancer: from biomaterials to on-chip solutions
David Caballero; Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University of Minho, Portugal.
Cancer is a complex and multifaceted pathology, which is influenced by numerous factors, including the tumor microenvironment (TME). This environment is composed of various of components that interact in a tightly regulated manner, affecting cancer cell behavior and response to treatment. Building realistic models of the TME is therefore essential for improving our knowledge of cancer pathophysiology and developing more effective therapies. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using precisely-engineered biomaterials and microphysiological systems to create accurate 3D in vitro models of the TME. These models can provide a more physiologically-relevant habitat for studying fundamental aspects of cancer biology and for performing drug screening. Additionally, when combined with organ-on-a-chip technology, these models offer a high degree of biomimicry and control, allowing for a precise recreation and better understanding of key biological functions of the native TME, surpassing what traditional platforms can achieve. In this lecture, I will present our latest works utilizing biomimetic materials and on-chip systems as powerful preclinical tools for engineering realistic in vitro models of the TME to study key aspects of tumorigenesis, for drug screening/discovery purposes, and for disease diagnosis applications.

IBEC Seminar: Dr. Ubaka Ogbogu
2023-04-26 11:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Foregrounding justice, equity and inclusion as determinants of access to precision medicine: an ethical case study of patient-derived tissue organoids.
Dr. Ubaka Ogbogu, Professor and the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Law from the University of Alberta, Canada.
Ubaka Ogbogu is a Professor and the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Law. He is also the Chair of the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board 2 and the Katz Research Fellow in Health Law and Science Policy. Dr. Ogbogu is a recipient of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations Distinguished Academic Early Career Award. He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Toronto, a Master of Laws degree from the University of Alberta and undergraduate degrees in law from the University of Benin, Nigeria and the Nigerian Law School.
Ogbogu’s scholarly work is focused broadly on the ethical, legal and societal implications of novel and emerging biotechnologies and associated research. His publications have explored a diverse range of issues in this field, including the ethical and legal issues associated with stem cell research, gene and engineered cell therapies, biobanks, germline gene editing. In his talk, Prof. Obgobu will reflect about these issues and also discuss how foregrounding justice, equity and inclusion are elements that impact on access to precise medicine.
He has been invited to IBEC by Nuria Montserrat.

IBEC Seminar: Charles Baroud
2023-04-28 12:00 - 13:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Modeling immune-cancer interactions using a microfluidic 3D culture approach
Charles Baroud, Professor at Ecole Polytechnique, France
Lab head at Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Cancer immunotherapy is emerging as a transformative approach for treating cancer patients. This approach, which has shown some remarkable successes, leverages the patient’s own immune cells to locate and attack the tumor cells. However the method suffers from large heterogeneities in outcomes between different patients, in part due to the the number, phenotype, and distribution of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) around the tumor cells. For this reason decoding the collective behavior of CTLs, as they recognize and attack cancer cells, is a major challenge that requires advanced in vitro models. This seminar will present a microfluidic platform that enables quantitative measurements of the spatiotemporal dynamics of individual CTLs as they migrate in three-dimensional (3D) environments and attack cancer spheroids. The method provides access to the trajectories of thousands of cells around hundreds of spheroids, which in turn enables probabilistic modeling of the trajectories. Analysis of the migration and killing events allows us to dissect the different phases of interactions and to identify limiting steps for different conditions. The talk will present the microfluidics and then shift focus to different biological models, with implications for both fundamental biology and for personalized medicine.

IBEC Seminar: Raphael Voituriez
2023-05-26 11:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Cellular footprints : examples of emergent memory effects in cell migration.
Raphael Voituriez, Laboratoire Jean Perrin / Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée CNRS / Sorbonne Université

Living cells actively migrate in their environment to perform key biological functions—from unicellular organisms looking for food to single cells such as fibroblasts, leukocytes or cancer cells that can shape, patrol or invade tissues. Cell migration results from complex intracellular processes that enable cell self-propulsion, and has been shown to also integrate various chemical or physical extracellular signals. While it is established that cells can modify their environment by depositing biochemical signals or mechanically remodelling the extracellular matrix, the impact of such self-induced environmental perturbations on cell trajectories at various scales remains broadly unexplored. I will discuss examples where such interactions with the environment can have deep consequences on the large scale cell dynamics, and show that they can effectively endow cells with a memory of their past trajectory.

IBEC Seminar: Anthony J. Ryan OBE
2023-05-29 12:30 - 14:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Making Science Work for Refugees and Refugees Work for Science
Prof Anthony J. Ryan, OBE, University of Sheffield, UK
At Zaatari refugee camp, 80,000 people face daily struggles that many of us cannot imagine are squeezed into six square kilometres. With highly qualified jobs at home, they are forcibly unemployed at the camp but embody values that are often forgotten by those of us in more privileged parts of the world: an adaptable approach to solving problems, an aversion to waste, a sense of community. Our research on hydroponics is focussed on the production of high-value crops close to market (urban farming) with a low carbon and water footprint using polyurethane foam as synthetic soil. I will show how a design of experiments approach can predict the productivity of crops from the reagents used in polyurethane synthesis through the properties of the foam.
We connected our work on synthetic soils with a waste disposal problem posed by UNHCR – the UN’s refugee agency. Where they saw dirty unused mattresses, we saw an alternative growth substrate. In doing so we developed small-scale hydroponics at the household and community scale. We responded to the frequent cry of the Syrian refugees – that they miss the colour green – not only did we find a technical fix, but also an impact on well-being. This benefits our work in Sheffield, we now have an urban farm built using the low-cost technology developed in Zaatari with farmers from Syria.

Professor Tony Ryan OBE is The Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Sheffield and the founding Director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures.
Tony’s research interests include sustainable synthesis, structure, processing, and applications of polymers using advanced analytical and measurement techniques. Recent research projects included renewable sources for polyurethane synthesis, organic photovoltaics, maximising the properties of polymers and biopolymers through flow-induced crystallisation, formulation of home and personal care products and polymer foams for high-intensity urban agriculture. He has co-authored more than 300 papers and patents and 2 books, “Polymer Processing and Structure Development” and “The Solar Revolution: One Planet, 10 Billion People, One Solution.”
More recently, Tony has been focussing on the global challenge of the food, water, and energy nexus; feeding a growing world population. Tony is very active in translational research, disseminating evidence-based science to both experts and non-experts and has been a regular contributor to TV, Radio, National Press and learned societies from The Royal Society of Chemistry to Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. He presented evidence at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris in 2015 and returned to COP22 in Marrakech in 2016. Tony delivered the televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2002 and was awarded an OBE in 2006 for ‘Services to Science’.
Tony holds a BSc and PhD from the University of Manchester and a DSc from UMIST. He held a NATO Research Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, was a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in Materials Science at The University of Manchester and was seconded to the Synchrotron Radiation Source at Daresbury. In 1997 he moved to Sheffield and served as Head of Chemistry before becoming the Pro Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Science in 2008, a role which he fulfilled until 2016.

IBEC Seminar: Danny Hatters
2023-06-06 09:30 - 11:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Protein interactions gone awry in neurodegenerative disease
Danny Hatters, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
The University of Melbourne, Australia

The Hatters lab studies impacts of protein misfolding and aggregation in cultured cell models of neurodegenerative diseases. We have developed approaches to examine principles governing how proteins inappropriately aggregate and new approaches with chemical reagents to monitor cysteine reactivity to probe changes in proteome foldedness and conformation. I will discuss recent findings from our laboratory that provide insight to the consequences of protein aggregation by globular proteins, and how we can model the types of protein-protein interactions that are involved. I will also discuss how we can monitor changes in protein structure and function in response to stresses and stimuli, and under conditions of disease in Huntington Disease.

IBEC Seminar: Amnon Buxboim
2023-06-19 12:30 - 13:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
How does ageing-related stiffening of brain tissue microenvironments affect the regenerative capacity of cns progenitor cells
Professor of biology and bioengineering, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Ageing-related stiffening of neuronal microenvironments in the brain generates potent signals that attenuate the regenerative capacity of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to proliferate and differentiate. We find that ageing drives substantial remolding of the nuclear lamina in OPCs, in which A-type lamin levels increase and B-type lamin expression decreases. Owing to the ubiquitous role of lamins in anchoring mostly heterochromatic sections at the nuclear envelope known as lamina associated domains (LAD’s), we hypothesized that ageing effects are mediated via altered genomic organization and regulation. In this study, we isolate OPCs from neonate and aged rats and study the effects of ageing-related tissue stiffening by designing and optimizing hydrogel-based matrices that mimic the extracellular elasticity and adhesion signals of neonate and aged microenvironments. Indeed, the differences in cellular morphologies and lamina compositions between neonate and aged cells are recapitulated by matrix elasticity. To characterize differences in the structural organization of the nuclear lamina, we combine high-resolution optical and electron microscopies and perform micropipette aspiration based rheology to define the viscoelastic properties of OPC nuclei within intact cells. LAD mapping is performed using optimized CUT&RUN assays that target endogenous lamin-B1, thus avoiding the effects of ectopic expression of nuclear envelope proteins, which is a prerequisite by standard methodologies. Downstream effects on transcriptional regulation are studied via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), thus providing insight into cell-to-cell variations. In summary, our work-in-progress highlights the mechanobiological component of ageing on progenitor cells of the CNS that can stimulate potential therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Amnon Buxboim is a professor of biology and bioengineering, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Trained as a biophysicist, he opened the Buxboim Lab for Mechanobiology in 2013. Dr. Buxboim research aims at understanding how physical and mechanical inputs combine with parallel signaling pathways to direct cell-fate decision-making processes. The Buxboim Lab studies oocyte maturation, preimplantation embryo development, stromal bone marrow immunomodulation, and CNS stem/progenitor cell ageing. Dr. Buxboim also studies mechanisms of nuclear mechanotransduction, as mediated via nuclear lamins and associated nuclear envelope proteins. The Buxboim Lab combines established assays, advanced computational tools, newly designed device-based technologies, and integrates single-cell level genomics with micro-rheological measurements. Based on his research findings, Dr. Buxboim develops assisted reproductive technologies to advance and improve medical care.

IBEC Seminar: Magali Suzanne
2023-06-20 11:30 - 13:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Mechanical impact of cell delamination on tissue dynamics, in developmental and tumoral contexts
Centre de Biologie Intégrative, CNRS/UMR 5088, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
How mechanical forces drive morphogenesis is a fundamental question in the field of biomechanics. Combining imaging, genetics, biophysical and modeling approaches, we found that apoptotic cells, far from being eliminated passively, exert a force before dying and thus actively participate in tissue remodeling. This transient force, generated in the depth of the epithelium, constitute a mechanical signal involved in tissue folding. Comparing apoptotic cell dynamics to cells undergoing EMT, we found that a very similar apico-basal force is generated at the onset of EMT.
We further deciphered how these forces are transmitted at the tissue scale through the characterization of a specific mechanical state favoring directional force transmission and developed a new method that offers the opportunity to extract automatically, in strongly deformed epithelia, a precise characterization of the spatial organization of a given cytoskeletal network combined to morphological quantifications in highly remodeled 3D epithelial tissues.
In parallel, we turned to cancer mechanics, focusing particularly in tumor progression. Cancer is a largely widespread pathology that corresponds to an overproliferation of cells that could finally invade others tissues. Tumors develop through three increasingly aggressive steps: (1) hyperplasia, which corresponds to cells overproliferation; (2) dysplasia, during which cells can acquire a more mesenchymal phenotype, and finally (3) metastasis. Tumor development can be influenced by mutations but also by external factors, such as extracellular matrix rigidity. However, a comprehensive understanding of the intrinsic factors driving tumor evolution is still lacking. Our recent unpublished work identifies unexpected factors that could influence tumor development, and more specifically the hyperplasia/dysplasia transition, a critical step in tumor aggressiveness. This work highlights puzzling differences between developmental and tumoral mechanics.

IBEC Seminar: Dr. Benjami Oller-Salvia
2023-06-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Development of chemical and synthetic biology tools to generate biotherapeutics and to tackle brain diseases
Dr. Benjami Oller-Salvia, IQS
In our group we develop chemical and synthetic biology tools to generate biotherapeutics and to tackle brain diseases. In the first part of the talk, I will report our efforts toward developing strategies to construct conditionally-active biotherapeutics that target antigens considered undruggable. In the second part of the talk, I will present our work on peptides for drug delivery across the blood brain barrier. There, I will highlight the recent development of a new family of bicyclic brain shuttles and provide a hint toward new ways of exploring brain transport. .

IBEC Seminar: Theodore Alexandrov
2023-07-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Spatial single-cell metabolomics reveals metabolic cell states
EMBL
Recent discoveries put metabolism into the spotlight. Metabolism not only fuels cells but also plays key roles in health and disease. In parallel, emerging single-cell technologies opened a new world of cell types and states previously hidden beneath population averages. Yet, methods for discovering links between metabolism, cell states, metabolic plasticity and reprogramming on the single-cell level and in situ are crucially lacking. Our research aims to contribute bridging this gap. First, we will present how the emerging technology of imaging mass spectrometry can be used for the spatial profiling of metabolites, lipids, and drugs in tissues. These efforts are enabled by our big data community cloud platform METASPACE which is increasingly used across the world. Next, we will present method SpaceM for spatial single-cell metabolomics. SpaceM detects 100+ metabolites or 500+ lipids from thousands of individual cells together with fluorescence and morpho-spatial features. We used SpaceM to characterize how stimulating human hepatocytes with fatty acids led to the emergence of two co-existing subpopulations outlined by distinct cellular metabolic states. Inducing inflammation with the cytokine IL-17A perturbs the balance of these states in a process dependent on NF-κB signalling. We will show how a high-throughput version of the SpaceM method helps discover and characterize metabolic states of activated CD4+ T cells from peripheral human blood. Finally, we will present how spatial multi-omics can reveal the relationships between cell types and cell states in tissues. Overall, such methods can open novel avenues for understanding metabolism in tissues and cell cultures on the single-cell level.

IBEC Seminar: Loris Rizzello
2023-07-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Towards an evolutionary-driven universal therapy against (intracellular) pathogens
Università degli Studi di Milano
We are living a time where we believe antibiotics are the cornerstone of any infectious disease-based therapy. It is definitely out of question that antibiotics saved millions of people worldwide in the last century, and that they are still doing it very efficiently. Nevertheless, their extensive abuse, especially for zoonic applications, contributed to the rise of antibiotic resistance (AMR). AMR is one of the biggest threats in the current human history because it is estimated that the majority of the antibiotics, currently used in the clinics, will be completely ineffective for the eradication of infectious disease. This has been defined as “The New Dark Ages of Antibiotics”, which is expected to start in the next decades if no actions will be taken now. There are several causes behind AMR, but one of the most relevant is the exposure of bacteria to sub-lethal doses of the antimicrobials. One of the big aim of our research efforts is to design of a new generation of therapy that counteract this issue. It is inspired on solutions already provided by Nature, and it is based on the strategy exploited by a specific class of viruses that infect and kill bacteria only, called as bacteriophages, which are completely safe and unharmful to humans. The development of a new therapy possessing the requirements to avoid the rise in AMR represents a new legacy for the future generation in terms of anitibacterial therapies, exaclty in the same way antibiotics changed the human history in the 20th century.

IBEC Seminar: Zev Gartner
2023-07-12 15:00 - 17:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Building tissues to understand how tissues build themselves
Zev Gartner, UCSF
Cells assemble into tissues and organs through an active process termed self-organization. Harnessing tissue self-organization will ultimately advance applications as diverse as disease modeling and regenerative medicine, while revealing new strategies for fighting disease. However, progress towards these applications is limited by our incomplete understanding of how the properties of tissues emerge from their cellular building blocks. I will discuss two recent projects that aim to address this knowledge gap. In a first project, we use human mammary organoids to make the remarkable observation that tissues can behave as dynamic structural ensembles. We model the ensemble using a maximum entropy framework, and demonstrate the probability distribution of tissue structures is a function of the entropy associated with cell arrangements, the energy associated with cell interfaces, and mechanical fluctuations associated with cell motility. We map these parameters back to measurable molecular and mechanical properties of cells and their microenvironment, allowing us to engineer the structural ensemble quantitatively and systematically. In a second project we use the morphogenesis of mouse intestinal villi to reveal that tuning the geometry and active mechanics of the epithelial/mesenchymal interface is sufficient to sculpt a diversity of tissue forms. In the gut, MMP and Myosin-II dependent fluidization of a contractile and adhesive sub-epithelial mesenchyme results in a dynamic monolayer of cells with a high surface tension. Minimization of surface energy results in a process we call “mesenchymal de-wetting,” which results in the formation of an array of multicellular condensates that act to pattern and fold the overlying epithelium. Manipulating the properties of the cells or the interface results in predictable changes to the pattern and shape of the folds. These studies have some important implications for tissue engineering, disease progression, and our understanding of tissue self-organization in other contexts.

IBEC-IFIBYNE Webinar Cycle (online) 12th July 2023 at 16:00 Javier Ramon
2023-07-12 16:00 - 17:00
Organ on a chip models to emulate multi systemic metabolic diseases
Javier Ramon, IBEC
Existing on-chip tissue models typically represent a single organ, limiting systemic drug investigations. Microscale tissue analog systems aim to improve drug and toxicity predictions across various organs. However, multi-organ devices are limited, and none have explored skeletal muscle and pancreatic islets. We developed a novel multi-organ-on-a-chip platform for real-time, sensitive monitoring of cross-talk between two organs. Unlike previous electrochemical platforms, our sensing system offers cost-effectiveness, label-free detection, easy integration, multiplexing, and real-time monitoring. This platform quantifies secreted proteins with high sensitivity, crucial for understanding the relationship between skeletal muscle and the pancreas. Our work shows promise for disease modeling, drug screening, and personalized medicine.

Doctor Javier Ramon is an ICREA Professor since 2021 and the leader of the Biosensors for Bioengineering group at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia. Javier studied Chemistry at the University of Catalonia and completed his PhD at the CSIC in the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia. He conducted his postdoctoral research in Japan at the Advanced Institute of Materials and returned to Spain in 2016 as a Ramon y Cajal researcher. His research is focused on tissue engineering, biomaterials, biosensors, and integrating these technologies into organ-on-chip devices to study diseases and drug screening.

IBEC Seminar: Dan Vigneron
2023-07-18 10:00 - 11:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Translation and Initial Patient and Volunteer Studies with Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 MR Molecular Imaging
Dan Vigneron, Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco
“Hyperpolarized (HP) carbon-13 MRI is an emerging molecular imaging method to monitor enzymatic conversions through key, previously-inaccessible biochemical pathways. Over 1000 human HP carbon-13 MR studies to date have shown outstanding research and potential clinical value. Just as MRI has shown value for medical imaging providing information beyond CT/X-ray, HP C-13 MRI can provide new isotope imaging biomarker information in addition to what PET & SPECT do. HP C13 MRI is safe, ~2min, non-radioactive addition to standard-of-care MRI exams, at costs less than separate PET exam. At the UCSF Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center, we are developing new techniques for rapid dynamic acquisitions to measure HP conversion rates for [1-13C]pyruvate to [1-13C]lactate, [1-13C]alanine and 13C-bicarbonate in the abdomen, pelvis, heart and brain to monitor cellular metabolism in normal tissues and pathologies. We are conducting over 15 clinical trials of HP C-13 MRI and have translated 4 different HP probes into first human studies: [1-13C]pyruvate, [2-13C]pyruvate, [1-13C]alpha-ketoglutarate, and 13C-urea. Initial results demonstrate the ability to detect cancer aggressiveness, response to therapy, cardiac disease and brain bioenergetics.

Dr. Daniel B. Vigneron Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging and at the University of California, San Francisco. He also has joint appointments in the Departments of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences and Neurological Surgery at UCSF and is a member of the UCB/UCSF Bioengineering graduate group. He directs the UCSF Human Imaging Core and the Advanced Imaging Technologies Resource Group that facilitates imaging technique development in the Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging including: Hyperpolarized Carbon-13, PET-MR, and 7T MR. He also is the Director of the NIH NIBIB-funded Hyperpolarized C-13 MRI Technology Resource Center at UCSF that was recently renewed till 2027 with 20 external collaborative and service projects. This UCSF Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center also sponsors numerous training and education opportunities including symposia/workshops focused on the development and dissemination of new HP-MRI techniques. Dr. Vigneron was elected Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine in 2009 and to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2007. He received the Academy of Radiology Research Distinguished Investigator Award in 2013 and with colleagues was awarded the Gold Medal of the World Molecular Imaging Society in 2014.
Dr. Vigneron obtained his BA in Chemistry from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut in 1983, and he completed his PhD research in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from UCSF in 1988 and then conducted post-doctoral research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and at UCSF developing new MRI techniques for characterizing disease and therapy response. Prof. Vigneron’s research is focused on the development of metabolic MRI techniques for research and clinical assessments of human diseases. This research has been reported in over 350 total publications resulting in over 39,000 citations with an h-index of 109 and an i10-index of 339 and has been funded by 25 NIH grant awards including as PI: 3 P41, 1 P01 2 U01, 18 R01 and 1 S10 grant awards. Also, he has served as the Primary Mentor on 6 NIH career mentored awards. Dr. Vigneron leads the technical development aspects of the hyperpolarized carbon-13 MR program at UCSF and is the Principal Investigator of seven current NIH funded projects focused on new HP metabolic MRI techniques applied to clinical research studies of prostate cancer, metastatic cancers, brain disorders and CNS tumors.

IBEC Seminar: MDr Joanna Sierpowska
2023-07-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Awake brain surgery mapping – a way to mitigate postsurgical impairments and a door to understanding human cognition
MDr Joanna Sierpowska from the Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona
Brain mapping for language and cognition during awake brain surgeries helps neurosurgeons to mitigate postsurgical impairments. At the same time, it uncovers the truth about brain functional organization. While the cortical procedures are very well studied and widely implemented since the ’50 of the XX century confirming the classical models of language production, the work on mapping the white matter pathways has developed very recently. The dual pathway model for language introduces the importance of the perisylvian white matter in the processing of speech sounds and word meaning. In the present talk, I will explain if the model was successfully confirmed by intraoperative language testing. Furthermore, I will explain how we assess language function associated with the model perioperatively in a large sample of brain tumor patients.

IBEC Seminar: Matthias Schulze
2023-07-26 15:00 - 17:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Highlights of 20 years DNP with Merck as partner
Matthias Schulze, Merck
Introduction of Merck’s capabilities to supply specifically labeled tracers in different grades.
Describing the milestones of DNP towards establishing that method as a powerful tool in cancer diagnostics. Outlining the challenges and the scope on projects utilizing 13 C labeled reagents.

Matthias Schulze studied chemistry at the TU Berlin and gained his PhD in 1991 for research in natural product synthesis. Subsequent stays at various sites abroad (Norman, Oklahoma and Columbus, Ohio) extended his expertise in analytical and synthetical techniques. Later, he worked as a group leader at the University Bonn on mechanistic questions in metal-organic chemistry and new ways to access cyclic natural products. He has 20 years of experience in stable isotopes and its applications in a corporate environment. His current role is that of a technology manager for stable isotopes in EMEA. Ever since he worked with numerous researchers to support them in a broad range of fields, focusing on biochemical and medicinal topics

IBEC Seminar: Virgil Percec
2023-09-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Reprogramming the Factory of Life to Target the Delivery of mRNA via Helical Chirality
Virgil Percec, Roy & Diana Vagelos Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Homochiral helical self-organizations are known at the macroscopic level in nature, art, architecture and science for thousands of years [1a,b]. However, molecular helicity was discovered in proteins and DNA [2] only in the early 1950th and in molecular, macromolecular and supramolecular complex nanosystems emerged soon after [1c,d,e,f]. Our ability to program functions at the supramolecular level based on helical chirality is less advanced than the same process at the macroscopic level during Archimedes and Leonardo da Vinci times. The principles “discover-elucidate mechanism-predict programmed primary structure” elaborated in our laboratory and aided by synthetic methodologies developed also in our laboratory for accelerated modular-orthogonal synthesis of programmed structures such us Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling, mixed-ligand, thio-bromo click, SET-organic and polymerizarion reactions, self-accelerated and self-interrupted synthesis including selected examples of homochiral helical self-organizations and functions together with the molecular factory of life will be briefly explained. The origins of helical homochirality is equivalent to the origins of life although the origins and the rational of biological membranes homochirality continues to be debated [3]. Inspiration from amphiphilic Janus dendrimers [4a] and Janus glycodendrimers [4b] discovered in our laboratory allowed to transit from the commercial viral and four-component lipid nanoparticle synthetic vectors for delivery of mRNA to the one-component ionizable multifunctional sequence-defined amphiphilic Janus dendrimers (IAJDs) delivery vector [5]. The current status of the molecular design principles providing the least expensive and the simplest access to targeted delivery of mRNA with programmed IAJDs will be discussed in great details. Targeted delivery of mRNA to all organs is expected to change the field of nanomedicine at the most fundamental level by providing unprecedented avenues to new vaccines and therapeutics.
References

(a) Percec, V.; Xiao, Q. Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 2021, 94, 900-928. (b) Percec, V.; Adamson, J.; Gianti, E. Supramolecular Nanotechnology, Wiley-VCH, 2023, Azzaroni, O.; Conda-Sheridan, M. Eds. Vol.1, p. 1-123. (c) Percec, V. Lab. Science 1997, 278, 449-452. (d) Nature 1998, 391,161-164. (e) Nature 2002, 419, 384-387. (f) Nature 2004, 430, 764-768.
(a) Pauling, L.; Corey, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1950, 72, 5349-5349; (b) Watson, J. D.; Crick, F.H.C. Nature 1953, 171, 737-738; (c) Percec, V.; Xiao, Q. CHEM 2021, 7, 529-536; (d) Percec, V. CHEM 2023, August issue.
Percec, V. Lab. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 4311-4323.
(a) Percec, V. Lab. Science, 2010, 328, 1009-1014; (b) Percec, V. Lab. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 9055-9077.
(a) Percec, V. and Weissman D. Labs. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 12315-12325; (b) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 18803-12325; (c) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 4746-4753; (d) Pharmaceutics 2023, 15, 1572; (e) J. Am. Chem. Soc. Submitted.

Virgil Percec was born and educated in Romania (BS in Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry at the Polytechnic University in Iasi, PhD in 1976 with C. I. Simionescu. In 1981 he defected his native country and after short postdoctoral stays at the University of Freiburg in Germany (July 1981 with H. -J. Cantow) and University of Akron, US (August 1981 to March 1982 with J. P. Kennedy) he joined the Department of Macromolecular Science of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US in March 1982 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1984 and to Professor in 1986. In 1993 he was awarded the Leonard Case Jr. Chair at Case Western Reserve University and in 1999 he was invited and moved to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia as P. Roy Vagelos Chair and Professor of Chemistry. He has been repeatedly a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Freiburg, Ulm and at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz (all in Germany) and at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. His research interest is at the interface between organic, supramolecular, macromolecular chemistries, liquid crystals, nanoscience and biology where he contributed over 820 refereed publications, 80 patents, edited 20 books and presented over 1300 endowed, invited and plenary lectures. He educated over 3509 students and postdocs over 70 of them being in university professors all over the world.

IBEC Seminar: Dr. Andy Tay
2023-09-15 10:00 - 11:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Biomaterials for cancer study and accelerate wound healing
Dr. Andy Tay , Assistant Professor, Presidential Young Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Magnetic hydrogels are materials containing magnetic microparticles which help transduce magnetic fields into mechanical forces. In the presence of a static magnet, the stiffness of magnetic hydrogels can be altered to investigate the reversible effects of matrix softening and stiffening on cellular behaviours. Here, I will describe how we exploit this unique feature of our material for cancer study.
The World Health Organization estimates that 10% of the world’s population suffers from diabetes, and diabetic patients has a 15-25% lifetime risk of getting diabetic foot ulcers. Every 20s, there is a lower extremity amputation worldwide. In the second half of my talk, I will describe the use of magnetic hydrogel for mechanical stimulation of cells to synergistically accelerate diabetic wound healing.

Andy Tay graduated in 2014 from NUS with a First-Class Honours in Biomedical Engineering. He later headed to the University of California, Los Angeles for his PhD studies and graduated in 2017 as the recipient of the Harry M Showman Commencement Award. Andy next received his postdoctoral training at Stanford University before heading to Imperial College London as an 1851 Royal Commission Brunel Research Fellow. He is currently a Presidential Young Professor in NUS.
Andy is a recipient of international awards including the Interstellar Initiative Early-Career Faculty Award, Christopher Hewitt Outstanding Young Investigator Award, Terasaki Young Innovator Award. He is listed as a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 (US/Canada, Science), 2020 World Economic Forum Young Scientist, 2020 The Straits Times ‘30 and Under’ Young Singaporeans to Watch and 2022 Top 2% Scientist in the World by Stanford University.

IBEC Seminar: Mariano Vázquez
2023-09-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Supercomputer-based virtual humans: the future of medicine NOW
Mariano Vázquez, ELEM Biotech & Barcelona Supercomputing Center
In this talk we are going to address the potential of supercomputer-based virtual humans for the biomedical realm. Virtual Humans are computational “avatars” of a patient, which combines data with a mathematical model which are used to predict (as opposed to measure with experiments) some quantities of interest, under a context of use and used to support medical decisions. We will show examples of Populations of Virtual Humans used as cohorts for in-silico clinical trials to optimize drug or devise-based therapies.
Our examples are mostly of the cardiovascular and respiratory domains.

IBEC Seminar: New technologies for accelerating drug discovery and preclinical testing
2023-09-29 10:00 - 11:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
New technologies for accelerating drug discovery and preclinical testing
Maria Majellaro, Chief Scientific Officer of Celtarys.
Abi J Vazquez. Co-founder and COO of DIVERSA Technologies SL.
Bruno K Rodiño-Janeiro, Chief Scientific Officer of BFlow.

Celtarys, DIVERSA and BFlow belong to the Galician biotechnology ecosystem and are dedicated to provide cutting-edge technologies applied in different and complementary phases of preclinical drug screening, accelerating the drug development process and reducing the time to market of new therapies.
The three companies emerge from technologies developed at public research centers and transferred to the market after participation in validation programs. The speakers will explain their experiences in the process of going from an idea in the laboratory to the final technology transfer as spin-off companies.
Celtarys is a spin-off of the University of Santiago de Compostela, focused on the development of innovative fluorescent tools to improve the efficiency of the drug discovery process. In addition to its fluorescent ligand portfolio, Celtarys specializes in customized fluorescent ligands for target-based drug discovery, utilizing its proprietary conjugation technology. This unique approach allows to quickly design and develop libraries of different tailor-made fluorescent ligands with their own linkers covering wide chemical architectures for any target of interest.
DIVERSA is a spin-off from the Santiago de Compostela Health Research Institute (IDIS) and the Galician Health Service (SERGAS), devoted to drive the translation of new therapeutic molecules to the clinic through the application of patented safe-by-design lipid nanoemulsions that can efficiently improve the delivery of drugs and biomolecules (RNAs, proteins and peptides ) to their target, and thus efficacy. DIVERSA commercialize ready-to-use reagents, and also provides customized services for the development of tailored and unique formulations that can accomplish all requirements for a specific molecule, indication, and route of administration. We also conduct comprehensive R&D activities to advance our own nanomedicines towards the clinic, answering to current unmet clinical needs.

BFlow is a spin-off from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), which offers advanced Organ-on-a-chip models to improve the physiological relevance of cell cultures. BFlow products are designed to cover the urgent need to improve the data in both research laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry. Regarding the latter, Organ-on-a-chip models will have a relevant role reducing the cost, time and use of experimental animal models in the preclinical drug screening process, accelerating the discovery of new drugs.

The seminar will consist of 15 minute talks from each company with 15 minutes of questions and answers.

IBEC Seminar: Simone Reber
2023-10-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Conserved nucleocytoplasmic density homeostasis drives cellular organization across eukaryotes
Simone Reber, Max Planck Institut for Infection Biology, Berlin (invited by Pere Roca-Cusachs)
The packing and confinement of macromolecules in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm has profound implications for cellular biochemistry. How intracellular density distributions vary and affect cellular physiology remains largely unknown. We show that the nucleus is less dense than the cytoplasm and that living systems establish and maintain a constant density ratio between these compartments. Using label-free biophotonics and theory, we show that nuclear density is set by a pressure balance across the nuclear envelope in vitro, in vivo and during early development. Nuclear transport establishes a specific nuclear proteome that exerts a colloid osmotic pressure, which, assisted by entropic chromatin pressure, draws water into the nucleus. Using C. elegans, we show that while nuclear-to-cytoplasmic (N/C) volume ratios change during early development, the N/C density ratio is robustly maintained. We propose that the maintenance of a constant N/C density ratio is the biophysical driver of one of the oldest tenets of cell biology: the N/C volume ratio. In summary, this study reveals a previously unidentified homeostatic coupling of macromolecular densities that drives cellular organization.

IBEC Seminar: Jaap den Toonder
2023-10-11 11:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Microfluidic technology enabling biomedical applications
Jaap den Toonder, Microsystems Research Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology.
Currently, visiting professor at IBEC, Barcelona
Microfluidics is the science and technology of manipulating and analyzing fluid flow at small scales, typically from millimeters down to micrometers. At these scales, fluid flow is almost always laminar which enables excellent control over the flow. Microfluidic devices can be made using a range of microfabrication approaches and materials, and these enable to integrate tailored electronic or mechanical functions. These unique properties of microfluidic technologies, and the ongoing further development of the technology, enable a range of new biomedical applications, including diagnostic and monitoring devices, medical implants, and organ-on-chip.
In this lecture, I will present recent developments within three research lines of our lab. (1) Bio-inspired microfluidics: A novel microfluidic flow generation concept inspired by nature, which is based on magnetic nano- and micro-actuators we call “artificial cilia”; integrated in microfluidic devices, these can be used to induce flow, to manipulate particles, and as actuators in cellular mechano-transduction research. (2) Microfluidic devices for health: Examples of microfluidic devices for health applications, specifically a sweat sensing device for non-invasive semi-continuous monitoring of hospitalized patients, and a smart eye implant to control eye pressure in glaucoma patients after surgery. (3) Organ-on-chip: A game-changing technology in which human cells are cultured in microfluidic chips simulating and predicting the response of healthy and diseased human tissues. I will focus on cancer-on-chip approaches to understand initial stages of cancer metastasis, and on our lumen-based organ-on-chip models that are enabled by a 3D sugar printing technique we developed.

IBEC Seminar: Josep Puigmartí-Luis
2023-11-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
What can microfluidic technologies offer during self-assembly processes?
Josep Puigmartí-Luis, Departament de Ciència dels Materials i Química Física, Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (invited by César Rodriguez-Emmenegger)
Self-assembly has long being used to control covalent and non-covalent interactions where molecular design has been the major driving force to achieve a desired outcome. Like in nature, a full control over self-assembly processes could lead to rationalized structure-property correlations, a long-time sought in chemistry, physics and materials science. However, the pathways followed and the mechanisms underlying the formation of supramolecular aggregates are still a major challenge for the scientific community. Accordingly, the elucidation of nucleation and growth mechanisms will be highly required to push supramolecular chemistry to the next level, where access to nature inspired functions will be accomplished. In this contribution, I will present how reaction-diffusion (RD) conditions established within microfluidic devices can be used to uncover pathway complexity as well as to trigger pathway selection. Specifically, I will show that microfluidic RD conditions provide an unprecedented kinetic control over self-assembly processes; for example, enabling the isolation of well-defined kinetically trapped states as well as unprecedented metastable intermediates. This research provides a new tool to study and understand supramolecular chemistry, and opens up new avenues for the engineering of advanced functional assemblies and systems.

Prof. Dr. Josep Puigmartí-Luis is a chemist who completed a master in Chemistry and Food Engineering at “Institut Químico de Serrià (IQS)” (2003) and did a PhD in materials science at Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB). His work in supramolecular and flow chemistry, has been awarded with “Premi Antoni de Martí i Franquès de Ciències Químiques”, award from the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (2009), St. Jordi award from the Institut d’Estudis Catalans and the Societat Catalana de Química (2006) and an ETH fellowship in 2008.
In 2012, he was appointed a Ramon Y Cajal (RyC) researcher, but after two years as a RyC, he decided to move back to Switzerland where in 2015 was awarded an ERC starting grant to study and control self-assembly processes of metal-organic based crystalline materials. In 2019, he was appointed as an ICREA professor and since August 2020 his group is located at the University of Barcelona (UB).

IBEC Seminar: Martí Duocastella
2023-11-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Toward the next generation of 3D optical microscopes: faster, deeper, and label-free
Martí Duocastella, Departament de Fisica Aplicada, Universitat de Barcelona
Three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy is the tool of choice for characterizing the structure and dynamics of biological systems at sub-cellular resolution. However, most microscope architectures are tailored to capture two-dimensional (2D) information from moderately thin samples labeled with fluorophores. Due to constraints posed by light scattering and the requirement for mechanical focus translation, existing systems provide shallow penetration depth and low volumetric imaging speed, thus falling short of unraveling biological complexity inside medium-sized organisms or even organoids. In this talk, I will discuss our efforts to overcome these issues and achieve sub-millisecond imaging at potentially millimeter depths and without labels. Our strategy consists of focusing, modulating, and guiding light by exploiting the acousto-optic effect, that is, ultrasound-induced refractive index gradients. The unique interaction between ultrasound and light enables rapid 3D light control, making it suitable for the development of inertia-free light sheet microscopes that lack mechanically moving parts and offer imaging rates of tens of volumes per second. It also facilitates illumination encoding in single-pixel cameras, enabling scanless 2D imaging at 5 kHz. Interestingly, applying ultrasonic waves in a scattering medium acts as an instantaneous waveguide embedded in the medium, helping to redirect light toward a 7-fold deeper focus. I will discuss the advantages and pitfalls of these acousto-optic technologies and illustrate them with applications, including imaging of spheroids and flowing samples.

Martí Duocastella is a Serra Hunter full professor in the Department of Applied Physics at Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and leader of the Dynamic Optical Systems Lab. He completed his PhD in Physics at UB in 2010 and then moved to Princeton University as a postdoctoral research associate, where he also became the vice-president of Research and Development of the startup company TAG Optics. In 2014 he joined Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia as a researcher (group leader), until returning to Barcelona as a faculty member in 2019. His research focuses on novel optical methods for three-dimensional (3D) light engineering, with applications in materials science, sensing, and biology. He is an ERC Consolidator Grant awardee.
In 2012, he was appointed a Ramon Y Cajal (RyC) researcher, but after two years as a RyC, he decided to move back to Switzerland where in 2015 was awarded an ERC starting grant to study and control self-assembly processes of metal-organic based crystalline materials. In 2019, he was appointed as an ICREA professor and since August 2020 his group is located at the University of Barcelona (UB)

IBEC Seminar: Dr. Neil Lin
2023-12-01 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Epithelial Cell Variability is Governed by Physics Principles and Has Mechanobiology Impacts
Dr. Neil Lin, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Biological systems inherently exhibit variability, seen in diverse cell shapes, sizes, and mechanical properties. Despite its prevalence, our understanding of the role of phenotypic heterogeneity in cell biology is incomplete. This talk explores how basic physics governs cell-to-cell variability in epithelial monolayers and its impact on biological processes. The first part covers how cell shape heterogeneity influences chromatin organization during crowding. The second part demonstrates that in deformed epithelial layers, nucleo-cytoskeleton coupling regulates intracellular strain distribution, influencing cellular mechanoresponse and gene expression. Overall, cell-cell variability significantly shapes tissue development and remodeling.

Dr. Neil Lin is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He obtained his Ph.D. in physics at Cornell University, studying the microscopic mechanisms that underlie the non-Newtonian suspension flow property. From there, he went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, studying approaches to recreate microenvironment cues for recapitulating kidney functions in vitro. He joined UCLA in 2019, and his research is to utilize mechanobiology principles to engineer epithelial tissues. His honors include an NIH MIRA, Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award, and BMES CMBE Rising Star Award.

IBEC Seminar: Pavan Kumar Bosukonda
2023-12-15 14:00 - 15:00 | Sala Olivera, Tower I, Floor 11
Smart artificial microcompartments: motility and communication
Pavan Kumar Bosukonda, Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Nature is a continuous source of inspiration for the design of smart and intelligent materials. In particular, cells which are the building blocks of life display a complex symphony of various chemical/physical processes which make “life” possible and give it the characteristics which enable life to flourish and sustain. The topology of control systems in place within living cells offer many lessons in design of smart artificial microcompartments or microbots. In this talk, I will be discussing examples of microcompartments which are capable of smart adaptive motility, self-assembly and chemical-mediated communication with each other. We use simple buoyancy forces to regulate movement of our microcapsules and use antagonistic control to design relatively complex autonomous behavior by employing stratified chemical environments. The motile microcapsules can turn on/off chemical reactions and carry out logistics of molecular cargo. Also, I will discuss how we can use the combination of a stimuli responsive hydrogel and stratified environments to design a chemo-mechanical oscillator. Another focus will be our results on multiphase coacervates and how they formulate a pathway for self-assembly of microdroplets into clusters or tissue-like structures and trigger chemical communication between them.

Brief Bio: Dr. Pavan Kumar Bosukonda is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. He carried out his doctoral studies at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, in the field of porous materials wherein his specific interest was to use supramolecular strategies for pore engineering in mesoporous silica. After completing his Ph.D. in 2015, he moved to the University of Bristol, UK, to work with Prof. Stephen Mann as a Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in the field of protocells. His current research interests are focused on developing strategies to fabricate motile microcompartments, study of multiphase dynamics in liquid-liquid phase separation and designing strategies for regulating chemical communication between microcompartments.

IBEC Seminar: Prof. Aitor Aguirre
2023-12-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Reverse engineering human heart development with pluripotent stem cells
Prof. Aitor Aguirre, Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering (IQ) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Michigan State University
During development, an exquisitely orchestrated series of biological processes lay down the map for the entirety of our bodies and carry it out to perfection. However, occasional errors occur (due to mutations, environmental factors, and other causes) and lead to congenital defects, the most common birth defect in humans affecting 1% of all newborns. Certain conditions such as obesity, diabetes, infections or drug use can increase this risk much further.
To tackle CHDs, we are reverse engineering human heart development on a dish with the use of pluripotent stem cells, creating heart organoids or synthetic mini-hearts. By recapitulating aspects of heart development in vitro, under fully controlled conditions, we can dissect gene networks and morphological changes that give rise to specific parts of the heart to understand and prevent CHD, such as single ventricle defects. Furthermore, we can also use these mini-hearts as models to study the exposure to environmental conditions and other factors that are very poorly known.

Dr. Aguirre obtained his B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of the Basque Country and his Ph.D. in Material Science at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). For his postdoctoral training Dr. Aguirre joined The Salk Institute under the supervision of J.C. Izpisua-Belmonte, where he explored in vivo reprogramming applied to cardiac regeneration, making significant contributions to non-coding RNA biology in human cardiac development (Cell Stem Cell, 2014; Circulation, 2015). Dr. Aguirre became Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego in 2017 and joined the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering (IQ) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Michigan State University one year later. He became associate professor in 2023 and is currently the Chief of IQ’s Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Division and the Director of MSU’s Stem Cell Core Facility. Dr. Aguirre has extensive experience in cardiac development, cardiovascular disease, tissue engineering and -omic approaches. Dr. Aguirre has received numerous awards and nominations including the Hispanic Center of Excellence award at the University of California, a career development NHLBI K01 award and frequently serves in grant review panels for the NIH and European Commission, among others.

IBEC Seminar: Al Jord
2024-01-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Mechanisms of Organelle Remodeling for Cellular Function
Al Jord, Group leader of Mechanisc of organelle remodeling group, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona
To function, organisms rely on vital organs which, in turn, rely on specialized cells. At the subcellular scale, cell specialization is notably driven by robust mechanisms of organelle remodeling. Thus, discovering these mechanisms is key for the fundamental understanding of organisms in health and disease, as well as for improved organ engineering. In this seminar, I will discuss my research on organelle remodeling in somatic and female germ cells. I will first show how multiciliated cells – critical for nervous, respiratory and reproductive organs – repurpose conserved mechanisms of cell division to remodel organelles for motile ciliogenesis. I will then talk about how oocytes deploy a biophysical mechanism, based on cytoplasmic force tuning, to mechanically remodel nuclear RNA-processing organelles for reproductive success. I will conclude with some future research plans, blending my past and present interests into an interdisciplinary project that will venture into unexplored grounds of nuclear organelle mechano-regulation in somatic cells to deepen our understanding of organ development and homeostasis.

Key relevant publications :

Al Jord, A. et al. Centriole amplification by mother and daughter centrioles differs in multiciliated cells. Nature 516, 104–107 (2014).

Al Jord, A. et al. Calibrated mitotic oscillator drives motile ciliogenesis. Science 358, 803–806 (2017).

Al Jord, A. et al. Cytoplasmic forces functionally reorganize nuclear condensates in oocytes. Nat. Commun. 13:5070, 1–19 (2022).

IBEC Seminar: Marc Suarez Calvet
2024-01-31 12:00 - 13:00 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease: advancing diagnosis and patient care
Marc Suárez-Calvet, Barcelonabeta Brain Research Center, Fundació Pasqual Maragall, Servei de Neurologia, Hospital del Mar.

In recent years, one of the most significant breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease research has been the emergence of blood biomarkers that offer accurate detection of AD. Our research group has successfully demonstrated the utility of these blood biomarkers not only in patients presenting with cognitive impairement but also in individuals at the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s. Moving forward, our focus lies in establishing the routine application of these biomarkers in clinical settings, with a keen eye on assessing their positive impact on patient outcomes. Furthermore, our ongoing efforts are dedicated to the exploration of novel blood biomarkers that can furnish valuable insights into the prognosis of Alzheimer’s patients.

IBEC Seminar: Ernesto Mejías
2024-02-21 12:00 - 13:30 | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Vaccinia in & as next-gen oncolytic virotherapy: exploiting the synergy between oncolysis and chemotherapy
Dr Ernesto Mejías Pérez Ramón y Cajal researcher Instituto Maimonides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Universidad de Córdoba. Dpto. de Biología Celular, Fisiología e Inmunología
In the fight against cancer, conventional treatments fall short of healthcare expectations. Oncolytic virotherapy is a versatile and robust alternative. With exceptional immunogenic features, Vaccinia virus (VACV) is a standout oncolytic vector whose anti-tumor ability is usually enhanced by gene deletions for better safety and heterologous genes insertions for improved cytotoxicity. Yet, VACV’s translation to effective anti-tumor treatments suffers from major shortcomings that warrant immediate solutions, among those the limited efficacy as a standalone treatment need to be overcome.
To tackle this challenge head-on, my laboratory is focused on developing next-generation synergistic therapeutic strategies towards strengthening the anti-tumor effects of the oncolytic virotherapy based on Vaccinia virus by boosting the infection efficacy and triggering a strong chemosensitization upon nucleoside analog treatment. This approach builds on the unique multifaceted role that SAMHD1 has at the interface oncolysis:chemotherapy.
