Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

From the Science of Memory to the Future of Neuroengineering
2017-09-04 17:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Madrid) | Palau Macaya, Passeig de Sant Joan, 108, 08037 Barcelona
From the Science of Memory to the Future of Neuroengineering
with
Nobel Laureate Edvard Moser, Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience
Paul F.M.J. Verschure, ICREA, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)
IBEC’s research experts in different technologies – nanotechnology, biotechnology, cell engineering, information technology and cognitive science – have been working hard for a decade to generate new knowledge and solutions for health, with three major pillars of application in mind: Bioengineering for Future Medicine, Bioengineering for Regenerative Therapies and Bioengineering for Active Ageing. The latter is where IBEC’s advances in minimally invasive sensors, signal treatment, data analysis or robotics are helping develop technologies to cope with the challenges of an ageing population.
To strengthen IBEC’s Bioengineering for Active Ageing programme, and in particular its neuroengineering area, the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) gained a world-renowned neuroscientist and psychologist with the recruitment in July 2017 of ICREA professor and ERC grantee Paul Verschure and his Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems group (SPECS).
To celebrate and introduce this new research group, IBEC is looking forward to welcoming Nobel Laureate Edvard Moser, Founding Director of Trondheim’s Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Centre for Neural Computation, to Barcelona in September.
At a special event held at Palau Macaya and supported by Obra Social “La Caixa”, which actively collaborates with IBEC in its Active Ageing programme, Prof. Moser will talk about his pioneering work into the basic neural computations that underlie cognition and behavior – research that has completely overturned prior conventional thinking in the field. In 2014 he and May-Britt Moser won, together with John O’Keefe, the Nobel Prize in Physiology for their discovery of ‘grid cells’ in the medial entorhinal cortex, a little-understood region next to the hippocampus. These place-modulated neurons are what the brain uses to calculate the position of the organism in its spatial environment, as their firing fields define a triangular array across the entire environment that provides the brain with an internal coordination system – not unlike GPS – that is essential for navigation.
This findings may have enourmous implications in brain disorders that affect episodic memory, including dementia and disease, as they pave the way to a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying spatial memory, which has been shown to deteriorate in mouse models of Alzheimer’s.
In addition to Prof. Moser’s talk, Prof. Verschure will give an overview of how his SPECS group will fit into the research strategy of IBEC. The arrival of SPECS at the institute represents a boost to the neuroengineering research being carried out at the institute and its Bioengineering for Active Ageing programme, and represents a solid drive towards making life science quantitative on any scale by taking full advantage of the unprecedented power of the convergence between nano, bio and ICT (information and communications technology).
Like IBEC, SPECS includes physicists, psychologists, biologists, engineers and computer scientists, and will contribute greatly to IBEC’s clinical translation efforts with its strong collaborations with hospitals on rehabilitation and recovery after stroke, epilepsy and other brain diseases. In addition, it will further strengthen the insitute’s bioinformatics and neuroinformatics capabilities.

IBEC Seminar: Ronen Zaidel-Bar
2017-07-25 10:00 - 11:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Regulation of actomyosin contractility in C. elegans
Ronen Zaidel-Bar, Mechanobiology Institute Singapore and Tel-Aviv University Medical School
The actomyosin cortex is responsible for cell shape and for dynamic processes such as cell polarization and cytokinesis. We are studying the regulation of cortical contractility in the C. elegans zygote, using genetic loss of function and live-imaging. In my talk, I will discuss recent findings regarding two proteins: the actin cross-linking protein plastin (PLST-1) and the transmembrane receptor E-cadherin (HMR-1). Consistent with previous in-vitro reconstitution studies, we show that an optimal level of cross-linking by plastin is required for the generation of coordinated long-range contractions in the cortex; without the connectivity afforded by plastin, zygote polarization and cytokinesis are severely perturbed. E-cadherin is well known for its role as a cell-cell adhesion receptor.
Surprisingly, we discovered a role for non-junctional E-cadherin clusters in regulating cortical contractility. E-cadherin clusters inhibit RhoA and non-muscle myosin II activity at the cortex and form a physical barrier that slows actin flows. In the absence of non-junctional E-cadherin cytokinesis proceeds faster, but the cortex is also at a risk of detaching from the plasma membrane. Thus, our studies in the C. elegans zygote are shedding light on structural and regulatory mechanisms underlying cortex function.

IBEC PhD Defence: Marta Pozuelo
2017-07-18 11:00 - 13:00 | Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, Barcelona, 08028
“Bioengineering single-protein wires”
Marta Pozuelo, Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches Group
Marta will be defending her PhD thesis on Tuesday 18th July at 11:00 in the sala de graus Eduard Fontserè, Facultad de Física (UB).
Everybody is welcome to attend.
—
If you’re an IBEC PhD student and would like to advertise your PhD defence on the IBEC calendar, please contact vleigh@ibecbarcelona.eu

IBEC PhD Defence: Marta Pozuelo
2017-07-18 11:00 - 13:00 | Sala de Graus Eduard Fontseré, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, Barcelona, 08028
“Bioengineering single-protein wires”
Marta Pozuelo, Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches Group
Maria will be defending her PhD thesis on Tuesday 18th July at 11:00 in the sala de graus Eduard Fontserè, Facultad de Física (UB).
Everybody is welcome to attend.
—
If you’re an IBEC PhD student and would like to advertise your PhD defence on the IBEC calendar, please contact vleigh@ibecbarcelona.eu

IBEC Seminar: Maria Vinaixa
2017-07-14 10:00 - 11:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Mass spectrometry and metabolomics data analysis for synthetic biology
Maria Vinaixa, Synthetic Biology for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology
Synthetic biology builds upon the creation of new biologically inspired standardized parts that can be put together using design or simulations tools to build circuits that will create de-novo biological functions or modify existing ones. Using synthetic biology, microbial cell factories can be engineered to provide new sustainable bio-routes for the production of fuels, biopharmaceuticals, fragrances, and food flavors among others. In this regard, the SYNBIOCHEM Centre (www.synbiochem.co.uk) has set-up an automated Design/Build/Test/Learn pipeline designed to provide access to target fine chemicals through iterative, rapid and predictable engineering of production pathways and microbial strains. This pipeline moves from Design of new parts (e.g. enzymes, regulatory circuits, metabolic pathways), through to combinatorial high-throughput Build approaches (directed evolution, components, pathways and strain assembly) and high-throughput analytics in Test (product extraction, instrumental analysis, data analysis and sharing) feeding back to improved designs via an active Learning stage at each cycle iteration. This pipeline allows unprecedented possibilities for retro biosynthesis of non-natural products and for the expansion of natural products chemical diversity. Screening for the small-molecule structure diversity emanating from such pipeline is an analytically daunting challenge. In this regard, mass spectrometry (MS) is a key analytical technology offering the high throughput screening capabilities as well as the versatility needed to cope with such chemical diversity. However, curating MS data and merging it with all other types of data generated through iterative D/B/T/L cycle so that it can be used to learn and redesign remains a challenge. Despite Metabolomics has powered computational solutions for MS data analysis; such solutions do only partially cover the needs within a synthetic biology context. Thus, we are building the next generation computational toolbox for MS data analysis and storage so it can be harvested across the entire pipeline. In this seminar, main capabilities and functionalities on such toolbox are going to be discussed.

Science Communication to a non-scientific audience
2017-07-13
Training activity in Transferable skills.
The aim of the course is to prepare participants to communicate their research better to a non- scientific audience, be it online or offline.
Dates:
13th July 2017 from 9 to 6pm.
In person class sessions = 8 hours. One whole day.
Target group:
All IBEC members. Preference will be given to PhDs and postdocs.
Provider: Tobias Maier.

Career Development for Scientists
2017-07-11 10:00 - 18:00
Training activity in Leadership&management skills.
The goal of this workshop on career development for scientists is to give participants a competitive edge on the job market by developing both the intellectual framework to make informed career choices as well as by providing practical help for the actual application and selection process, be it within or outside the academic environment.
Dates:
11th and 12th July 2017
In person class sessions: 14 hours, from 10:00 to 18:00
Target Group:
PhDs and Postdoctoral researchers.
Provider: Tobias Maier.

IBEC PhD Defence: Maria Valls
2017-07-07 11:00 - 13:00 | Aula Magna, Facultad de Biología, UB
“Development of an advanced 3D culture system for human cardiac tissue engineering”
Maria Valls, Biomimetic systems for cell engineering group
Maria will be defending her PhD thesis on Friday 7th June at 11:00 in the Aula Magna of the UB’s Faculty of Biology.
Everybody is welcome to attend.
—
If you’re an IBEC PhD student and would like to advertise your PhD defence on the IBEC calendar, please contact vleigh@ibecbarcelona.eu

PhD Discussions Session: Javier Burgués and Jemish Parmar
2017-06-30 10:00 - 11:00
Metal Oxide Gas Sensors for mHealth Applications
Javier Burgués, Signal and information processing for sensing systems group
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath carry valuable information for the diagnosis of various diseases related to respiratory and gastrointestinal dysfunction, including cancer. There is an urgent need of portable breath VOCs detection devices that provide immediate point-of-care diagnoses of the patient health status that can support important medical decisions. As the market of medical health practice supported by mobile devices (mHealth) grows, smartphones or wearables equipped with miniaturized chemical sensors would provide the ideal platform to provide real-time healthcare data to the clinic at a very low cost.
The evolution of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have resulted in miniaturized metal oxide semiconductor (MOX) gas sensors which are promising for smartphone integration. A potential limitation of MEMS MOX sensing mechanisms may be the ability to accurately report the presence of a compound if the concentration in the sample is lower than the detection limit of the device or if chemical interferences are present in the sample. Current developments in micro-structured hot plates have reduced the power consumption of MOX sensors to the mW range per sensor but still further reductions might be necessary to meet the requirements of mobile manufacturers.
In this work, we compare conventional univariate and multivariate models in their ability to analyze complex data sets from MOX sensors and provide low detection limits in a scenario of carbon monoxide detection under chemical interferences. Elevated levels of exhaled carbon monoxide can be associated to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma or smoking habits. We will also propose a low power mode which can reduce the power consumption of the device by one order of magnitude without compromising the stability of the sensor.

Micromotors for environmental applications
Jemish Parmar, Smart nano-bio-devices group
Water contamination is one of the most persistent problems in public health. Recently, researchers have reported that micromotors can act as an efficient tool for water remediation because of the enhanced mass transfer by active motion. We developed different types of micromotors for water cleaning applications such organics degradation, heavy metal removal and bactericidal activity.
Among the myriad of existing motors, bubble propelled micromotors, that move due to the movement and release of gas bubbles, provide a promising platform for water remediation applications because of the added micro-mixing capability. The surface of the bubble propelled micromotors can be modified to target a wide variety of pollutants. For instance, rolled-up micromotors (Fe/Pt) with iron as the outer surface can degrade organic pollutants via Fenton-like reaction and the inner platinum layer can act as the engine, decomposing hydrogen peroxide to oxygen for bubble propulsion. These micromotors are capable of swimming continuously for hours for long term cleaning applications, are stable for weeks and can be reused in multiple cycles with low sacrifice of their activity. To overcome the higher fabrication cost and mass synthesis issue associated with Fe/Pt micromotors, we also developed inexpensive cobalt iron oxide based micromotors aiming at removal of pharmaceutical waste.
Furthermore, upon surface modification with Graphene oxide and with inner layers of nickel and platinum, magnetically guided micromotors can capture, transfer, and remove heavy metals from water. Mobile GOx-micromotors remove lead 10 times more efficiently than non-motile GOx-micromotors, cleaning water to below 50 ppb in less than one hour. These micromotors can be also recycled and reused after the recovery of the heavy metal from their surface.
Regarding bactericidal applications, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) decorated Janus micromotors can efficiently disinfect and remove Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria from contaminated water, taking advantage of the bubble propulsion by oxidation of magnesium by water and AgNP’s bactericidal properties.
Our results show the multifunctionality of self-propelled micromotors, demonstrating their potential as efficient tools for water remediation.

Image J and video Processing
2017-06-27 10:00 - 13:00
Training activity in Scientific tools & techniques.
The aim of the workshop is to achieve basic skills in the analysis and quantification of microscopy images using ImageJ and Video Processing. The course is interactive and participants will have opportunities to carry out practical exercises.
Dates:
27th June, from 10 to 1 pm. In person class session: 3 Hours
Target group:
PhD students, Master students and post-docs.
Provider: Dr. Pere Roca-Cusachs, Group Leader at IBEC

Kids' Day 2017
2017-06-23 10:00 - 17:00 | IBEC, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, Barcelona, 08028, Spain
On Friday, 23rd June IBEC, in collaboration with IRB, will celebrate another edition of Kids’ Day, when staff and researchers from the two institutes are invited to bring their children for a morning of science activities.
Kids’ Day is an opportunity for IBEC members to show their children their workplace, and gives them the chance to be a ‘little scientist’ for a day.
Who can participate?
To make sure that we have a manageable and safe number of kids in the lab, we have limited the number of participants to 60. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis and priority will be given to the children of IBEC scientists and staff, and then extended to nieces and nephews until all spaces are filled.
The activities will be targeted to children between 3 and 12 years old, with the kids sorted into activity groups based on their ages. It’s recommended that kids be at least in P3 to assure that they will enjoy the whole event.
All 3-year-old kids need to be accompanied by a parent or a guardian. The other small children (4-5 years) can be accompanied by a parent only if they consider it necessary. Due to space restrictions, parents of older children do not need to be present during the activities. Volunteers will look after the kids at all times. (If you are interested in volunteering for this, please let us know at ibecevents@ibecbarcelona.eu)
More details soon.
