Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

IBEC Seminar: Núria Montserrat
2015-04-10 10:00 - 11:00 (Europe/Madrid)
Dreaming of organ regeneration: new hopes for regenerative medicine

Núria Montserrat, Pluripotent stem cells and activation of endogenous tissue programs for organ regeneration group, IBEC
Dr. Montserrat became interested in organ regeneration and stem cells during her master in biological research and PhD training. She completed her PhD with Dr. Joaquim Gutiérrez and Isabel Navarro at the Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona in 2006. During her master and PhD studies, she set-up in vitro platforms for the study of skeletal muscle stem cells during homeostasis and under different metabolic conditions. During her PhD studies she did several stages at other European laboratories: Manfred Reinecke’s laboratory at the University of Zurich and at Jean-Charles Gabillard’s laboratory in INRA SCRIBE, France. In 2006,Dr. Montserrat got her European PhD degree at the University of Barcelona.
In 2006 she got a Postdoctoral fellowship from the Fundaçao para a Ciência e Tecnología (Portugal) and in 2007 she was hired as a post-doctoral researcher at at the Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona. Early in 2008 she joined the Center of Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB) with the objective to study the molecular mechanisms driving tissue regeneration, somatic reprogramming and disease modeling.
The research line of Dr.Montserrat has been awarded with an ERC Starting Grant within the call of 2014. Recently, Dr. Montserrat has joined IBEC as Junior Group leader. Her aim is to develop strategies for tissue and organ engineering making use of pluripotent stem cells from patients and the reactivation of tissue endogenous programs.

Fira Recerca en Directe 2015
2015-04-08 10:00 - 2015-04-11 17:00 | CosmoCaixa Barcelona, Carrer d'Isaac Newton, 08022 Barcelona, Spain
Els propers dies 8, 9,10 i 11 d’abril, en el marc de la 13a edició de la Fira «Recerca en directe», investigadors de diversos centres de recerca de Catalunya traslladaran part del seu laboratori a CosmoCaixa Barcelona per convidar als ciutadans a participar als seus projectes i resoldre enigmes tot seguint la metodologia científica.
L’exposició –organitzada pel Parc Científic de Barcelona en el marc del programa «Recerca en societat» i, enguany, amb l’impuls de l’Obra Social ”la Caixa” i l’Ajuntament de Barcelona– té com a objectiu apropar la ciència a la ciutadania, afavorir el diàleg entre el públic i els investigadors, i fomentar vocacions científiques entre els joves.
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PhD Discussion Sessions: Claudia di Guglielmo and Oiane Urra
2015-03-27 10:00 - 11:00
Biotechnological approaches to cardiac differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells
Claudia di Guglielmo, Control of stem cell potency group
Heart diseases are a major cause of death and disability in developed countries. Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into cardiomyocytes, representing a valid tool to be used as a platform for research and clinical applications in regenerative medicine. However, current differentiation protocols have disadvantages related to insufficient purity and lack of scalability. We applied biotechnological strategies such as the use of transgenic cell lines and tissue engineering devices to overcome those drawbacks. This approach offers the possibility to dissect the mechanisms underlying cardiac differentiation, as well as providing valuable in vitro systems for drug screening of patient-specific heart muscle cells.

Muscle Synergy analysis as a tool to improve stroke rehabilitation
Oiane Urra, Biomedical signal processing and interpretation group
Stroke is the first cause of adult disability with upper-limb hemiparesis being the most frequent dysfunction. After rehabilitation, one third of the patients result permanently disabled. Consequently, intensive research aiming to develop novel therapies promoting neuroplasticity are being carried out to allow rehabilitation of these patients. In this thesis, we propose to combine novel neurorehabilitation and biofeedback strategies and to evaluate its therapeutic effect from a physiological (changes at muscular and neuroplastic level), kinematic and functional perspective with the objective of guiding the design of more successful and cost-effective therapies.

IBEC Seminar: Romain Quidant
2015-03-20 10:00 - 11:00
Biomedical applications of nanoplasmonics

Romain Quidant, ICREA professor at Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)
Gold nanostructures, supporting localized surface plasmon resonances, can be designed to act upon illumination as efficient point-like sources of either light or heat, opening plenty of new science and applications in biology and medicine. In this talk we discuss how both their optical and photothermal properties can be exploited to develop alternative, minimally invasive strategies for the detection and therapy of cancer.
The first part of this presentation focuses on the use of the intense and confined optical fields bound to gold nanostructures for biosensing and optical trapping. In the frame of sensing, we show that gold nanostructures lithographically prepared on glass can be engineered as compact and highly sensitive sensors to detect low concentrations of cancer markers in serum. As for optical trapping, we demonstrate that plasmonic fields enable creating on-a-chip nano-optical tweezers able to trap a large number of micro- and nano- specimens with a single laser beam of low laser intensity.
In the second part we talk about the use of gold nanoparticles as remotely controlled point-like sources of heat for photothermal cancer therapy. We first discuss, both theoretically and experimentally, the physics of heat generation at the nanoscale along with the effect of the particle shape and the illumination. We then present the use of conjugated gold nanoparticles for specific cancer cell hyperthermia.

IBEC Seminar: Gilles Subra
2015-02-27 12:00 - 13:00
Hybrid inorganic–biorganic peptide materials and polymers: a bottom-up approach

Gilles Subra, Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBBMM), Montpellier
The preparation of hybrid materials containing peptides relies most of the time on physical entrapment of the bioorganic moiety or on a ‘post-grafting’ procedure. In the later case, introduction of the peptide requires surface modification and ligation chemistry performed after the synthesis of the material. In contrast, we designed a new family of bioorganic-inorganic hybrid materials relying on the synthesis of hybrid peptide-trialkoxsilyl building blocks that can be engaged directly in a sol gel process requiring no extra reagents.
This bottom-up approach permits the introduction of any type of peptide in the material, providing different functionalities, structural features, biological and physicochemical properties. The hybrid peptide block can be either grafted or introduced by direct synthesis. Several applications will be presented including the synthesis of silica multifunctional nanoparticles for imaging, peptide-catalytic mesopous materials, anti fouling glass surfaces and hydrogels. At last, the self-assembling properties of the peptide unit can be exploited to yield a range of bio-inspired nanostructured materials.
In an effort to develop polymerization systems suitable for peptide sequences, we also describe a new class of silicone-peptides biopolymers. We used well defined chlorosilyl hybrid peptides as mononeric units, synthesized in solution or on dedicated solid support to yield linear or comb-like peptide polymers.

PhD Discussion Sessions: Silvia Pittolo and Noelia Campillo
2015-02-27 10:00 - 11:00
Alloswitch: an allosteric modulator for the control of a G protein-coupled receptor with light
Silvia Pittolo, Nanoprobes and nanoswitches group
Controlling drug activity with light offers the possibility of enhancing pharmacological selectivity with spatial and temporal regulation, thus enabling highly localized therapeutic effects and precise dosing patterns. We have developed and characterized what is to our knowledge the first photoswitchable allosteric modulator of a G protein–coupled receptor. Alloswitch-1 is selective for the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGlu5 and enables the optical control of endogenous mGlu5 receptors.

Effect of cyclic hypoxia mimicking obstructive sleep apnea on the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor
Noelia Campillo, Cellular and respiratory biomechanics group
Intermittent hypoxia (IH), the process whereby tissues are recurrently subjected to episodes of low oxygen tension, is commonly associated with several pathological conditions, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that the cyclic frequency of IH is directly related to the emergence of OSA-associated morbidities. Although HIF-1 has been identified as the critical factor regulating cell responses to hypoxia, the molecular mechanisms supporting the pathological effects of IH remain poorly understood. This is partly due to the lack of experimental systems to study the in vitro consequences of IH patterns realistically mimicking OSA. Here we present a simple polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip aimed to apply high-frequency IH patterns and cyclic stretch simulating OSA at the cell level. The device was used to study the effect of different IH frequencies on HIF-1 expression.

IBEC Seminar: Pia Cosma
2015-02-13 10:00 - 11:00
Studying Wnt signaling activity in cell reprogramming and tissue regeneration

Pia Cosma, Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) / ICREA
In our group, we are investigating the mechanisms controlling the reprogramming of somatic cells, and our final goal is to determine if this reprogramming contributes to tissue regeneration in higher vertebrates.
Differentiation from zygotes has been considered as a unidirectional route in all cells of the body. Recently, however, it has become clear that the reverse path is also possible: the reprogramming of somatic nuclei, i.e. the de-differentiation of somatic cells into pluripotent stem-like cells. To date, reprogramming has been induced in vitro by transferring somatic nuclei into enucleated oocytes, by fusing embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with somatic cells, and by transferring specific factors into different types of somatic cell.
Whether reprogramming can occur in vivo in higher vertebrates and what the molecular mechanisms and genes driving reprogramming are remain to be defined. We have recently shown that activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway enhances reprogramming of somatic cells after their fusion with ESCs. Remarkably, the activation of this signalling pathway also controls regeneration in response to damage in lower and higher vertebrates; furthermore, cell fusion is one possible mechanism of regeneration in vertebrates. Our main goal is to determine whether in mice activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling controls tissue regeneration by enhancing cell-fusion-mediated reprogramming.

IBEC Seminar: Daniel Oliver
2015-02-12 00:00 - 13:00
Crowdfunding for scientific and health projects

Daniel Oliver, Asociación Española de Crowdfunding
Mr. Oliver, president of Spain CrowdFund, will share his expertise fundraising for spinoff biotech companies. He will unveil the tricks that lead Iproteos to its success financing more than 100k€ through crowdfunding. Finally, he will present Capital Cell as the first co-investment platform specialized in scientific and health projects.

IBEC Seminar: Ralph G. Andrzejak
2015-02-03 10:00 - 11:00
Application of nonlinear signal analysis to electroencephalographic recordings from epilepsy patients

Tenure Associate Professor · Department of Information and Communication Technologies · Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Nonlinear time series analysis allows characterizing dynamical systems in which nonlinearity gives rise to a complex, seemingly irregular temporal evolution. Importantly, these nonlinear techniques can extract information from real-world experimental signals that cannot be resolved by classical linear techniques, such as spectral analysis. Nonlinear time series analysis can, for example, help to discriminate nonlinear deterministic and linear stochastic dynamics or to characterize directional interactions between dynamics. In application to signals measured from the brain, this analysis can contribute to the understanding of brain functions and dysfunctions. It can thereby advance cognitive neuroscience and neurology.
In this seminar, I will at first illustrate some fundamental concepts of nonlinear time series analysis. Subsequently, we will review some basic facts about the disease epilepsy, epilepsy surgery and intracranial electroencephalographic recordings (EEG) from epilepsy patients. I will then show an application of nonlinear time series analysis to EEG recordings from the seizure-free interval of epilepsy patients undergoing pre-surgical diagnostics. Results of this application allowed us to localize the seizure generating brain area without the necessity of observing actual seizure activity – a finding of clear clinical relevance.

PhD Discussions Complementary Skills Session: Intellectual and industrial property
2015-01-30 10:00 - 11:00
“Turning science into business”

Ernest Mendoza, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya / Goldemar Solutions

(with an introduction by Dr. Arantxa Sanz, IBEC)
Dr Ernest Mendoza, leader of the Applied Nanomaterials research group at the Universitat Politècnica of Catalunya and General Manager and Founder of Goldemar Solution, a spin-off of the same university, will talk about his experience as an entrepreneur and how he succeeded in setting up a new company based on the results of his research.
The session will be introduced by Arantxa Sanz, Head of the Knowledge Exchange Unit at IBEC, who will give a short review of Intellectual Property and Tech Transfer issues at the institute.

IBEC Seminar: David Caballero
2015-01-16 10:00 - 11:00
The cell ratchet: interplay between protrusion activity and adhesion determines cell motion

David Caballero, Nanobioengineering group, IBEC
Many physiological and pathological processes involve directed cell motion, either collective or as single cells. Typically, migrating cells are characterized by a polarized morphology with extending and retracting protrusions at the leading edge. However, cell motion is a much more complex phenomenon. Cells show heterogeneous morphologies and high protrusive dynamics. This prevents the quantitative prediction of cell motion and the identification of the cellular mechanism responsible of directionality. In this seminar, I discuss about the importance of protrusion fluctuations in the physicochemical mechanism of directed cell motion. I show how their spatiotemporal distribution and dynamics determines univocally the direction of cell motion on NIH3T3 fibroblasts deposited on micropatterned adhesive ratchets. Novel physical concepts describing short-term cell motility are introduced which allows the prediction of parameters characteristic of long-term motion of cells. The obtained results may have important implications for the study of biological phenomena where directed cell migration is involved, such as morphogenesis or cancer.

PhD Thesis defence: Marta Sanmartí
2015-01-15 11:00 - 13:00 | Aula Magna Enric Casassas, Facultat de Química, UB, Carrer Martí i Franquès, 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
“Study of natural nanovesicles carrying olfactory receptors for the development of biosensing platforms”

Marta Sanmartí-Espinal, Nanobioengineering group, IBEC
Marta will be defending her PhD thesis on Thursday 15th January at 11:00 in the Aula Magna Enric Casassas, Facultat de Química, UB.
Everybody is welcome to attend.
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If you’re an IBEC PhD student and would like to advertise your PhD defense on the IBEC calendar, please contact vleigh@ibecbarcelona.eu

PhD Thesis defence: Riccardo Levato
2015-01-09 11:00 - 13:00 | Sala d’Actes de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Estadística, c. Pau Gargallo 5, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
“Injectable biodegradable carriers for the delivery of therapeutic agents and tissue engineering”

Riccardo Levato, Biomaterials for regenerative therapies group, IBEC
Riccardo will be defending his PhD thesis on Friday 9th January at 11:00 in the Sala d’Actes de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Estadística, c. Pau Gargallo 5, 08028 Barcelona.
Everybody is welcome to attend.
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If you’re an IBEC PhD student and would like to advertise your PhD defense on the IBEC calendar, please contact vleigh@ibecbarcelona.eu
