IBEC researchers Benedetta Bolognesi, Xavier Fernàndez Busquets and Xavier Trepat have been selected in the CaixaResearch 2024 call to lead their own research projects. The grants will provide financial support for the scientists to carry out their research in key areas such as cancer, malaria and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Three researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have been selected in the 2024 call of the CaixaResearch Health Research Grants, one of the most important philanthropic programmes in biomedicine in Spain and Portugal.
Each of the grants awarded represents financial support of almost one million euros, as the projects are presented by consortia of between 2 and 5 research organisations. All will have up to 3 years to carry out their research.
In a ceremony held yesterday at the CaixaForum Madrid, Xavier Trepat, Xavier Fernàndez-Busquets and Benedetta Bolognesi received recognition and financial support for their projects in key areas such as cancer, malaria and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). IBEC Director Josep Samitier and Tomás Quiroga, a pre-doctoral researcher in Bolognesi’s group, accepted the award on behalf of Bolognesi, who was unable to attend.
Genetic map to improve ALS diagnosis
Benedetta Bolognesi, principal investigator of the Protein Phase Transitions in Health and Disease group at IBEC, will collaborate with researchers in Australia to create a map of SOD1 protein mutations associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This map will both improve early diagnosis of the disease and open up new avenues for the development of targeted therapies.
Innovative therapies against malaria
Xavier Fernàndez-Busquets, principal investigator of the Nanomalaria group of IBEC and the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), will work with teams from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) to design new drugs that can bypass the resistance of the malaria parasite. Their aim is to identify molecules that inhibit Plasmodium aggregate proteins, which are essential for parasite survival.
New approaches in the fight against colorectal cancer
Xavier Trepat, ICREA Research Professor at IBEC, where he heads the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group, and Professor at UB, will lead a project in collaboration with Eduard Batlle (IRB Barcelona) and Marino Arroyo (CIMNE) to develop a model-on-chip and its digital twin to replicate the microenvironment of a colon tumour. This system will allow the study of the mechanical and chemical interactions between tumour cells and their environment, facilitating the development and testing of immunotherapies.
