Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

PhD Thesis Defence: Núria Blanco-Cabra
2021-04-16 10:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Madrid)
Noves metodologies per al tractament de bacteris creixent en forma de biofilm
Núria Blanco-Cabra, Bacterial infections and antimicrobial therapies group at IBEC
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, write an email to doctoratmedicina@ub.edu at least 48 hours before the defence.

PhD Thesis Defence: Laura Moya
2021-04-26 10:00 - 12:00
Deciphering the utility of Galleria mellonella as an infection and toxicity in vivo model
Laura Moya, Bacterial infections: Antimicrobial therapies
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, you will find the link to access and all the information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Martina Di Muzio
2021-05-11 10:00 - 12:00
Nanoscale dielectric mapping of biomembranes with in-liquid Scanning Dielectric Microscopy
Martina Di Muzio, Nanoscale bioelectrical characterization group
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, you can find the link to access here and you can find more information here
Please join the meeting few minutes before the mentioned time to avoid session interruption.
If you are joining after the mentioned time, please make sure your microphone is muted before joining the session.

PhD Thesis Defence: Harishankar Balakrishnan
2021-05-12 10:00 - 12:00
Nanoscale Tomography based in Electrostatic Force Microscopy
Harishankar Balakrishnan, Nanoscale bioelectrical characterization group
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, you can find the link to access here and you can find more information here
Please join the meeting few minutes before the mentioned time to avoid session interruption.
If you are joining after the mentioned time, please make sure your microphone is muted before joining the session.

PhD Thesis Defence: Enara Larrañaga
2021-05-25 03:00 - 17:00
Effects of substrate-derived cues in driving the self-organization of organoid-derived intestinal epithelia
Enara Larrañaga, Biomimetic systems for cell engineering
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, you can find the link to access here and you can find more information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Xarxa Quiroga
2021-06-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Auditori Antoni Caparrós – PCB
Plasma membrane mechanosensing upon stretch-induced topography remodelling
Xarxa Quiroga, Cellular and molecular mechanobiology group.
The thesis defence takes place tomorrow at 10AM in the “Antoni Caparrós” auditorium, located at the PCB Tower D, with limited capacity.

PhD Thesis Defence: Maria Arista
2021-06-28 10:00 - 12:00
Unveiling viral structures by single-molecule localization microscopy
Maria Arista, Nanoscopy for nanomedicine group
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, you can find the link to access here and you can find more information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Ferran Velasco
2021-07-01 09:30 - 12:00
Carboxymethyl cellulose-based cryogels as scaffolds for pancreatic and skeletal muscle tissue engineering
Ferran Velasco, Biosensors for bioengineering group
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence, you have to send an email to doctoratmedicina@ub.edu and you can find more information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Ana Candida Lopes Hortelão
2021-09-03 11:00 - 13:00
Enzyme Powered Nanomotors Towards Biomedical Applications
Ana Candida Lopes Hortelão, Smart Nano-bio-devices group
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence you can find the link and more information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Adrianna Glinkowska
2021-09-09 11:30 - 13:30
Formulation and screening of drug nanocarriers using microfluidic technology
Adrianna Glinkowska, Nanoscopy for nanomedicine
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence you can find the link and more information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Alexandre Gomila
2021-09-20 10:00 - 13:00
Development and characterization of in vivo models for photopharmacology
Alexandre Gomila, Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches
The defence will take place online, if you wish to attend to this defence you can find the link here

PhD Thesis Defence: Ignasi Ferrer Lluís
2021-10-25 15:30 - 17:30
Novel mHealth and multimodal physiological biomarkers for non-invasive monitoring and home healthcare of obstructive sleep apnea and COPD patients with comorbidities
Ignasi Ferrer Lluís, Biomedical Signal Processing and Interpretation
he defence will take place online, using the “Google Meet” app. If you wish to attend to this defence you can find the link here

PhD Thesis Defence: Ana López Mengual
2022-01-12 11:30 - 13:30 | Sala Graus, Faculty of Biology, Barcelona
Factores físicos y moleculares implicados en la migración celular y en el desarrollo de la corteza cerebral.
Ana López Mengual, Molecular and cellular neurobiotechnology group
Abstract
Cell migration acquires special relevance during embryonic development and tissue regeneration. During the development of the adult individual, cells multiply, differentiate and mature, having to move to their destination regions through migration. Once the adult individual has formed, these tissues can suffer damage, leading to an altered state. In this process of tissue regeneration, they try to set tissue homeostasis, cell migration is essential. This thesis analyses the mechanical factors involved in cell migration in brain development and neural regeneration, as a fundamental tool to understand these processes. OECs migrate greater distances over CXCL12 functionalized PLA 80/20 nanofibers, thus responding to the chemotactic gradient. Measurements made with by means of BIO-AFM of the mouse embryonic brain reveals differences between the pallium and the subpallium. These differences determine the differential migration rates when transplanting explants of various origins outside their usual site and analysing the migration of Cajal-Retzius cells. In addition, Cajal-Retzius cells respond by calcium entry to the inhibition of mechanosensitive cation channels, changing their migration rate. So, we conclude that physical factors are a key factor involved in the migration and disposition of Cajal-Retzius cells.

The public event will take place at the Sala de Graus at the Faculty of Biology (University of Barcelona) on January 12th at 11:30. If you prefer to attend to this defence virtually, contact with Ana López (alopezm@ibecbarcelona.eu).

PhD Thesis Defence: Ariadna Marín Llauradó
2022-01-27 11:00 - 14:00 | Auditori Antoni Caparrós, PCB, Tower D, c/Baldiri Reixac 4-8, Barcelona, Spain
Mechanical stress in curved epithelia of designed size and shape
Ariadna Marín Llauradó, Integrative cell and tissue dynamics group
The function of organs such as lungs, kidneys and mammary glands relies on the three-dimensional geometry of their epithelium. How epithelial geometry emerges from mechanical stresses remains poorly understood. To address this question systematically, here we engineered curved epithelial monolayers of controlled size and shape and mapped their state of stress. We designed pressurized epithelia with spherical, rectangular and ellipsoidal cross-sections. We developed a computational approach to map the stress tensor these epithelia from the measured pressure and geometry, without assumptions of material properties. In epithelia with spherical cross-section spanning more than one order of magnitude in radius, we show that stress increases with areal strain in a size-independent manner. In epithelia with rectangular and ellipsoidal cross-section we found pronounced stress anisotropies consistent with asymmetric distribution tractions measured at the cell-substrate contact line. Cells tended to align with the direction of maximum principal stress, but this alignment was non-universal and increased with monolayer anisotropy. Our study establishes how the size and shape of an epithelium depends on luminal pressure and mechanical stress.
This thesis defence will take place at Auditori Antoni Caparrós, located at the Parc Científic de Barcelona, Tower D with limited capacity, seats will be assigned on a first come first served basis. The defence will start at 11 AM.

PhD Thesis Defence: Andrea García Lizarribar
2022-01-28 11:00 - 13:00
Development of tunable bioinks to fabricate 3D-printed in vitro models: a special focus on skeletal muscle models with potential applications in metabolic alteration studies

Andrea García Lizarribar, Nanobioengineering group

This thesis defence will be held online using the Teams App, you can find the link here. You can find more information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Lucía Selfa Aspiroz
2022-02-01 10:00 - 12:00
Engineering human pluripotent stem cells to understand kidney development and disease

Lucía Selfa Aspiroz, Pluripotency for organ regeneration group

This thesis defence will start at 10AM. If you wisth to attend to this PhD thesis defence, you can join here via zoom.

PhD Thesis Defence: Andrés Marco Giménez
2022-03-14 11:00 - 13:00
Generation and Validation of a CRISPR Platform for Rapid and Inducible Genome Editing in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Kidney Organoids
Andrés Marco Giménez, Pluripotency for organ regeneration group
This thesis defence will start at 11AM. If you wisth to attend to this PhD thesis defence, you can join here via zoom.

PhD Thesis Defence: Francina Mesquida Veny
2022-04-01 11:00 - 13:00 | Aula de Graus, Faculty of Biology, Diagonal, 643, Barcelona, Spain
Activity-dependent mechanisms of axonal growth
Francina Mesquida Veny, Molecular and cellular neurobiotechnology
This thesis defence will take place at “Aula de Graus” Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona” at 11AM.
If anyone is interested in attending online, you can contact Francina here

PhD Thesis Defence: Francina Mesquida Veny
2022-04-01 11:00 - 13:00 | Aula de Graus, Faculty of Biology

PhD Thesis Defence: Ignasi Casanellas
2022-04-13 15:00 - 17:00 | Molecular and cellular neurobiotechnology
Cell-adhesive nanopatterns for musculoskeletal tissue engineering
Ignasi Casanellas, Nanobioengineering Group
This thesis defence will take place at “Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona” at 3PM. If you wish to follow this defence online, you can contact Ignasi here.
More information here

PhD Thesis Defence: Ignasi Casanellas
2022-04-13 15:00 - 17:00 | Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré

PhD Thesis Defence: Gerard Rubí Sans
2022-06-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Careers at IBEC
Development of an in vitro three-dimensional colorectal cancer model using cell-derived extracellular matrices
Author: Gerard Rubí Sans
Directors: Dra. Elisabet Engel López and Dr. Miguel Ángel Mateos Timoneda
This thesis defence will take place at “Sala d’Actes de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Estadística (FME)” at 11AM.
If you wish to follow this defence online, you can do it through Google Meet here.

Biomedical signal interpretation and smartphone sensors for the assessment of trunk function and sleep disorders in patients with spinal cord injury
2022-06-27 10:00 - 14:00 | Sala d’Actes EEBE, Edifici A,, Av. Eduard Maristany 16, 08019 Barcelona
Author: Yolanda Castillo
Group: Biomedical Signal Processing and Interpretation
Directors: Raimon Jané

Abstract:
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. SCI causes motor and sensory impairment below the level of the injury, but it is also associated with many other health complications. Two of these problems are trunk muscle impairment and sleep disorders. Impaired trunk function affects postural control and sitting balance, which are critical for activities of daily living. Disturbed sleep causes fatigue and sleepiness and can lead to serious comorbidities, impacting patient recovery and outcomes. However, due to the multiple health problems secondary to SCI and the limitations in current diagnostic tools, trunk function and sleep are rarely examined after SCI. The non-invasive acquisition and analysis of biomedical signals can help to overcome this issue, providing quantitative measures to assess patient condition. Smartphones can facilitate this task, thanks to their ubiquitous presence and powerful sensors.

The aim of this PhD thesis is to propose new smartphone-based tools and biomedical signal analysis techniques for the quantitative assessment of trunk function and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in patients with SCI. This thesis is divided into two parts, including four publications in high-impact journals. The first part addresses the characterization of trunk function in healthy subjects and patients with cervical (cSCI) and thoracic SCI (tSCI). The second part focuses on the development of a mobile health (mHealth) system based on smartphone audio signals for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis, and the detection and monitoring of SDB in SCI patients.

The first part of the thesis introduces a novel methodology to quantitatively evaluate trunk function by combining electromyography (EMG) and smartphone accelerometry. In the first study, we characterized the muscle activity and movement patterns of trunk flexion during reaching in healthy humans and investigated if trunk stability was affected by a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS). We found that SAS markedly reduced the response time (RespT) and EMG onset latencies of all muscles (the so-called StartReact effect), either prime movers or stabilizers. In the second study, we evaluated trunk function and the effects of a SAS in patients with cSCI and tSCI. The results revealed deficits in postural control and compensatory strategies employed by SCI patients, such as delayed responses and high lateral deviations, with potential consequences for rehabilitation. This was the first study investigating the StartReact responses in trunk muscles in SCI. The SAS significantly shortened the RespT in tSCI, but not in cSCI, which suggests an increased cortical control in cSCI.

In the second part of the thesis, we present mHealth tools for monitoring sleep disorders and investigate the sleep patterns of SCI patients. In the first article of this part, we designed a smartphone system and novel algorithms based on acoustic analysis for OSA screening. This approach demonstrated good agreement with a commercial system for home OSA diagnosis, correctly detecting and stratifying all the OSA patients. In the last article, sleep studies were performed in SCI patients using the smartphone, showing a very high prevalence of moderate-to-severe SDB in SCI patients. This study highlighted the problem of SDB in SCI and provided simple cost-effective tools to improve the detection and management of SDB in SCI patients.

Overall, this thesis supports the use of smartphones and biomedical signal analysis for the assessment of trunk function and SDB in SCI patients. These novel approaches provide quantitative and objective measures for the evaluation and follow-up of patients in a simple and non-invasive way. We also give insights into the underlying mechanisms of postural control, respiratory function during sleep, and the changes occurring after SCI. Consequently, our results open the way for improving the management of health complications associated with SCI or other disabling conditions.

This thesis defence will take place at: Sala d’Actes de l’Escola d’Enginyeria Barcelona Est (EEBE), Edifici A, planta 0, Campus Diagonal-Besòs de la UPC, Av. d’Eduard Maristany, 16, 08019 Barcelona.
If you wish to follow this defence online, you can do it through this link: meet.google.com/roe-omfr-sse

PhD Thesis Defence: Maximilian Loeck
2022-09-16 12:00 - 14:00 | Carrer de Casanova, 143, Campus Clínic, Barcelona, 08036
Comparative study of nanocarries targeted to different transport pathways into and across the endothelium for brain delivery of therapeutic enzymes

Author: Maximilian Loeck, Targeted therapeutics and nanodevices

This thesis defence will take place at “Aula 14 (Dolors Aleu i Riera), Campus Clínic” at 12:30h.
Address: Facultad de Medicina, Carrer de Casanova, 143, 08036 Barcelona

PhD Thesis Defence: Enrico Almici
2022-10-10 10:00 | Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, Barcelona, 08028
Investigating pathological extracellular matrix architecture
Author: ENRICO ALMICI, Nanobioengineering
This thesis defence will take place at “Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré. Facultat de Física” at 10:00h.

President: Dr. Sergio Cerutt
Secretària: Dra. Elena Martinez Fraiz
Vocal: Dr. Eugenio Martinelli

Suplents:
Dra. Noemi Reguart Aransay
Dra. Valeria Chiono

Directors:
Dr. JOAN MONTERO BORONAT
Dr. JOSEP SAMITIER MARTI
Dr. JORDI ALCARAZ CASADEMUNT

Tutor: Dr. JOSEP SAMITIER MARTI

PhD Thesis Defence: Adrián López Canosa
2022-12-12 11:00 - 13:00 | Eduard Fontseré – Facultat de Física de la UB
Microphysiological Systems for the Evaluation of Biomaterials in Regenerative Therapies

Author: Adrián López Canosa, Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies

This thesis defence will take place at “Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré” at 11:00h.

Information

PhD Thesis Defence: Ignasi Granero Moya
2023-01-12 15:00 - 17:00
STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF MECHANICAL FORCE ON NUCLEO-CYTOPLASMIC TRANSPORT

Author: Ignasi Granero Moya, Cellular and molecular mechanobiology

This thesis defence will take place at “Facultat de Medicina de la UB (Hospital Clínc)” at 15:00. Room to be determined.

PhD Thesis Defence: Xavier Arqué
2023-01-24 11:00 - 13:00 | Aula Magna, Faculty of Pharmacy, Av. Joan XXIII s/n, Barcelona, Spain
Unraveling the Fundamental Aspects of Enzyme-powered Micromotors

Author: Xavier Arqué, Smart Nano-Bio-Devices Lab

This thesis defence will take place at “Aula Magna” Building A, Faculty of Pharmacy,
University of Barcelona (Campus Diagonal, Av. de Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028 Barcelona) at 11:00

PhD Thesis Defence: Madhura Murar
2023-02-17 15:00 - 17:00 | Aula Magna, Faculty of Physics, UB
Peptide functionalized polymeric nanocarriers: Towards selective targeting of prostate cancer

Author: Madhura Vijay Murar, nanoscopy for nanomedicine

This thesis defence will take place at “Aula Magna” Faculty of Physics,

University of Barcelona (Carrer de Martí i Franquès, 1, 11, 08028 Barcelona) at 15:00

You can join online to see the defense in the following link.
