IBEC Seminar: Carlos Rodríguez Cabello
2019-10-01 10:00 - 11:00 (Europe/Madrid) | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Dynamic Systems Based on Elastin-Like Recombinamers
Carlos Rodríguez Cabello, Bioforge Lab, University of Valladolid CIBER-BBN
The use of recombinant technology in the production of macromolecule-based advanced biomaterials has caused a breakthrough increase in achievable degree of complexity and control on the molecular designs and compositions. Those recombinant macromolecules of polpeptide nature are called recombinamers. They are produced from a purely synthetic gene, in which the amino-acid sequence is not restricted to those found in naturally occurring proteins and it is dictated only by engineering design parameters. The high degree of complexity and control of the recombinamer compositions permit to reach unmatched levels of functionality in the materials produced by this way and on the systems based on them.
The development of functionality in such systems comes by to different ways. In one hand, these materials can display direct functionality. Such functionality is based on the presence in their composition of functional epitopes, typically inspired by functional epitopes found in natural proteins. The other source of functionality is the holistic functionality that emerges by the precise combination and interactions of direct functions in a precise and well designed macromolecular composition. This holistic function is particularly evident in system with a dynamic nature; systems that rearrange and respond to changes in their environment.
Examples of such dynamic systems will be presented. The examples will expand from complex 3D structures for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering that are able to incorporate a designed program of degradation and time evolution, to more fundamental matters such as the hierarchical spontaneous development of morphology and macroscopical shapes in natural and artificial systems.
Dr. Rodríguez-Cabello is a full professor at the Dept. of Condensed Matter Physics of the University of Valladolid (UVa) Spain. During his career he has been teaching courses related to physics of polymers and biomaterials science in both undergraduate and graduate levels. In 1997, he founded BIOFORGE in the UVa, which nowadays is an internationally recognized and word leading group in the field of recombinamers. His current research interests include the development of biofunctional, smart and customized protein polymers towards obtaining advanced biomedical devices.

PhD Thesis Defence: Jordi-Ysard Puigbó
2019-10-01 16:00 - 17:00
Learning mechanisms of uncertainty and neuromodulation
Jordi-Ysard Puigbó, Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS) group
Supervisors: Dr. Paul F.M.J Verschure (IBEC) and Dr. Miguel Ángel González Ballester
Committee: President: Dr. Gustavo Deco (UPF) Secretary: Dr. Andrea Soltoggio (Loughborough Univ.) Member: Dr. Yves Boubenec (ENS)

PhD Thesis Defence: Carlos Pérez González
2019-10-04 00:00 - 14:00 | Hospital Clínic, Sala 7, Barcelona
Active forces driving spreading and retraction of living tissues
Carlos Pérez González, Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group

Development, regeneration and cancer involve drastic transitions in tissue morphology. In analogy with the behaviour of inert fluids, some of these transitions have been interpreted as wetting transitions. The validity and scope of this analogy are unclear, however, because the active cellular forces that drive tissue wetting have been neither measured nor theoretically accounted for. In this thesis, we show that the transition between two-dimensional epithelial monolayers and three-dimensional spheroidal aggregates can be understood as an active wetting transition whose physics differs fundamentally from that of passive wetting phenomena. By combining an active polar fluid model with measurements of physical forces as a function of tissue size, contractility, cell–cell and cell–substrate adhesion, and substrate stiffness, we show that the wetting transition results from the competition between traction forces and contractile intercellular stresses. This competition defines a new intrinsic length scale that gives rise to a critical size for the wetting transition in tissues, a striking feature that has no counterpart in classical wetting. Finally, we show that active shape fluctuations are dynamically amplified during tissue dewetting. Overall, we conclude that tissue spreading constitutes a prominent example of active wetting—a novel physical scenario that may explain morphological transitions during tissue morphogenesis and tumour progression.

IBEC Seminar: Martijn Gloerich
2019-10-04 10:00 - 11:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Mechanical control of cell division
Martijn Gloerich, UMC Utrecth, Center for Molecular Medicine, Molecular Cancer Research
During development and adult tissue homeostasis, cellular behavior is controlled by signals that cells receive from their local environment. This is not limited to biochemical signals, as cell behavior can be instructed by mechanical forces exerted by neighbouring cells and the surrounding tissue. Cells sense this mechanical information through numerous molecules, including cell adhesion receptors, which translate mechanical cues into an appropriate cellular response. I will discuss our recent findings on force transduction through the cell-cell adhesion protein E-cadherin, and its central role in the mechanical control of cell division to regulate epithelial integrity and architecture.
Martijn Gloerich is Assistant Professor at the department of Molecular Cancer Research at the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. Martijn obtained his PhD cum laude in 2011 from Utrecht University for his work on the regulation of small GTPases. Following his PhD, he received fellowships from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and Dutch Cancer Foundation (KWF) to perform postdoctoral research in the lab of James Nelson at Stanford University. Here, he gained experience with numerous microfabrication and bio-engineering techniques to study how communication between cells regulates cell behavior. In 2016 Martijn returned to the Netherlands to start his own research group at the University Medical Center Utrecht. His group uses an interdisciplinary approach to understand how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces to control tissue development and homeostasis, and how its disruption contributes to tumor progression.

PhD Thesis Defence: Ignasi Jorba Masdéu
2019-10-07 00:00 - 13:00
Multiscale nonlinear mechanics of soft biological tissues
Ignasi Jorba Masdéu, Cellular and Respiratory Biomechanics group

PhD Thesis Defence: Ignasi Jorba Masdéu
2019-10-07 00:00 - 13:00 | Aula 11, Facultat Medicina UB (Campus Clínic), Barcelona, Spain

IBEC PhD Discussions Complementary Skills Session: Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Publishing
2019-10-25 10:00 - 12:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Publishing
Clàudia Aunós – MDPI
During this Open Access week, we will take the opportunity to talk and discuss about what Open Access means, what it really implies and its actual advantages. We will dig deeply into the initiatives and updates of Plan S, its principles, the actual situation, the criteria such as journals and platforms need to meet to be compliant with Plan S and a short implementation guidance of the actual routes. We will also make a few recommendations to researches and Universities or research institutions that are walking through the future of scholarly publishing. Finally, we will finish the discussion by talking about MDPI, a publishing organization pioneer in scholarly open access publishing, and its multiple services. We welcome everybody to join us and discuss with us all the questions and doubts you might have.

Festa de la Ciència 2019
2019-10-26 11:00 - 2019-10-27 18:00 | Moll de la Fusta
L’IBEC participa a la 13a Festa de la Ciència

Durant tot un cap de setmana, el 26 i 27 d’octubre, el Moll de la Fusta acull la tretzena edició de la Festa de la Ciència. A través de gairebé 200 activitats distribuïdes en 26 espais, les i els protagonistes de la recerca que es realitza a Barcelona i la seva àrea d’influència comparteixen el seu coneixement i expliquen les seves troballes de viva veu a persones de qualsevol edat.
Activitats:
Revolució tecnològica
Rehabilitació del cervell després d’una lesió cerebral
Dissabte 26: 11 h Durada de cada passi: 60 min

Robots biomimètics per entendre la nostra conducta
Dissabte 26: 12.15 h Durada de cada passi: 60 min

L’ABC de la ciència
Entra en un laboratori de bioenginyeria
Diumenge 27: 12.10, 12.50 i 13.30 h
Durada de cada passi: 35 min

Round Table - 3D Printing in healthcare
2019-10-31 11:00 - 13:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
On Thrusday 31st we will have the opportunity to learn from the Prof. Axel Guenther (University of Toronto) and from Dr. Tamer Mohamed (Aspect Biosystems Ltd.), the latest results obtained in 3D Printing applied to healthcare overseas and how they envision the future of this technology. Opportunities and limitations in the academia and in the industry.
Dr. Tamer Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer – Aspect Biosystems Ltd.
Tamer Mohamed, CEO, Sam Wadsworth, CSO and Elli Käpylä, Aspect’s Manager of Academic Alliances and Business Development Manager for Europe, she is biomedical engineer and expert scientist in materials and 3D printing and tissue models at Aspect Biosystems. Aspect Biosystems is a privately held biotechnology company operating at the leading edge of 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering. Their company is built on over 10 years of research and development and formed through a collaboration between world-class research groups in Engineering and Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Their proprietary Lab-on- a-Printer™ platform technology is enabling advances in understanding fundamental biology, disease research, development of novel therapeutics, and regenerative medicine. They are focused on strategically partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic researchers, to create physiologically and commercially relevant tissues. These tissues are used to advance and accelerate drug discovery and development and enable the creation of cutting-edge tissue therapies of the future.

Prof. Axel Goünter, Professor at Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – University of Toronto
Dr. Guenther is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, with cross-appointment at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He obtained his doctoral degree from ETH Zurich and conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received the ETH medal (2002), the Ontario Early Researcher Award (2009), the I.W. Smith Award of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers (2010) and the Innovator of the Year Award of the University of Toronto (2013). He co-invented several bioprinting technologies, was previously the Scientific Director of the Centre for Microfluidic Systems in Chemistry and Biology (2008-2018), and the Wallace G. Chalmers Chair of Engineering Design (2012-18). He currently Co-Leads the Canadian Center for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies (CRAFT), a collaborative research center between the National Research Council of Canada and the University of Toronto that focuses on device innovation related to the areas of bioprinting, in-vitro diagnostics and organ-on-chip engineering.

Round Table: 3D Printing in healthcare
2019-10-31 11:00 - 13:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
On Thursday 31st we will have the opportunity to learn from the Prof. Axel Guenther (University of Toronto) and from Dr. Tamer Mohamed (Aspect Biosystems Ltd.), the latest results obtained in 3D Printing applied to healthcare overseas and how they envision the future of this technology. Opportunities and limitations in the academia and in the industry.
Dr. Tamer Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer – Aspect Biosystems Ltd.
Tamer Mohamed, CEO, Sam Wadsworth, CSO and Elli Käpylä, Aspect’s Manager of Academic Alliances and Business Development Manager for Europe, she is biomedical engineer and expert scientist in materials and 3D printing and tissue models at Aspect Biosystems. Aspect Biosystems is a privately held biotechnology company operating at the leading edge of 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering. Their company is built on over 10 years of research and development and formed through a collaboration between world-class research groups in Engineering and Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Their proprietary Lab-on- a-Printer™ platform technology is enabling advances in understanding fundamental biology, disease research, development of novel therapeutics, and regenerative medicine. They are focused on strategically partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic researchers, to create physiologically and commercially relevant tissues. These tissues are used to advance and accelerate drug discovery and development and enable the creation of cutting-edge tissue therapies of the future.

Prof. Axel Goünter, Professor at Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – University of Toronto
Dr. Guenther is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, with cross-appointment at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He obtained his doctoral degree from ETH Zurich and conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received the ETH medal (2002), the Ontario Early Researcher Award (2009), the I.W. Smith Award of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers (2010) and the Innovator of the Year Award of the University of Toronto (2013). He co-invented several bioprinting technologies, was previously the Scientific Director of the Centre for Microfluidic Systems in Chemistry and Biology (2008-2018), and the Wallace G. Chalmers Chair of Engineering Design (2012-18). He currently Co-Leads the Canadian Center for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies (CRAFT), a collaborative research center between the National Research Council of Canada and the University of Toronto that focuses on device innovation related to the areas of bioprinting, in-vitro diagnostics and organ-on-chip engineering.
