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Eduard Torrents

Group leader

Researchers at IBEC provide new insights on how to treat chronic infections

Researchers at Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have managed to recreate the coculture conditions and environmental requisites that would allow the simultaneous and stable growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, two major pathogens commonly found growing together in intricate biofilms in disease-affected lungs or wounds.

Most chronic infections occur due to the inherent capacity of some bacterial pathogens to grow in biofilms. Biofilm-associated infections, which have become a critical worldwide threat, have historically been treated as single-species events.

Researchers at IBEC track how pathogens adapt to oxygen changes

The Bacterial Infections: Antimicrobial Therapies group at IBEC, led by Eduard Torrents, has developed a system capable of investigating how pathogens adapt to oxygen changes.

Using this technique, they have discovered that bacteria E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa can adapt to environmental changes through different mechanisms, which opens the door to better knowledge and treatment of infections.

The BioVac project led by IBEC and ICN2 awarded at the BIST Ignite Awards 2020

BioVac, a project led jointly by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) has been awarded the BIST Ignite Awards 2020.

The aim of this collaboration is to populate nanoparticles with antigens to create a new generation of vaccines against untreatable infections and multi-resistant bacteria. The award ceremony of the BIST Ignite Awards 2020 will be held on March 11 at the Auditorium of La Pedrera.

The directing board of the “Asociación Catalana de Fibrosis Quística” visits IBEC

Representatives of the board of directors of the Catalan Association of Cystic Fibrosis (ACFQ) recently visited IBEC laboratories to discuss the latest advances in bacterial resistance with Dr. Eduard Torrents, principal investigator at IBEC of the group of Bacterial infections: Antimicrobial therapies .

Eduard Torrents, with the support of the ACFQ since 2009, is investigating different antimicrobial strategies to eradicate infections associated with this disease. As on previous occasions, he showed his laboratory to the representatives of the association and shared with them the latest advances in the different lines he is currently developing. “Working with the patient association made me change the way I was doing my research, I want to find solutions,” he said.

On their behalf, the “Associació Catalana de Fibrosi Quística”, that since his foundation at 1988 backs the assistencial and researcher work, devotes a large part of its financial resources to achieve progress in treatment and research, providing different improvements to different research groups .

Olive oil offers two powerful weapons in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia and the University of Granada have created two potent antimicrobials from oleanolic acid and maslinic acid, both of which are found in olive oil

The study, published in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases, has demonstrated the effect of these derivatives on the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, one of the main causes of infections in catheters and prostheses.
Liquid gold. This is how all Mediterranean cultures have referred to olive oil throughout history. Its captivating flavour, its texture and its role in gastronomy have been some of the qualities that have contributed to this. But olive oil is also a great ally when it comes to health: from antiinflammatory properties to benefits for the cardiovascular system, and even recently discovered antitumor effects. Now, scientists from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the University of Granada (UGR) have contributed new insights that increase the already well-known antimicrobial properties of olive oil.
To do this, they have synthesised two derivatives with enormous antimicrobial potential from two compounds present in olive oil—oleanolic acid and maslinic acid.

IBEC is a partner in four out of five 2018 BIST Ignite Grants awarded to multidisciplinary research projects

Four projects coordinated by 2 group leaders and 2 researchers from IBEC have been successful in gaining funding through the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology’s IGNITE call.

The BIST Ignite Programme is a mechanism to foster multidisciplinary research among the BIST members. Its goal is to promote new collaboration between its partners, facilitating the exchange of knowledge among different scientific fields and exploring new approaches. The projects that can be eligible for the grants must pursue the exploration of new questions and technological challenges through novel multidisciplinary approaches. The selected projects are granted with 20.000€ each and researchers will have 8 months to develop their projects.

A step forward in using nanoparticles to fight bacterial resistance

The Bacterial Infections: Antimicrobial Therapies group from IBEC, led by Eduard Torrents, has designed a new method that, for the first time, makes it possible to check antimicrobial treatment efficacy in the presence of nanoparticles.This new technique has recently been published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology..

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the main threats facing global healthcare today. According to data from the WHO, there are an increasing number of infections (pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea) that are more difficult to treat given that many antibiotics have lost their effectiveness. The root of this problem lies in the excessive use and misuse of antibiotics, which causes bacteria to become resistant to them. As a result, antibiotics are no longer effective.

Two promising avenues in the fight against antibiotic resistance

IBEC’s Bacterial infections: antimicrobial therapies group have published two papers offering new hope in the urgent search for antimicrobials.

“We desperately need antimicrobials,” says Eduard Torrents. “Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to human health today, and the time is fast approaching when routine procedures will be much more risky.”
Not only have some common infections or illnesses become resistant to the antibiotics usually used to treat them, a really pressing medical problem now is the rapid rise of ‘superbugs’ or multidrug-resistant bacteria, which are immune to almost all of the antibiotics that are currently available.

Five IBEC researchers awarded “la Caixa” grants at ceremony

IBEC researchers were in the limelight today at the awards ceremony for the “la Caixa” fellowships and grants for research and innovation calls.

Anna Labernadie and Irene Marco, postdocs in the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics and Biosensors for bioengineering groups respectively, won fellowships under the first Junior Leader “la Caixa” call, which helps excellent researchers of any nationality who wish to continue their research career in Spanish or Portuguese territory. Anna was one of 10 postdocs to win a ‘Retaining’ grant for candidates who are already residing in the countries, and Irene was awarded one of 20 ‘Incoming’ positions for those coming from elsewhere.