Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

IBEC Seminar: Rubén Moreno-Bote
2018-11-23 10:00 - 11:00 (Europe/Madrid) | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Aligned neuronal encoding of sensory information, biases and choices in perceptual decision making
Rubén Moreno-Bote, Serra Hunter Associate Professor, UPF
Identifying what aspects of neuronal population activity are relevant for the encoding of information and choices is a crucial step toward understanding the neural code. Several statistical features of the neuronal population responses, such as tuning, synchronization and global activity could affect the amount of information encoded and modulate behavioral performance. Here we show, however, that only two of these features correlate wtih information: the length of the vector joining the mean responses across conditions and the inverse trial-by-trial variability of the responses projected along that vector. We find that modulations of the two statistical features are correlated with fluctuations of behavioral performance in various tasks. In contrast, modulations in mean correlations among neurons and global activity have negligible or no consistent effects on information encoding and behavioral performance. These results suggest that the neuronal representation of sensory information and choices are aligned. Interestingly, we also find that harmful, intrinsically generated behavioral biases are aligned with the choice representation in neuronal populations in the prefrontal cortex. I will describe a recently published sequential theory of decision making that could explain why these variables are represented along aligned axes in neuronal activity space.

nanoBio&Med2018
2018-11-20 08:00 - 2018-11-22 17:00 | Auditori Antoni Caparrós, PCB, Tower D, c/Baldiri Reixac 4-8, Barcelona, Spain
The nanoBio&Med2018 International Conference (www.nanobiomedconf.com) will take place in Barcelona (Spain): November 20-22, 2018. This event is going to present again the most recent international developments in the field of Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine and will provide a platform for multidisciplinary communication, new cooperations and projects to participants from both science and industry.
An industrial forum will also be organized to promote constructive dialogue between business and public leaders and put specific emphasis on the technologies and applications in the nanoBioMed sector.
The call for abstracts is currently open (deadline: October 01, 2018) and abstracts can be submitted online through the website.
Deadlines
Abstract Submission (Oral request): October 01, 2018
Student Grant (Travel bursary) Request: October 01, 2018
Author Submission Acceptance Notification: October 05, 2018
Student Grant Notification: October 05, 2018
Early Bird Registration Fee: October 12, 2018
Abstract Submission (Poster request): October 26, 2018
Early Bird Registration Fee (Exhibitors): October 07, 2018
The conference will offer during this week an impressive list of Invited & Keynote speakers.
Keynote/Invited speakers already confirmed (20 as of 13/08/2018):
– Lorenzo Albertazzi (Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Spain)
– Giuseppe Battaglia (University College London, UK)
– Ofra Benny (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
– Gianaurelio Cuniberti (TU Dresden, Germany)
– Cecile Delacour (Institut Néel (CNRS), France)
– Carlos Fito-López (ITENE, Spain)
– Meytal Landau (Technion, Israel)
– Jesus M de la Fuente (ICMA, CSIC/ UNIZAR / CIBER-BBN, Spain)
– Xing Ma (Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), China )
– Veronika Magdanz (TU Dresden, Germany )
– Shlomo Magdassi (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
– Cécilia Ménard-Moyon (CNRS, France)
– Salvador Pané i Vidal (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
– Danny Porath (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
– Samuel Sánchez (IBEC, Spain)
– Ronit Satchi-Fainaro (Tel Aviv University, Israel)
– Avi Schroeder (Technion, Israel)
– Philip Tinnefeld (LMU München, Germany)
– Thomas Velten (Fraunhofer IBMT, Germany)
– María J. Vicent (Príncipe Felipe Research Center, Spain)
Further speakers will be announced the upcoming weeks
Several opportunities to exhibit are also available.

IBEC Seminar: Benedetta Bolognesi
2018-11-16 10:00 - 11:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
The mutational landscape of a prion-like domain
Benedetta Bolognesi, IBEC
At least 70 human RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) contain a prion-like domain (PrLD). PrLDs are low complexity domains which resemble in composition the infectious yeast prions. Mutations in PrLDs are associated to the onset of many neurodegenerative conditions, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). PrLDs are able to populate multiple physical states: diffuse, liquid de-mixed, insoluble amyloid. Pathological mutations affect these equilibria in ways we cannot yet fully understand, or predict. The TAR DNA binding protein TDP-43 contains a 140 aa long PrLD and forms cytoplasmic aggregates in most cases of ALS. We use deep mutational scanning to understand how sequence determines the toxicity of TDP-43 in a yeast model. I will present the first “genotype-to-phenotype” map of TDP-43 where we quantify the effect of all possible amino acid substitutions in the PrLD on cellular fitness. While allowing us to understand the impact of mutations within low-complexity regions, these data provide the basis to understand by which mechanism protein inclusions drive pathogenesis.

Learning to write clearly, the ‘how’ of good scientific writing
2018-11-15 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
This workshop aims to help participants improve their writing skills through awareness of the elements of clear writing. Participants will learn linguistic tools to transmit scientific messages.
Dates:
15th November, from 10 to 18 pm. In person class sessions = 8 hours. One whole day.
Target group:
PhD students and post-docs
Trainer:
Dr. Susan Frekko

PhD Thesis Defence: Joan Martí Muñoz
2018-11-14 12:00 - 14:00 | Sala d’Actes de la Facultat de Matemàtica i Estadística (FME), C. Pau Gargallo, 5, Barcelona, 08028
Chemical design and validation of Ca 2+ -releasing platforms to promote vascularization in tissue regeneration
Joan Martí Muñoz, Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies group
Joan will be defending his PhD thesis on Wednesday 14th November at 12:00 in the Sala d’Actes of the UPC’s Facultat de Matemàtiques i Estadística, Campus Diagonal Sud, Carrer de Pau Gargallo.
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

Workshop organized with Mind the Byte
2018-11-09 12:00 - 14:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Computational chemistry in drug discovery: the SME perspective
Business Development Director Mariona Esquerdo and Product Manager Fernando Martín, Mind the Byte
Mind the Byte is a bioinformatics company specializing in the development of new technologies applied to drug discovery. As a SME (small/medium-sized enterprise) we focus our resources in the research and development of new technologies, applying cutting-edge methods in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, providing to our clients with the best resources for the success of their projects. In this workshop we will present the company, how computational chemistry can help the drug discovery process and how we have made accessible our technology through our platform.
They have been invited by Giulia Fornabaio of IBEC’s PhD Committee, which will provide a pica-pica after the event.

IBEC Seminar: new junior group leader Benedetta Bolognesi
2018-11-09 10:00 - 11:00 | IBEC, floor 11, Tower I, Baldiri Reixac 4-8, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Title TBC
Benedetta Bolognesi, IBEC
Coming soon

I'll Push You
2018-11-08 17:00 - 19:00 | Auditori Antoni Caparrós, PCB, Tower D, c/Baldiri Reixac 4-8, Barcelona, Spain
Take a break to enjoy a movie and help accelerate research into muscular dystrophy!
IBEC, in collaboration with the PCB, is organizing a special screening of
“I’ll Push You”
This inspiring feature-length documentary follows Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray, the first people to complete the Camino de Santiago in a wheelchair.
Entrance is free, although donations to the Faster Future campaign will be gladly accepted! Feel free to invite your friends and family.
Thursday 8th November, 5:00 pm · Auditorium Antoni Caparrós, PCB
In English with Spanish subtitles
Register here: https://i-ll-push-you.eventbrite.com

II International Symposium on Photopharmacology (ISPP2018)
2018-11-01 08:00 - 2018-11-02 17:00
II International Symposium on Photopharmacology (ISPP2018) – Innovative therapeutics using light
The world’s leading researchers and experts in the field will meet at the second international photopharmacology symposium in Vic on 1 and 2 November.
The convention is being organised jointly by the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), the Bioengineering Institute of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia – Spanish National Research Council (IQAC-CSIC). More than 120 people, the vast majority of whom come from countries other than Spain, will be attending the event, which will take place in the Torre dels Frares building at the UVic.
The symposium will include around twenty lectures, three blocks of short presentations and two poster sessions. The speakers include Ben Feringa, of the University of Groningen (Netherlands), who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2016 for the design and synthesis of molecular machines – an award he shared with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Fraser Stoddart. Among others, the scheduled lectures include those by Edith C. Glazer of the University of Kentucky, who is working on the development of complex metals such as possible photoactive drugs, and by Austria’s Dirk Trauner of the University of New York, focusing on the application of photopharmacology in neurobiology. One of the main achievements of his team, working with Richard Kramer and Ehud Isacoff, has been to restore sight in blind animals, using drugs that respond to visible light as molecular prostheses.
Information: http://events.ibecbarcelona.eu/ispp2018/

What is photopharmacology?
Photopharmacology is based on administering photosensitive compounds as drugs, which are only activated and take effect in combination with light. This specific characteristic provides a high level of control over the administration of medications and therapies, since it means that the specific point of the body where it is applied and the duration of the application can be decided. This precision and location means that as a technique, photopharmacological treatments are not invasive, and can achieve optimum results with minimal secondary effects.
Although its history dates back to the 1960s, photopharmacology has primarily developed over the last ten years. During this period, a significant critical mass of researchers has been created in research centres and universities around the world that focus on the field from various perspectives. It is a multifaceted science, which includes biology, pharmacology, physics, chemistry, engineering and medicine. Its applications are also extremely wide-ranging: it may be therapeutically useful in a wide variety of medical fields, within which neurosciences and cardiology are particularly important. Some applications that are being studied could also provide substantial improvements in pathologies such as diabetes and chronic pain. Photopharmacology can also be used as a research tool, and can be combined with other technologies, such as materials nanotechnology.

II International Symposium on Photopharmacology (ISPP2018)
2018-11-01 08:00 - 2018-11-02 17:00
Innovative therapeutics using light
Photopharmacology is an emerging branch of science based in the administration of a photosensitive compound in combination with illumination to provide a high degree of local and temporal control of compound activity, which makes it useful both for therapeutic applications and as a research tool.
In the last 10 years photopharmacology, a polyhedric science involving biology, pharmacology, chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine, has flourished and achieved a critical mass of researchers and resourceful methods in chemistry and optics, raising hopes for clinical trials of the most advanced compounds.
The First International Symposium on Photopharmacology took place at the University Medical Center Groningen on February 16th, 2017. Topics covered in this First Symposium ranged from photochemistry and organic synthesis to vision restoration and brain research.
Information: http://events.ibecbarcelona.eu/ispp2018/

IBEC-IRB Barcelona joint seminar: Guillaume Salbreux, Francis Crick Institute
2018-10-30 09:30 - 10:30 | Sala Félix Serratossa, Parc Científic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Physics of epithelial flows and folds
Guillaume Salbreux, Theoretical Physics of Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London
The shape of a biological tissue is determined by mechanical stresses acting within the tissue cells. During embryonic morphogenesis, forces generated in the actomyosin cytoskeleton in the cell of epithelia result in cell deformation, cell rearrangements, and 3D bending of the epithelium. To understand tissue morphogenesis, force generation at the cellular scale must be related to flows and deformation occurring at the tissue scale. Here I will discuss how this relation can be captured by a 3D vertex model or by a continuum theory of active surfaces to understand epithelial fold formation during embryonic development. Using this framework, one finds that two different mechanisms, basal relaxation and lateral constriction, can account for fold formation in the Drosophila wing disc. I will also discuss how planar tissue flows are related to cell shape changes and cell division, and show how the growth of the Drosophila histoblast nests can be decomposed into basic cellular events.
