IBEC Seminar: Christine Horejs
2019-11-05 16:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Madrid) | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Inside Nature Nanotechnology, an editor’s view
Christine Horejs, Nature Nanotechnology
Nature Nanotechnology was launched in October 2006 with the aim of publishing the most significant results in fundamental aspects, applications and implications on nanomaterials. In my presentation I will provide an overview of what the journal looks for in the field of nanomedicine and bioimaging, and I will give insight into the editorial process and some tips and tricks for submitting to our journal.
Christine Horejs received her MSci and PhD in nanobiotechnology from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, studying protein conformations and self-assembly using biophysical and theoretical approaches. She then joined the lab of Molly Stevens at Imperial College London, UK, investigating the extracellular matrix and cell–material interactions. In 2015, she moved to the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, conducting in vivo studies of anti-fibrotic biomaterials. In September 2017, she joined the Nature Reviews Materials team as an Associate Editor, and since July 2019 she is a Senior Editor at Nature Nanotechnology, where she is primarily responsible for nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology.
She has been invited to IBEC by Xavier Trepat

Clinical Colloquia
2019-11-15 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Theoretical and practical aspects of biophysiotherapy
Josep Pous, Medical Director at Cematec-Teknon de Barcelona
In this clinical colloquia, the different treatment methods used in Biophysiotherapy such as Multifrequency Laser Therapy, Shock Waves, Modular Electromagnetic Waves, Mechanotherapy, Growth Factors, Stem Cells, will be exposed. The different mechanisms of action will be discussed at the cellular level such as mechanotransduction, mechanotranscription, depolarization of membarane or at the mitochondrial level through REDOX mechanisms, to achieve biological effects at the cellular and tissue levels. Biophysiotherapy aims to apply the possibilities of diagnosis and treatment of the laboratory (biosensors, nanobiosensors, quantum dots) to the medical practice with fewer drugs and fewer surgeries.
Dr. Josep Pous, specialist in Orthopedic Surgery, Traumatology and Rehabilitation, works at Cematec-Teknon of Barcelona (Center of Advanced and Technological Medicine) using the latest technologies in arthroscopy and prosthesis of the shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints. Dr. Pous is a pioneer in the use of new non-invasive treatments for all musculoskeletal pathology and has incorporated new methods for its integral treatment.
He has been invited to IBEC by Pau Gorostiza

IBEC Seminar: Taher Saif
2019-11-22 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Emergent living machines
Taher Saif , Professor, Mechanical Science and Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Industrial revolution of the 19th century marked the onset of the era of machines that transformed societies. However, these machines cannot self assemble or heal themselves. On the other hand, since the discovery of genes, there is a considerable body of knowledge on engineering living cells. It is now possible to envision biohybrid machines with engineered living cells and scaffolds. These machines may self assemble and emerge from complex interactions between the cells and the scaffolds at various hierarchical levels. In this talk we will present two elementary biohybrid machines. They are both small scale swimmers. One of the swimmers is powered by primary rat cardiomyocytes. These cells are plated without any patterning on a scaffold which consists of a head and a tail. The cells self-orient to maximize scaffold deformation, and synchronize their beating. As a result, the tail deforms periodically and propels the swimmer forward. As a first step towards intelligent machines, the second swimmer consists of optogenetic neurons and muscle cells. It’s scaffold consists of a head and two tails. The muscle cells self assemble into myotubes around the tails, while the neurons are hosted by the head. The neurons spontaneously send out long cables of axons preferentially towards the muscle forming functional neuro functional junctions. They also form a neural network within themselves. Upon shining light, the neurons fire synchronously in a periodic fashion. The muscle contracts and bends the tails to propel the swimmer. This new generation of swimmer powered by neurons paves the way towards intelligent biohybrid machines. The central role of mechanics in the emergence of the biohybrid machines will be highlighted.
Dr Taher Saif received his BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Washington State University respectively in 1984 and 1986. He obtained his Ph.D degree in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University in 1993. He worked as a Post Doctoral Associate in Electrical Engineering and the National Nanofabrication Facility at Cornell University during 1993-97. He joined the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during 1997. He is curently the Gutgsell Professor in the department. His current research includes tumor micro environment, mechanics of neurons and cardiac cells, development of biological machines, and electro-thermo-mechanical behavior of nano scale metals and semiconductors.
He has been invited to IBEC by Samuel Sánchez

IBEC Seminar: Emilio Parisini
2019-11-26 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Drugging the undruggable: towards the development of selective modulators of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion
Emilio Parisi, Italian Institute of Technology (Milano) and Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis (Riga)
Cadherins are transmembrane calcium-dependent cell adhesion proteins that mediate cellular adherens junction formation and tissue morphogenesis. Loss of cadherin-mediated adhesion has been implicated in many different steps of tumor progression such as invasion and migration, and is strongly related to cell–cell detachment and metastasis. Altered expression profiles of epithelial E-cadherin (CDH1) and neuronal N-cadherin (CDH2) have often been observed in cancer cells, most notably in the context of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process that occurs during cancer progression. Interestingly, while in the majority of carcinomas E-cadherin is down-regulated, in some epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells are characterized by high expression levels of E-cadherin, which facilitates EOC cell proliferation. So far, structural and mutational studies have provided a rather detailed picture of the highly dynamic cadherin homo-dimerization mechanism. However, because of this intrinsic dynamic behavior, the rational design of small ligands targeting cadherin homophilic interactions has proved difficult. We determined the crystal structure of an E-cadherin extracellular fragment in complex with a peptidomimetic compound that partially inhibits cadherin homophilic adhesion. The structure, which is the first and to date the only crystal structure of a cadherin extracellular portion in complex with a small molecule inhibitor, reveals an unexpected binding mode and allows the identification of a druggable cadherin interface. Effective cell−cell adhesion modulators may represent potential anti-angiogenic drugs or pharmaceutical excipients to improve drug delivery across biological barriers.
Emilio Parisini is a Group Leader at the Center for Nano Science and Technology of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Milano. After completing a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Bologna (Italy), he worked at the Universities of Göttingen (Germany), Cambridge (UK) and Harvard (USA). In his laboratory, he studies structure-function relationship in several chemical and biological systems, focusing primarily on the study of the interactions between proteins and their ligands, substrates or inhibitors. His current research interests include the functional and structural characterization of different members of the Cadherin family of cell adhesion proteins and of several different classes of enzymes for diagnostic (biosensors), therapeutic (structure-based drug design) and technological (protein and enzyme engineering) applications.
He has been invited to IBEC by Pau Gorostiza.

IBEC Seminar: Anotine Huet
2020-01-16 12:00 - 14:00 | Torre I Sala 3 Planta -1, Carrer Baldiri Reixac 4-8, Barcelona
Cochlear optical stimulation of the auditory pathway
Antoine Huet , Institut für Auditorische Neurowissenschaften, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen
Optical stimulation of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in the ear for coding sound information provides an interesting alternative to electrical stimulation that is used in current cochlear implants for hearing restoration. As light can be conveniently confined in space, optical stimulation promises not only to increase the number of independent stimulation channels, but also potentially to restore temporal response of SGNs which are phase-locked to the periodicity of the sound. Sensitizing SGNs to light can be achieved either by optogenetic manipulation for expressing a light-sensitive protein, or by photopharmacological manipulation of receptors native to the cochlea.
Pioneering studies have established proof of principle of optical cochlear stimulation to restore hearing in rodent models of deafness (Hernandez et al, 2014; Wrobel, Dieter et al, 2018). More recent work from the last 2 years have demonstrated i) improvement of frequency selectivity in response to light-over electrical stimuli (Dieter et al, 2019), and ii) activation of the auditory pathway by faster opsins (i.e. shorter closing kinetics) which are more suitable for fast spiking SGNs (Mager, Lopez de la Morena et al, 2018, Keppeler et al, 2018). Finally, ongoing work, in collaboration with the team of Pau Gorostiza, is showing than a photopharmacological approach targeting AMPA receptors could be used to optically activate the auditory pathway with performance similar to current optogenetic tools.
Dr. Antoine Huet is a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience (University Medical Center Göttingen) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser. Dr Huet received his BS degree in Audiology from the Institut libre Marie-Haps (Brussel, Belgium) and MS degree in Audiology and auditory neuroscience from the University of Montpellier 1 (Montpellier, France). He obtained his PhD degree in Chemical and biological science for Health from the University of Montpellier 1 (Montpellier, France). He worked as a Postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Pr. J-L. Puel and Jerome Bourien, PhD in the Institut des neurosciences de Montpellier (INSERM U1051, France) till May 2018. After, he joined the laboratory of Pr. Dr. Tobias Moser in the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience from the University Medical Center Göttingen (Germany). His current research interest include the development of viral transfer of suitable ChR variants into spiral ganglion neurons and of multichannel optical stimulation using cochlear implants with arrays of microscale light emitting diodes and waveguides, characterizing neuronal responses along the auditory pathway using physiological and behavioral methods. Thus, to finally compare optogenetic to acoustic and electric stimulation.
He has been invited to IBEC by Pau Gorostiza

IBEC Seminar: Andela Saric
2020-02-06 11:00 - 13:00 | Felix Serratosa, Baldiri Reixac, 10-12, Barcelona, Spain
How to build a biological nanomachine
Andela Saric , University College London
The molecular machinery of life is largely created via self-organisation of individual molecules into functional larger-scaled structures. Such processes are multi-scale in nature and constantly driven far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Our group develops minimal coarse-grained computer models to help understand how the assembly of a large number of macromolecules results in a functional nanomachine, as well as how such processes can go wrong, leading to diseases.
Here I will discuss the physical mechanisms behind two key biological nanomachines that operate via protein assembly – active elastic ESCRT-III filaments that remodel and cut cell membranes and split cells in two, and bacterial mechanosensitive protein channels that convert mechanical signals into chemical. I will discuss the model development, simulation results, and the mapping of the simulation data to in vivo experiments. Beyond their biological context, our findings can guide the design of artificial structures that are able to manipulate cell membranes and perform work at the nanoscale.
Andela is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology at University College London. She obtained her PhD from Columbia University in 2013, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. Andela works in the area of computational biological physics, developing minimal models to study biological assembly and cell remodelling. She is a recipient of the ERC Starting Grant, Royal Society University Research Fellowship, and HFSP Cross-disciplinary Fellowship.
She has been invited to IBEC by Josep Samitier

IBEC Seminar: Gema Esquiva
2020-02-07 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Alteraciones en el sistema melanopsínico en la retinosis pigmentaria y durante el proceso de envejecimiento
Gema Esquiva , Universitat d’Alacant
La retinosis pigmentaria es la degeneración hereditaria de la retina más frecuente, siendo la cuarta causa de ceguera en el mundo. Además, en esta enfermedad, se producen alteraciones en los ritmos circadianos, esenciales para llevar una vida saludable, ya que estas alteraciones se relacionan con aumento en el estrés, insomnio, depresión y muchas otras patologías. La regulación de los ritmos circadianos se lleva a cabo a través de un tipo de células ganglionares de la retina, las células melanopsínicas.
En este trabajo se describen los diferentes tipos de células ganglionares melanopsínicas en la retina humana, en la retina de rata y en un modelo animal de retinosis pigmentaria. Además, evaluamos los cambios morfológicos y de densidad producidos en estas células, y estudiamos los efectos producidos en los patrones circadianos durante la progresiva degeneración retiniana que ocurre en esta enfermedad. También evaluamos el efecto neuroprotector de la administración de melatonina exógena.
El estudio morfológico de la retina en estos animales puso de manifiesto la existencia de 3 tipos de células melanopsínicas en rata de las cuales únicamente dos habían sido descritas hasta el momento. Por otro lado, observamos una disminución y degeneración de estas células, asociada a la retinosis pigmentaria y al envejecimiento.
Los resultados obtenidos mediante técnicas electrorretinográficas y mediante los registros de temperatura corporal y de actividad locomotora desvelaron que los animales modelo de retinosis pigmentaria tenían menor respuesta visual y una alteración de los ritmos circadianos. Los animales modelo de retinosis pigmentaria tratados con melatonina mostraron mayor respuesta visual y mejor regulación de los ritmos circadianos que los animales modelo sin tratar.
Estos resultados indican que en modelos de retinosis pigmentaria la degeneración de los fotorreceptores clásicos se acompaña de un proceso de remodelación de la retina interna que afecta al sistema melanopsínico. Deducimos que la alteración en los ritmos circadianos se manifiesta a partir de las alteraciones observadas en la densidad y en los procesos dendríticos de las células ganglionares melanopsínicas. En este sentido, la melatonina ejerce un efecto neuroprotector sobre los fotorreceptores en degeneración, conos, bastones y células melanopsínicas de la retina. Por otro lado, tras el estudio de las retinas humanas concluimos que el envejecimiento se asocia con una pérdida de densidad y arborización dendrítica de las células melanopsínicas lo que posiblemente explica la aparición más frecuente de trastornos del ritmo circadiano en personas de edad avanzada.
Ha sido invitada al IBEC por Pau Gorostiza

IBEC Seminar: Marc Vendrell
2020-02-14 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Translational chemistry, optical imaging and precision medicine
Marc Vendrell , University of Edinburgh
Optical imaging has revolutionised our understanding of how biological systems behave at the molecular level. In the last years, my group has developed dynamic activatable fluorophores (DYNAFLUORS) as chemical tools to image the function and activity of immune cells in disease. We have used the probes to interrogate the dynamics of biology in real time and also translated some of them for clinical applications, including first-in-human studies. My group is currently focused on creating new probes that can help us understand the roles that specific subsets of immune cells play in the tumour microenvironment and improve personalised therapeutic approaches.
Group website: www.dynafluors.co.uk
Marc Vendrell graduated in Chemistry at the University of Barcelona in 2007. He then joined the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium to work with Young-Tae Chang in the design of synthetic fluorophores for optical imaging. In 2012 he started his independent career as an MRC Academic Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and is now a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Imaging. He has over 90 publications, including 11 patents with multiple fluorescent probes being commercialised by Merck and Biolegend and some currently undergoing clinical studies. His research has been recognised with several international awards and distinctions, including an ERC Consolidator Grant (2017), the Marcial Moreno Lectureship (2018) and the SRUK Emerging Talent Award (2019).
He has been invited to Sílvia Pujals and Lorenzo Albertazzi

Online IBEC Seminar: Javier Ramón
2020-04-17 10:00 - 12:00
Bioprinting methods for organ-on-a-chip applications

Javier Ramón , IBEC
Engineered tissues in three-dimensional (3D) cell culture platforms that resemble the complex native structure and organization can be used as in vitro models to study tissues physiology and metabolism. Our technology allows us to develop a new platform to model metabolic and muscle diseases in vitro in order to study its response to candidate therapeutics and to better understand disease mechanisms of pathogenesis. To this end, we monitor the secretion of disease-associated biomarker proteins and metabolites.
Here, we present 3D skeletal muscle constructs, fabricated by encapsulating C2C12 cells and pancreatic mouse islets in a photocrosslinkable Gelatin Methacrylate (GelMA) and Carboxymethylcellulose Methacrylate (GelMA:CMCMA) hydrogel and cryogel scaffolds. These scaffolds present a microgrooved topography that promotes cell alignment and differentiation. These 3D tissues are integrated with biosensors for in situ monitorization of cytokines and hormones released under different external stimuli, toxins, drugs or electrical stimulation.
We have obtained a new platform to study the evolution of congenital muscle diseases, specifically myotonic dystrophy 1 and evaluate the functional tissues by metabolic and gene expression analysis. Monitor the secretion of biomarkers proteins, metabolites, and the glycolysis pathway of muscle tissues for different drug candidates. Discussion: This platform has been tested with different drugs assays and represent a step toward the goal of producing in vitro drug testing systems for medical and pharmaceutical industry applications. Finally, such “multi tissue-on-a-chip” devices can be fabricated using patient’s own cells as a major step toward personalized medicine.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Javier Ramón’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Lorenzo Albertazzi
2020-04-21 16:00 - 17:00
A super-resolved look at nanomedicine

Lorenzo Albertazzi , IBEC
Nanomaterials revolutionized the field of biomedicine introducing innovative approaches towards drug delivery, molecular imaging, regenerative medicine and biosensing. However, despite the large investments in nanotechnology the translation into clinical applications is still unsatisfactory. One of the main reasons is the lack of knowledge about the behavior of nanostructures in the biological environment that makes the rational design of effective materials extremely challenging.
The main aim of our group is to use advanced microscopy techniques to understand the interactions of nanomaterials with living matter and to exploit this information to design novel devices for biomedical applications with a particular focus on drug delivery. To this goal we employ innovative optical imaging techniques such as super resolution microscopy to visualize and understand the molecular interactions of nanomaterials with their cellular targets in unprecedented detail. Super resolution microscopy techniques such as stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (PAINT) offer nanometric resolution and multicolor ability, therefore they are ideal tools to study nano-sized multicomponent functional objects in vitro and in cells. This allows to get a closer “look” at the mechanisms of the key phenomena responsible for device performances such as particle stability, protein corona and targeting. The fundamental knowledge acquired will pave the way towards the “microscopy-guided” design of novel nanomaterials for drug and gene delivery.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Lorenzo Albertazzi’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Samuel Sánchez
2020-04-28 16:00 - 18:00
BioEngineering Hybrid Robotic Machines: from nanobots to 3D Bioprinted Robots

Samuel Sánchez , IBEC
The combination of biological components and artificial ones emerges into what we called hybrid machines/bots/robots. Here, I will present two types of hybrid systems that we are currently developing in our lab which span across different length scales, from a few nanometers to centimeters.
Alike bacteria or small swimmers found in nature, these artificial nanobots convert bio-available fuels to generate propulsion force to swim at the nanoscale. One of the dreams in nanotechnology is to engineer small vehicles which can eventually be applied in vivo for medical purposes. In the first part of my talk, I will present how we bioengineer our hybrid nanobots combining the best from the two worlds: biology (enzymes) and (nano)technology (nano- micro-particles) providing swimming capabilities, biocompatibility, remote control, multifunctionality and actuation. I will present some of the proof-of-concept applications such as the efficient transport of drugs into cancer cells and spheroids, sensing capabilities and the use of molecular imaging techniques for their tracking and localization both in vitro and in vivo.
In the second part of my talk, I will present the 3D bioprinting technique to fabricate hybrid 3D BIOBOTS which provides flexibility, scalability, rapid prototyping and simplicity. This technique has emerged as a powerful tool for the development of functional three-dimensional tissues and, in particular, skeletal muscle. By electrical stimulation, we studied the adaptability of 3D hybrid Robots after long-term trainings and the force evolution during the trainings together with the dynamic gene expression. Two types of devices are bioengineered in our lab: (i) 3D Actuators which useful force measurement platform for drug screening against dystrophies and (ii) 3D BIOBOTS that can be a next generation of living soft robotics systems with swimming capabilities.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Samuel Sánchez’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Elena Martínez
2020-05-08 10:00 - 12:00
Development of biomimetic models of intestinal tissue: guiding cellular self-organization through biofabrication techniques

Elena Martínez , IBEC
Epithelial tissues contain three-dimensional (3D) microstructures that guide cell self-organization at the tissue level. In the small intestine, crypts and finger-like villi microstructures improve its absorbance function, provides specific microenvironments and compartmentalizes cell types. Despite its physiological relevance, tissue architecture and multicellular population are neglected in the standard in vitro models, thus compromising their predictive capabilities. Our efforts in addressing these shortcomings by including key elements to mimic the native tissue in vitro will be discussed in this talk. First, this will include strategies to promote cell’s self-organization capabilities giving rise to crypt-villus domains on 2D monolayers, and strategies to engineer cell spatial positioning through micropatterning. Then, our approach to include the 3D architecture of the tissue will be addressed. In here, light-based biofabrication techniques to produce 3D villus-like structures will be discussed. Finally, I will introduce our biofabrication proposal to produce tissue engineered models that include the epithelial and the stromal compartments. Improving the prediction capabilities of cell-based assays is a growing strategy to lead to more efficient drug development processes. As 2D-based systems are showing their limits, new 3D strategies are gaining acceptance among the scientific community. Our approaches aim to further accelerate this trend by providing feasible strategies to routinely incorporate 3D multicellular structures at the tissue level in cell culture systems.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Elena Martínez’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Gabriel Gomila
2020-05-15 10:00 - 12:00
Multiscale approach to bioelectricity

Gabriel Gomila , IBEC
Understanding how electricity is generated and propagated in living systems is key to understand many physiological processes and to develop medical instruments for diagnosis, monitoring and therapy.
In this seminar I will present the multiscale approach to bioelectricity developed in our research group at IBEC, which covers from multicellular systems to single biomolecules, with an emphasis on passive electrical properties. Topics will include novel devices for electrophysiological recordings, novel routes and structures for extracellular electron transfer in bacterial cells, on-chip impedance flow cytometry, label-free electrical methods for microbiology and nanoscale electrical mapping of single cells.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Gabriel Gomila’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Giuseppe Battaglia
2020-05-29 10:00 - 12:00
Bionics at the molecular level: copying Nature to control Nature

Giuseppe Battaglia , IBEC

A very established approach in medicine involves the replacement of organs or other malfunctioning body parts by synthetic versions, engineered to mimic (or even augment it, if you allow the sci-fi digression) the original function. Bionics is a very established medical discipline where engineering spouses the life sciences, creating exquisite combinations. With the help of nanoscience and nanotechnology, we can now push such an effort down to the molecular level. In our group, we fabricate synthetic surrogates of trafficking vesicles, viruses and, one day perhaps, even a whole cell. Such molecular bionic units offer more efficient solutions to deliver drugs, to probe life at the nanoscale, and to act as a model to understand biological complexity.

Our efforts are intrinsically multidisciplinary, and we mix chemistry, physics and biology in all we do. We typically start studying biological complexity, with a strong focus on transport, trafficking and multivalent interactions (Physical Biology). To help this, we develop new tools to look at biological systems in four dimensions capturing life’s spatiotemporal patterns (Microscopy). We thus apply a constructionist approach where we mimic biological complexity in the form of design principles such as compartmentalisation, multivalency and taxis, to produce functional units from simple building blocks and their interactions (Molecular Engineering).​ Finally, we apply the resulting constructs to tackle disorders such as cancer, neurodegeneration, inflammation, and infections (Nanomedicine).

Today, I start introducing our research activities giving a few examples of each segment, to eventually focus my seminar on one of the latest and most exciting developments, our understanding of multivalent interaction and how these control crucial biological processes, such as cellular selectivity and trafficking.

The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Giuseppe Battaglia’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Benedetta Bolognesi
2020-06-05 10:00 - 12:00
Deep mutagenesis to understand Protein Phase Transitions

Benedetta Bolognesi , IBEC
Specific insoluble protein aggregates are the hallmarks of many neurodegenerative diseases. Whether the protein aggregates themselves or other forms of the proteins are toxic to cells is still unclear in many of these diseases. This lack of understanding of the causes of cellular toxicity is reflected in the general failure of multiple therapeutic approaches so far attempted. The causes of this rely mainly on the lack of systematic approaches able to estimate in parallel the effect of mutations on cell viability as well as on protein conformation. Our lab uses deep mutagenesis as a systematic and unbiased approach to identify and investigate the toxic species of proteins.
In this seminar I will explain how we used this approach to report on the toxicity of thousands of protein sequences and how, more recently, we adapted this method to track more specific biochemical processes, such as amyloid nucleation. Overall, the results I will discuss demonstrate that deep mutagenesis is a powerful approach to study intrinsically disordered proteins and also illustrate that it can be used to genetically validate assays as discovery platforms.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Benedetta Bolognesi’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Pere Roca-Cusachs
2020-06-26 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC
Sensing the matrix: transducing mechanical signals from integrins to the nucleus

Pere Roca-Cusachs , IBEC
Cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as key processes in development, tumorigenesis, and wound healing, are strongly determined by the properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM), including its mechanical rigidity and the density and distribution of its ligands. In this talk, I will explain how we combine molecular biology, biophysical measurements, and theoretical modelling to understand the mechanisms by which cells sense and respond to matrix properties.
I will discuss how the properties under force of integrin-ECM bonds, and of the adaptor protein talin, drive and regulate matrix sensing. I will further discuss how this sensing can be understood through a computational molecular clutch model, which can quantitatively predict the role of integrins, talin, myosin, and ECM receptors, and their effect on cell response. Finally, I will analyze how signals triggered by rigidity at cell-ECM adhesions are transmitted to the nucleus, leading to transcriptional regulation.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Pere Roca-Cusachs’ research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Santiago Marco
2020-07-03 10:00 - 12:00
Signal and Data Processing Workflows for Untargeted Chemical Analysis: Sensor Array and Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Complex Gas Samples
Santiago Marco , IBEC
In diverse sectors such as health, food, environment, complex natural gas samples are analysed. Those samples can contain hundreds or thousands of compounds. In many cases, the question to be answered does not require full separation, quantification, and identification of all compounds. Instead detection of abnormal samples (normal/ faulty), assignation of classes to samples (e.g.healthy/disease), or evaluation of global quantitative indexes (e.g odour intensity) is required.
The analysis of gas phase samples can be carried out with high-end lab equipment based on Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry or lower cost systems based on chemical sensors. In all cases, the resulting raw signals/data need substantial efforts to extract the hidden information. In health applications the problem of biomarker discovery becomes like finding a needle in a haystack. Intimate knowledge of the instrumental problems and the sampling conditions is key for the correct interpretation of the results.
These problems are often addressed by building mega-variate predictive models using tools from machine learning. However, in small sample conditions the possibilities to obtain overoptimistic results abound due to the curse of dimensionality. Careful model validation and statement of model validity domains is needed.
The seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting Platform
Know more about Santiago Marco’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Xavier Trepat
2020-11-13 10:00 - 12:00
Mechanobiology of intestinal organoids

Xavier Trepat, IBEC
Intestinal organoids capture essential features of the intestinal epithelium such as folding of the crypt, spatial compartmentalization of different cell types, and cellular movements from crypt to villus-like domains. Each of these processes and their coordination in time and space requires patterned physical forces that are currently unknown. In this study, we map the three-dimensional cell-ECM and cell-cell forces in mouse intestinal organoids grown on soft hydrogels. We show that these organoids exhibit a non-monotonic stress distribution that defines mechanical and functional compartments. The stem cell compartment pushes the ECM and folds through apical constriction, whereas the transit amplifying zone pulls the ECM and elongates through basal constriction. Tension measurements establish that the transit amplifying zone isolates mechanically the stem cell compartment and the villus-like domain. A 3D vertex model shows that the shape and force distribution of the crypt can be largely explained by cell surface tensions following the measured apical and basal actomyosin density. Finally, we show that cells are pulled out of the crypt along a gradient of increasing tension, rather than pushed by a compressive stress downstream of mitotic pressure as previously assumed. Our study unveils how patterned forces enable folding and collective migration in the intestinal crypt.
This seminar will take place online at the Microsoft Teams Platform
Know more about Xavier Trepat’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Paul Verschure
2020-12-04 10:00 - 12:00
The volitional brain in action: counterfactual error and the virtualization of memory

Volitional motor control can be seen as the result of a gradual replacement of feedback by feedforward control. We have addressed this question from the perspective of an integrated architecture called the Distributed Adaptive Control (DAC) theory of mind and brain. DAC proposes that the brain is a multi-layer control system which optimizes the how of action by considering why (motivation), what (objects), where (space), when (time) and who (agents) or the H5W problem. We have shown that for DAC to realize optimal solutions in foraging problems, its decision-making renders policies that simultaneously optimize perceptual evidence, memory bias, goals, and utility. This raises the question of what the principles are that underlie the processing and adaptation of these factors. In this presentation, I will focus on a link between volition, policy adaptation and perceptual learning we have recently advanced. The dominant model of anticipatory motor control relies on the notion of an inverse model that by learning from encountered errors acquires corrective responses that supersede feedback control. However, these models are predicated on a Markovian world assumption and thus by necessity face problems in handling exceptions, such as observed in probe trials, where fast feedback control is required. We solve this challenge by proposing that adaptive motor control can also be obtained by relying on a cascade of purely sensory predictions that drive feedback control via counterfactual errors or Hierarchical Sensory Predictive Control. Using robot experiments, we have demonstrated the robustness of this solution. I will present further supporting evidence for the relevance of counterfactual error in the physiology of motor learning, the neurophysiology of human memory as obtained with intracranial recordings and in the rehabilitation of stroke patients. In conclusion Paul will comment on the challenges involved in bringing science to society.

Paul Verschure is Catalan Institute of Advanced Studies (ICREA) Research Professor, Director of the Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems Laboratory at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalunya and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Paul has received his MA and Ph.D. in Psychology, and has worked in Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence and his scientific aim is to develop a unified theory of mind and brain, to validate it using synthetic methods and to apply it to quality of life enhancing technologies. To achieve the latter goal, Paul is founder/CEO of Eodyne Systems S.L. (Eodyne.com), which is commercializing novel science grounded neurorehabilitation, education and cultural heritage technologies. Paul is founder/Chairman of the Future Memory Foundation (futurememoryfoundation.org) which aims at supporting the development of new tools and paradigms for the conservation, presentation, and education of the history of Nazi crimes. Paul is founder/Chairman of the Convergent Science Network Foundation which hosts the annual Living Machines conference for which Paul also hosts the Convergent Science Network podcast. Paul chairs the annual Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology summer school. Paul manages a multidisciplinary team of about 30 researchers with whom he has published over 400 articles in leading journals and conferences in a range of disciplines and has completed 15 Ironman races.
This seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting platform
Know more about Paul Verschure’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Silvia Muro
2021-01-15 10:00 - 12:00
Targeted drug delivery: fundamental aspects and translational applications

Silvia Muro, IBEC
The design of strategies to enable efficient and safe delivery of therapeutic agents to areas of the body requiring intervention is an active research field. Therapeutic targets are often confined to specific regions or tissues in the body, where access may require active transport from the administration site into a subjacent or far-away tissue. Once within the tissue or body compartment of interest, most targets for therapeutic intervention relate to particular sub-cellular environments, e.g., the cell surface versus different intracellular compartments, requiring strategies to achieve the final destination of interest. Using polymer nanocarriers functionalized with affinity moieties against single or combined cell-surface receptors, along with additional biological signaling moieties, my laboratory focuses on understanding the parameters that regulate transport of drug delivery vehicles across cellular barriers and/or into compartments of subjacent tissues. We examine these aspects using cell culture models with subsequent validation in laboratory animals to correlate molecular/cellular mechanisms with in vivo outcomes. We investigate the influence exerted on targeting and transport by drug carrier design parameters (size, shape, avidity, combination targeting, etc.) and parameters that are intrinsic to the physiological system (disease states, flow, receptor epitopes being targeted, modulation of regulatory molecules, etc.).
In this presentation, I will focus on reviewing some of our most recent efforts in this field. The characterization of these complex physiological and design parameters, along with the understanding of the mechanisms governing the interaction of drugs carriers with the surrounding biological environment, are necessary steps toward achieving efficient drug delivery systems.
This seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting platform
Know more about Silvia Muro’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Jordi Alcaraz
2021-02-05 10:00 - 12:00
Improving lung cancer management by reengineering tumor-associated fibroblasts
Jordi Alcaraz, UB facultat de Medicina & IBEC Associated Researcher
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death due in part to subtoptimal patient responses to current therapies, which have been largely designed to targeting cancer cell abnormalities. However, there is a paradigm shift in cancer research that considers tumors as abnormal organs, thereby acknowledging the key contribution to tumor progression provided by fibroblasts and other non-cancerous stromal cells that shape the tumor mechanical and biochemical ecosystem.
Our group pioneered the study of tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) in lung cancer in Spain in collaboration with oncologists at the Hospital Clínic. I will provide an overview of our efforts in unveiling how TAFs contribute to tumor progression in major lung cancer subtypes and in identifying how can we target such contributions with new therapeutic strategies, including the development of novel preclinical models. Moreover, I will describe our efforts to define novel TAF-related prognostic and/or diagnostic biomarkers. Part of this work is carried out in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies. I will also briefly summarize ongoing collaborations with IBEC groups in these topics.
This seminar will take place online at the GoToMeeting platform
Know more about Jordi Alcaraz’s research here

Online IBEC Seminar: Ester Caffarel
2021-03-10 12:00 - 14:00
Breaking Paradigms: Delivering insulin orally
Ester Caffarel, MIT
Biologics have revolutionized disease treatment; however, their rapid degradation and poor absorption in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract generally limit their administration to parenteral routes. Devices for the oral delivery of biologics must aid in both localization and permeation to achieve systemic drug uptake. For this purpose, we have developed various ingestible devices that rapidly propel drug-loaded posts into the tissue wall of the different organs of the GI tract.
