PhD Thesis Defense: Sock Ching Low
2020-12-15 12:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Madrid)
Giving Centre Stage to Top-Down Inhibitory Mechanisms for Selective Attention
Sock Ching Low, SPECS (Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems)
Selective attention determines the sensory signals that are processed at higher levels at the expense of others and is biased by higher-order brain regions which anticipate task-relevant stimuli and increase neural sensitivity to them in the sensory cortex. Often, this is thought to occur through excitation of selected neurons, but some studies have suggested that it is not the full description of the process. Increasingly, evidence has pointed to an alternative, top-down inhibitory biasing mechanism. Here, we investigated such an inhibitory model of attention. We first showed how sensitivity to stimulus features known to be task-irrelevant are reduced through top-down suppression. Secondly, we demonstrated a biologically grounded spiking model’s ability to modulate information processing and benchmarked it to physiology. Lastly, we explored the interaction between the excitatory and inhibitory models of top-down attention in a foraging agent. Our results support the inhibitory model of top-down attention as a biological attentional mechanism and show how it fits into the current zeitgeist of top-down attentional mechanisms.
This thesis defense will be held online using “Zoom” using this link.

PhD Thesis Defense: Laia Lidón Gil
2020-12-21 11:00 - 13:00
Regulación de la expresión de PrPC como elemento clave en las modificaciones de tau en la enfermedad de Alzheimer
Laia Lidón, Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology
La enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) es la causa más común de demencia y tiene una elevada prevalencia a nivel mundial. Se caracteriza por un deterioro cognitivo progresivo y muestra como principales rasgos neuropatológicos la presencia de placas seniles enriquecidas en βamiloide y ovillos neurofibrilares intracelulares constituidos por la proteína tau hiperfosforilada. Una precisa regulación de la fosforilación de tau es esencial para que la proteína ejerza sus funciones normales, ya que su hiperfosforilación interrumpe procesos neuronales básicos como el transporte axonal.
Por otro lado, la proteína priónica celular (PrPC) es una glicoproteína de unión a membrana que en humanos se expresa mayoritariamente en el sistema nervioso central a partir de un único gen, PRNP. Sus funciones fisiológicas abarcan un conjunto de propiedades neuroprotectoras como la regulación de la homeostasis del calcio, la actividad anti-apoptótica y la capacidad antioxidante.
En los últimos años, el interés por la PrPC y su implicación en diversas enfermedades neurodegenerativas ha ido en aumento a medida que se han ido conociendo los múltiples rasgos comunes a nivel molecular y/o neuropatológico entre PrPC y dichas enfermedades. Por
ejemplo, se ha descrito que PrPC interacciona directamente con las proteínas tau, Aβ y αsinucleína participando así en diversos procesos patológicos y vías de señalización. Es por ello que PrPC ha sido asociada con la EA y otras taupatías o la enfermedad de Parkinson.
En este sentido, se ha descrito que el aumento de expresión de PrPC provoca una reducción de los niveles de tau y una menor susceptibilidad a la fosforilación en modelos experimentales de EA. Además, ha sido demostrado que durante el curso de la EA se producen cambios de expresión en el perfil de PrPC habiendo un incremento notable en estadios iniciales de la enfermedad, mientras que en estadios avanzados la expresión de PrPC disminuye coincidiendo con el incremento de depósitos de ptau. Este hecho, sugiere que PrPC podría estar ejerciendo un rol neuroprotector en las fases iniciales de la enfermedad y, en cambio, la reducción de su expresión en fases avanzadas contribuiría a la neurodegeneración y a la progresión de la patología.
A pesar de ello, se desconoce cuáles son los desencadenantes de los cambios de expresión de PRNP en la enfermedad y, por este motivo, uno de los objetivos principales de la presente tesis ha sido analizar dichos factores. Hemos estudiado diversos estímulos asociados a la EA que pueden estar implicados en la regulación transcripcional de PRNP en etapas iniciales de la enfermedad y nuestros resultados indican que el incremento celular de los niveles de tau promueve la activación del promotor de PRNP. Además, hemos descrito que la vía de señalización JNK-c-jun-AP1 es la principalmente implicada en la activación del promotor de PRNP por tau.
Por otro lado, diversos estudios sugieren que PrPC participa en la diferenciación neuronal de progenitores neuronales, un proceso altamente influenciado por la actividad de la glucógeno sintasa quinasa-3beta (GSK3β), siendo esta inhibida por PrPC . Múltiples trabajos han descrito un desequilibrio en la expresión de las diferentes isoformas de tau (tau3R y tau4R) derivadas del splicing diferencial que sufre el gen de tau, MAPT, en enfermedades que cursan acúmulo de tau, como la EA. En dichas enfermedades también se han encontrado niveles alterados de diversas quinasas, y entre ellas se encuentra la GSK3β, que además de incidir sobre la hiperfosforilación de tau, está directamente implicada en el splicing alternativo de MAPT. Por ello, otro de los propósitos del presente estudio ha sido analizar la intervención de PrPC , no solo en la fosforilación de tau y en el mantenimiento de sus niveles de expresión, sino también
en la generación de las diferentes isoformas tau3R y tau4R. Mediante el uso de animales transgénicos, muestras humanas de pacientes con EA y modelos experimentales de estudio de la PrPC , nuestros resultados corroboran la implicación de PrPC en el splicing alternativo del exón 10 de tau a través de su papel inhibidor de la actividad GSK3β.

This thesis defense will be held online next 21st December at 11, in order to be able to attend the defense, you have to write an email to: doctorat.biologia@ub.edu

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

PhD Thesis Defense: Maria Blancas Muñoz
2021-01-15 11:00 - 13:00
Knowing what you know. A pedagogical model based on learners’ metacognitive abilities
Maria Blancas Muñoz, Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS)
This thesis defense will be held online next 15th January at 11, via “zoom”, using this link.

PhD Discussions Sessions: Gerard Rubí and Ignasi Ferrer
2021-01-29 10:00 - 12:00
Development of an in vitro three-dimensional colorectal tumor model for drug screening
Gerard Rubí, Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies
The majority of morphogenetic and pathological processes are driven by cells responding to the surrounding matrix cues, including matrix composition, architecture, and mechanical properties. Despite the increased evidence of extracellular matrix (ECM) properties, in vitro substitutes still fail to effectively mimic the native microenvironment. In this study, we aim to develop and characterize cell-derived extracellular matrices (CDMs) obtained through a protein deposition from human mesenchymal stem cells cultured in sacrificial 3D scaffold templates of poly-lactic acid (PLA) microcarriers. Obtained decellularized CDMs closely mimic biochemical, physical, and mechanical properties of native tissues’ ECM. The produced novel CDMs, are currently tested as a 3D cell culture platform for disease modelling. This is achieved through CDMs repopulation with colorectal cancer cells and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs). The new 3D CDMs-cancer platform will provide an in vitro tumor model to study the cells-ECM interactions and potential therapeutic targets, to finally serve as a drug-screening platform for personalized medicine.
Novel m-Health and multimodal physiological biomarkers for non-invasive monitoring and home healthcare of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and COPD patients with comorbidities
Ignasi Ferrer, Biomedical Signal Processing and Interpretation
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which repetitive upper airway obstructive events occur during sleep. These events can induce hypoxia, which is a risk factor for multiple cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. OSA is also known to be position-dependent in some patients, which is referred to as positional OSA (pOSA). The gold-standard technique for diagnosing OSA is nocturnal polysomnography (PSG), which consists in recording multiple physiological signals while the patient is asleep in a hospital sleep lab. However, PSG has some important limitations, such as the high cost of the diagnostic test; the diagnosis is usually performed with a one-night sleep assessment, which does not account for the variability of sleep performance in the patient; and the sleep quality varies from that at home, because the patient has to sleep in a different bed connected to a lot of electrodes and wires.
In this study we aim to study how smartphones could be used to diagnose and monitor sleep apnea at home. Since smartphones are worldwide available devices, with a lot of embedded sensors, they appear as a feasible mHealth tools that could help overcome these limitations.
The PhD discussions session will be held ONLINE at the GoToMeeting platform

Nanodía Mundial Contra el Cáncer
2021-02-04 11:00 - 14:00
El Nanodía Mundial Contra el Cáncer es un evento organizado en el marco del Día Mundial contra el Cáncer donde se darán a conocer las últimas innovaciones en materia de NANOMEDICINA contra el CÁNCER, con temas que van desde el diagnóstico precoz, la liberación controlada de fármacos o la radioterapia con nanopartículas.
Un año más, expertos en NANOMEDICINA de diferentes campos -investigadores, empresarios, médicos oncólogos, pacientes, etc.-, expondrán los últimos avances y nos darán la oportunidad de descubrir el generador de progreso que la NANOMEDICINA significa para la salud como creador de nuevas oportunidades en el diagnóstico y el tratamiento del cáncer y como podemos contribuir en la misión Europea contra el cáncer.
Iniciado bajo el nombre de NANO WORLD CANCER DAY, NANOMED Spain organiza la sexta edición, este año de manera virtual con la colaboración del Institut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP).
Inscripciones: http://nanomedspain.net/jornada_ndcc/

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

100tífiques
2021-02-12
On the occasion of the International Day of Woman and Girls in Science researchers from IBEC went to different catalan schools to give a presentation of women in science to encourage all kids to study STEAM digrees.
Furthermore, as IBEC has a partnership with the elementary school “Escola Gayarre” within the frame of the “Magnet Projects” some of our researchers visited their classrooms and also gave an oran exposition of women in science.

Crafting a Winning ERC Proposal
2021-02-18 10:40 - 14:00
Do not miss the workshop “Crafting a Winning ERC Proposal”, with the participation of ERC Grantee and Panel Member Samuel Sánchez from IBEC, as well as other grantees and ERC Officers.

This is an event organised by “Academia Joven de España”.
Connection link here

PhD Complementary Skills Session: Lab greening – how you can play your part!
2021-02-19 10:00 - 12:00
Lab greening – how you can play your part!
Una FitzGerald, Galway Neuroscience Centre, Founder – ‘Galway Green Labs’ initiative
Dr FitzGerald will share her motivation for getting involved in promoting and implementing green lab practices at first, within her own University in Galway, and then, across Ireland and Europe. She will describe the experience of recruiting researchers and technical staff to join a green team and how this idea has spread to other labs on-campus, eventually being adopted as a University Strategy for 2020-2025. Some recommendations on how young researchers might go through the same process, are provided. In the end, the talk should encourage anyone working within the Biomedical Engineering sector, to implement new protocols that will minimise the impact that their daily work has on the environment.

After completing a BE (Ind Eng) and MSc in Biotechnology at NUIG, Dr FitzGerald worked in the pharmaceutical sector for five years in France and the UK, before embarking on a PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Following a brief spell in cancer research, on joining Prof. Sue Barnett’s lab in Glasgow Uni. she discovered her true passion – neuroscience and in particular, research on brain disorders including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Since returning to the University in Galway, Ireland, Dr FitzGerald has built a track record in MS research, is a funded investigator in CÚRAM, the SFI Centre for Research on Medical Devices and is ex-director of the Galway Neuroscience Centre. She is the lead PI and Coordinator of a €3.9M EU-funded Innovative Training Network which is training 15 PhD students across Europe, with the aim of developing a novel device for treating the progressive phase of MS. In 2019 she led the CÚRAM lab to be the first in Europe to gain Green Lab Certification from My Green Lab and she now chairs a national working group on sustainable public sector labs. Dr FitzGerald’s talk will describe her journey from neuroscience research to climate activism.
This seminar will take place online using the GoToMeeting platform

PhD Thesis Defence: Davia Prischich
2021-02-23 15:00 - 17:00
Development and applications of photoswitchable small molecules and peptides to control protein-protein interactions and GPCR activity
Davia Prischich, Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches group, IBEC
The defense will be held online through the platform provided by the UB. For those who are interested in joining, please remember that you have to write an email to vd.quimica.recerca@ub.edu at least 48 hours before the event.

Nano Rare Diseases Day 2021
2021-02-24 11:30 - 13:30
Nano Rare Diseases Day es un evento organizado en el marco del Día Mundial de las Enfermedades Minoritarias donde se darán a conocer las últimas innovaciones en materia de Nanomedicina para el tratamiento y diagnóstico de dichas enfermedades, con temas que van desde el diagnóstico precoz, la liberación controlada de fármacos o el desarrollo de nuevas terapia
Durante esta jornada, expertos en Nanomedicina de diferentes campos -investigación, empresa, práctica clínica, autoridades sanitarias, pacientes, etc.-, expondrán los últimos avances y nos darán la oportunidad de descubrir el generador de progreso que la Nanomedicina significa para la salud como creador de nuevas oportunidades en el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de las enfermedades minoritarias.
Más información e inscripciones aquí

Barcelona Tribuna «La innovació, la gestió del talent i la recerca científica a Barcelona»
2021-02-25 09:00 - 12:00
Emmarcat dins del cicle (Re)Imaginem Barcelona, Barcelona Tribuna reuneix Jordi Marin, director general de l’Associació Catalana d’Empreses Consultores (ACEC); Josep Samitier, director de l’Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya; Núria Bayó, cap de programes acadèmics i eficàcia organitzativa del Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST); i Alexis Roig, director del SciTech DiploHub, per parlar de “La innovació, la gestió del talent i la recerca científica a Barcelona“.

PhD Thesis Defence: Maider Badiola
2021-03-10 09:00 - 23:00
Compartmentalised microfluidic culture systems for in vitro modelling of neurological and neuromuscular microenvironments
Maider Badiola, Nanobioengineering group
Movement of skeletal-muscle fibres is generated by the locomotion circuit. Failures in any part of the circuit can cause or define the severity of neuromuscular diseases (NMD), such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Conventional in vitro study models coculturing motoneurons and skeletal muscle cells are not physiologically relevant. Moreover, studying fragments of the circuit cannot provide a comprehensive and complete view of the pathological process.
This thesis aims to study the neuromuscular context in vitro through compartmentalised microfluidic culture systems (cµFCS) and to create physiologically relevant study models. It offers an evolving prospective of in vitro models, moving from mice to human cells, from 2D to 3D cell cultures, from primary cells to human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), and analysing both healthy and diseased cells.
This thesis gathers many technological innovations from a Bioengineering point of view, paving the way for future studies in the neuromuscular field. It shows that the integration of the entire neuromuscular circuit components in the developed in vitro systems provides a wider view of the neuromuscular physiology and the pathological processes. These results show first steps towards future 3D physiological neuromuscular circuit models on a chip for NMD studies.
The defence will take place online using the Microsoft Teams Platform

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.

Online IBEC Seminar: Paolo Arosio
2021-03-12 10:00 - 12:00
Membraneless compartments based on intrinsically disordered proteins: from biology towards new protein materials
Paolo Arosio, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich
In the last few years, discoveries in biology are revealing that a class of intrinsically disordered protein sequences plays an important role in the formation of cellular membraneless compartments by spontaneous liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins and nucleic acids. These compartments underlie several important functions and can act as microreactors, in which environment and composition are carefully regulated in space and time. These observations inspired us to exploit these biological sequences to mimic these membraneless compartments on the bench, towards the development of high-performance open microreactors, with applications for instance in biocatalysis. With these sequences we can regulate not only the dynamic process of phase separation but also several properties of the resulting compartments, including uptake of client molecules, polarity and material properties. With this control we can, in turn, regulate biochemical reactions occurring within the compartments.
We further show the development of droplet microfluidic platforms to characterize multiple properties of the open compartments, including both thermodynamics and dynamics of phase separation. We illustrate these concepts by investigating an established in vitro model of Processing bodies consisting of the phase separation of the DEAD-box protein ATPase Dhh1 in the presence of ATP and RNA.
This seminar will take place online
Know more about Paolo Arosio’s research here

Clinical Colloquia: Anna Novials
2021-03-19 10:00 - 12:00
Diabetes, where are we?
Anna Novials, PI of the group “Pathogenesis and Prevention of Diabetes” at IDIBAPS/Clinic Hospital of Barcelona and member of CIBERDEM network.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of chronic metabolic disorders all characterized by hyperglycemia. It occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the peripheral tissues cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. The global prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (the intermediate transition between normal blood glucose levels and diabetes) has been increasing over recent decades. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reported that in 2019 there were 463 million people between 20-79 years worldwide with diabetes, accounting for the 9.3 % of the global adult population. If this trend continues, it is expected to increase to 700 million by 2045. Furthermore persistent high blood glucose levels cause generalized vascular damage affecting the kidneys (nephropathy), the eyes (retinopathy), the nerves (neuropathy) and the heart (cardiovascular disease), leading to disabilities and premature death. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported diabetes to be the seventh leading cause of death. As a consequence the economic burden of diabetes has a high impact on the global health-care system.
The first national study in Spain published in 2012 (the Di@bet.es Study) revealed that the overall prevalence of DM in individuals ≥18 years old in our country was 13.8% and, about a half of them (6%) had unknown diabetes. In addition to this alarming values, the prevalence rates of isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) 3.4% and 9.2%, respectively (2). Taken together, this study uncovered that almost 30% of the study population had some carbohydrate disturbance.
Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) accounts for the vast majority (around 90%) of diabetes worldwide. It can be effectively managed through education, adoption of healthy lifestyles, combined with medication as required. The pathogeny of T2D is extremely complex and comprises all the organs that work coordinately to maintain energy and glucose homeostasis. It is established that when the cross-talk between organs (pancreas, liver, muscle, adipose tissue, brain ,etc )is altered, then the main pathogenic events which are insulin secretory defects and insulin resistance appear as a hallmark of T2D. All current treatment for T2D are adressed to target molecular pathways in different tissues.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the major cause of diabetes in childhood. Patients need an uninterrupted supply of insulin for life. The pathogeny of diabetes consists in alteration in the autoinmunity. The main cause is not yet been stablished. The advances in the treatment remain dissapointing . Although technology applied to diabetes is in continuos progress, patients are still using the same treatment as 100 years ago, when insulin was discovered.
Collectively, these results evidence the need for more clinical and preventive intervention programs and highlight the importance of carrying out more basic research in order to understand the underlying mechanisms of the disease.

Dr. Anna Novials is endocrinologist at Hospital Clinic de Barcelona and leader group of research at IDIBAPS. She received her PhD from the University of Barcelona, in 1989, focusing her studies on the chronic effect of glucotoxicity on pancreatic function in patients with type 2 diabetes. A postdoctoral stay at the University of Cambridge and collaborations with the University of Oxford enriched her scientific and technical knowledge of molecular biology, turning her research objectives toward the molecular mechanisms that affect pancreatic islet function in diabetes, which she would then develop at the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, going on to lead her own research group.
From 1998 to 2008, Dr. Novials conducted her clinical activity at the Sardà Farriol Foundation in Barcelona, first as Head of the Diabetology Unit and later as Executive Director. Here she devoted her efforts to promoting educational tools to help patients adhere to exercise programs as part of their diabetes treatment plan. In 2008, she rejoined the IDIBAPS as leader of a clinical and basic research team. Since 2010, she has also served as an Executive Committee member of the Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Disorders (CIBERDEM). Finally, Dr. Novials is the former President of the Spanish Diabetes Society and as served as member of the EASD-EU Committee of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes to advocate for diabetes research.
This clinical colloquia will take place online at the GoToMeeting platform

PhD Discussions Sessions: Héctor López Carral
2021-03-26 10:00 - 12:00
Subjective ratings of emotive stimuli predict the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on affective states
Héctor López Carral, SPECS lab, IBEC
The COVID-19 crisis resulted in a large proportion of the world’s population having to employ social distancing measures and self-quarantine. Given that limiting social interaction impacts mental health, we assessed the effects of quarantine on emotive perception as a proxy of affective states. To this end, we conducted an online experiment whereby 112 participants provided affective ratings for a set of normative images and reported on their well-being during COVID-19 self-isolation. We found that current valence ratings were significantly lower than the original ones from 2015. This negative shift correlated with key aspects of the personal situation during the confinement, including working and living status, and subjective well-being. These findings indicate that quarantine impacts mood negatively, resulting in a negatively biased perception of emotive stimuli. Moreover, our online assessment method shows its validity for large-scale population studies on the impact of COVID-19 related mitigation methods and well-being.
The PhD discussions session will be held ONLINE at the GoToMeeting platform

PhD Thesis Defence: Patrica Prado Peralta
2021-04-07 10:00 - 12:00
Developing new strategies to understand human kidney development and target human disease
Patricia Prado Peralta, Pluripotency for organ regeneration group
The defence will take place online using the BBCollab platform

Online IBEC Seminar: Núria Montserrat
2021-04-16 10:00 - 12:00
Study on the of the interplay between glucose metabolism and SARS-CoV-2 infection exploiting human kidney organoids

Núria Montserrat, group leader “Pluripotency for organ regeneration” at IBEC
Severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leads to a high risk of hospitalization and mortality in diabetic patients. SARS-CoV-2 binds to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is expressed in key metabolic organs such as pancreas, muscle, heart, adipose tissue, the small intestine, and the kidneys. As a result, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 may cause alterations of glucose metabolism that could complicate the pathophysiology of pre-existing diabetes or lead to new mechanisms of disease.
Thanks to an international collaboration we have previously shown that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect engineered human blood vessel organoids and human kidney organoids. In these last months we have started to collectively addressed how to study on the interplay between glucose metabolism and SARS-CoV-2 infections making use of kidney organoid technology. We have first developed culture regime conditions in human kidney organoids mirroring cellular responses similar to those encountered in the human diabetic kidney. Through an exhaustive characterization including single cell RNA profiling and ulterior validation in organoids and kidney patient cells we are starting to dissect the different transcriptional programs that are differently regulated in these different contexts. To further assess on the key role of ACE2 in these processes we have make use of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate human pluripotent stem cells lines knock out (KO) for ACE2. Kidney organoids ACE2KO have been further subjected to SARS-CoV-2 infections in normoglycemic and oscillatory glucose conditions further demonstrating the central role of ACE2 in early steps of infection in these organoid model systems. Thanks to our international collaborators we have also explored on the role of ACE2 in early steps of SARS-CoV-2 infection in other organoid platforms including gastric and vascular organoids.
Together, our results provide evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection altered glucose metabolism and support the use of kidney organoids as a platform to investigate the cellular susceptibility, disease mechanisms, and treatment strategies for SARS-CoV-2 infection in hyperglycaemic condition.
More information about Núria Montserrat’s research here
This seminar will be held using the GoToMeeting Platform

PhD Thesis Defence: Núria Blanco-Cabra
2021-04-16 10:00 - 12:00
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 Discussion Sessions: Teodora Andrian and Xavier Arqué
2021-04-30 10:00 - 12:00
Correlating super-resolution microscopy and transmission electron microscopy for nanoparticle characterisation
Teodora Andrian, Nanoscopy for nanomedicine group
The functionalization of nanoparticles with surface functional moieties is a key strategy to achieve bioactivity and cell targeting in nanomedicine. The interplay between size and ligand number and distribution is crucial for the formulation performance and needs to be properly characterized to understand nanoparticle structure-activity relations. However, the particle-to-particle heterogeneity poses a serious challenge due to the lack of methods able to measure both size and ligand number and distribution at the same time and at the single particle level. Here we address this issue by introducing a correlative method combining super-resolution microscopy (SRM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging. Correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) techniques proved their potential in structural biology but to the best of our knowledge, they have not yet been explored for the structural characterization of nanoparticles. Here we apply our super-resCLEM method to characterize the relationship between size and ligand number, and ligand density in PLGA-PEG nanoparticles at the single particle and single-molecule level. We highlight how heterogeneity found in nanoparticle size can impact ligand distribution, and we discuss the implications on formulation performance. We show how a significant part of the nanoparticle population goes completely undetected in the single-technique analysis, demonstrating that the characterization of nanomaterials using a multiparametric correlative method outplays the information obtained compared to a one-method-at-a-time approach. Using SRM alone, we demonstrated how PEG architecture can influence ligand conjugation efficiency and accessibility. The applicability of our method spans beyond PLGA-PEG nanoparticles and holds great promise for the multiparametric analysis of several other parameters and nanomaterials.
Unraveling the fundamental aspects of enzyme-powered micromotors
Xavier Arqué, Smart Nano-Bio-Devices group
Enzyme-coated micro- and nanomotors self-propel by the biocatalytic conversion of substrates into products and show great promise as actively navigating agents in the fields of biomedicine and environmental applications. However, many of the fundamental aspects underlying enzyme-powered self-propulsion have yet to be fully understood and are crucial for their optimal implementation. Under this framework, this research is focused on elucidating and studying the intrinsic (catalytic turnover or structural flexibility) and extrinsic (bulk and local ionic media) enzymatic properties that lead to an improved active motion powered by bio-catalysis. This is enabled by exploring novel types of both i) enzymes that can act as active motion engines and ii) platforms with appealing properties to be used as chassis of enzymatic micro- and nanomotors. Overall, this work contributes to a better understanding of the mechanism of motion of enzymatic active motion, expands the current library of enzymatic engines and chassis materials available, and provides new insights into the feasibility of implementation of enzyme-powered micro- and nanomotors.
The session will be held online using the GoToMeeting Platform

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.

Online IBEC Seminar: Mónica Marro
2021-05-14 10:00 - 12:00
A new molecular dimension: exploiting Raman spectroscopy in Biomedicine
Mónica Marro, ICFO, The Institute of Photonic Sciences

Raman spectroscopy is a promising optical technique that enables the investigation of the molecular content of biological samples in a rapid, non-invasive, label-free and multiplexed approach. In the biomedical field, it is of special interest because the device can be portable and cost-effective.
In this seminar, I will show my work exploiting Raman spectroscopy in a broad range of biomedical applications from the molecular, to cellular and tissue level. I will present how Raman spectroscopy can represent a step forward into different fields, namely: cancer diagnosis, patient stratification, and personalized medicine; neurodegeneration; and mechanobiology. I will show also optical developments that can improve Raman spectroscopy in the speed of image acquisition, like the Raman light sheet approach, or Surface Enhanced Raman spectroscopy.
Overall, I will show how Raman spectroscopy coupled with data science and developments in photonics and nano-engineering could revolutionize the biomedical field in the next years, providing new and other-wise inaccessible molecular information, and giving an unprecedented step towards a more rapid, accurate, personalized diagnosis and treatments.

Research4Talent 2021
2021-05-21 09:30 - 13:30
On Friday 21st May we’ll open our doors virtually to UNDERGRADUATE & MASTER’s students interested in a research career

The day is a chance for you to talk to our researchers and ask them questions about their day-to-day work in the lab, career paths, work-life balance, mobility etc, as well as a visit to our labs.
In 2020 IBEC signed more that 120 internship agreements for Undergraduate and Master Students with a wide range of national and international universities.
This year’s edition will be held virtually. If you are interested in IBEC’s seventh edition of reSEARCH4TALENT please stay connected, we will soon provide more info with the links to acces the event.
Visit the website here

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

M-CELS Workshop Barcelona Satellite
2021-06-04 14:30 - 18:00
EMBL and IBEC aim to contribute to the discussion on challenges and opportunities in the expanding field of Multi-cellular engineered living systems (M-CELS).
We have organized a satellite session to the M-CELS Workshop 2021 organized by the Center for Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems. The session aims also to be an appetizer to the 2nd EMBL-IBEC Winter Conference on Engineering Multicellular Systems to be held on 9-11th February 2022 in Barcelona.

Multi-cellular engineered living systems are purpose-driven living systems with multiple interacting living components. They are engineered for specific goals or functions but take emergence into account during the design process, allowing the final system to emerge through natural and non-natural biological processes. M-CELS research is intended to provide a fundamental engineering understanding that enables a quantitative approach bridging between single cells and organs or organisms. The field is still developing, so M-CELS as a field of research is still rapidly expanding
Registration here

Biennal Ciutat i Ciència
2021-06-08 08:00 - 2021-06-13 17:00
Durant els dies 8 i 13 de juny tindrà lloc la segona edició de la Biennal Ciutat-Ciència de Barcelona, i l’IBEC serà un dels centres que hi contribuirà, a través dels seus experts. A més a més, aquesta Biennal culmina amb la 14ª edició de la Festa de la Ciència, amb moltes propostes per viure la ciència en primera persona.

Des de l’IBEC, diversos experts participen en les activitats programades per enguany:

Samuel Sánchez, Professor de Recerca ICREA, i líder del grup “Smart Nano-bio-devices”, paraticipa a – “Pecha Kucha express: art, ciència, tecnologia”
Nuria Montserrat, participa amb una micro-xerrada sobre “Miniòrgans humans per entendre la covid-19”
L´Anke Kleff, Senior HR Development Officer a l´IBEC, participarà en una taula rodona sobre “Expandim l´influència de la dona a la ciència”, dins d’una nova Trobada de #100tífiques
