Els ICREA

Els professors d'investigació ICREA formen una comunitat dinàmica de científics i investigadors de totes les àrees del coneixement, que contribueixen al progrés de la humanitat amb els seus estudis, interpretacions i preguntes. Entreu i descobriu-ne els increïbles descobriments i troballes:

Rovira Virgili, Carme

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

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Rovira Virgili, Carme
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

The research at Dr. Rovira's group is focused on the computer simulation of biological processes at atomic-electronic detail, i.e. using computers to understand how biomolecules work. Her goal is to simulate the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand-protein interactions and enzymatic reactions, guiding the design of more efficient enzymes and drugs. Her research is currently focused on unveiling chemical reactions in glycoprocessing enzymes for biomedical and biotechnological applications.

Key words
molecular modeling - ab initio molecular dynamics - heme proteins - glycobiology

ORCID
: 0000-0003-1477-5010

RESEARCHER ID
: K-5195-2014
Rubiés Mirabet, Joan-Pau

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

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Rubiés Mirabet, Joan-Pau
Research Professor at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Humanities
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Research interests

I am a historian specialized in the study of cross-cultural encounters in the early modern world, from a perspective combining the contextual analysis of ethnographic sources with the intellectual history of early modern Europe. My focus in the last few years has been analyzing early modern ethnography and its intellectual impact in the period 1500-1800. This has involved developing various parallel lines of analysis, including travel writing, cross-cultural diplomacy, religious missions, early orientalism, race and racism, and the history of cosmopolitanism. A growing concern has been to develop a global comparative perspective on these various topics (including Asia and the New World) that might help interrogate critically the eurocentric categories of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. I coordinate the Research Grup on Ethnographies, Cultural Encounters and Religious Missions in the Iberian World (ECERM) at UPF, which has received funding from the ERC, AGAUR (SGR) and MINECO.

Key words
History, Cultural Encounters

ORCID
: 0000-0002-8644-0204

RESEARCHER ID
: H-7493-2015
Ruiz Trillo, Iñaki

Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC - IBE)

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Ruiz Trillo, Iñaki
Research Professor at
Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC - IBE)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

The lab addresses one of the most important evolutionary transitions in the history of life: the origins of multicellularity. To this aim, we focus on the origin of multicellular animals. We perform comparative and functional genomic analyses between animals and their closest unicellular relatives. We reconstruct the nature of the unicellular ancestor that gave rise to animals. We have also developed the first "functional platform" to address animal origins, establishing several new model organisms specific to this question. Finally, we also unravel the hidden diversity of eukaryotes using metabarcoding data.

Key words
genomics, phylogenomics, evolutionary biology, multicellularity, Metazoa, protists

ORCID
: 0000-0001-6547-5304

RESEARCHER ID
: C-1360-2008
Ruprecht, Verena

Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG)

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Ruprecht, Verena
Research Professor at
Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

Our research is motivated by the fundamental question how the complex multicellular architecture of our body is robustly established and maintained from a single fertilized cell. This requires to understand how dynamic processes at the single level are controlled by mechanical, physical and biochemical information in the tissue environment and how they instruct cellular behaviour and cell fate. We combine various methods from physics, biology and engineering to gather quantitative data and build mathematical models of cell and tissue dynamics.

We recently identified a mechano-transduction pathway in the nucleus that controls cell mechanics and migration (Venturini et al. Science 2020), offering new insight how cells adapt to shape changes. We also found that vertebrate embryos can trigger an innate immune response via epithelial phagocytosis, enabling cellular error correction in the earliest stages of development (Hoijman et al. Nature 2021).

Key words
Single Cell and Multicellular Systems Dynamics, Embryogenesis, Mechanobiology, Cell Migration, Phagocytosis, Biological Self-organization, Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy, Bioengineering, Synthetic Biology

ORCID
: 0000-0003-4088-8633

RESEARCHER ID
: H-7563-2017
Russo, Jorge G.

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

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Russo, Jorge G.
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

A major challenge of theoretical physics is unveiling the fundamental laws that govern the universe. The microscopic world, governed by quantum mechanics, is fuzzy, uncertain and involves three forces among elementary particles: electromagnetic, weak nuclear and strong nuclear. The gravitational force, described by Einstein general relativity, is instead observed at large scales. But this theory is incompatible with quantum mechanics. Superstring theory is presently the best candidate to reconcile gravity with quantum mechanics and thus to provide a unifying framework for the four forces of nature.

My research interests include Superstring theory, Cosmology and Particle Physics.

Key words
Superstring theory, Supergravity, Branes, Black holes .

ORCID
: 0000-0002-3023-1833
Salmeron Sanchez, Manuel

Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC)

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Salmeron Sanchez, Manuel
Research Professor at
Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC)
Engineering Sciences
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Research interests

I have established myself as a world leader in engineering material-based cell microenvironments for in vitromodelling and regenerative medicine (>180 papers, h-index 45). I founded and am currently co-director (with Prof Matt Dalby) of the Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment at the University of Glasgow. I lead a multidisciplinary group with 12 PhD students and 8 postdocs. I was based in Valencia (Spain) until 2013 where I pioneered novel materials that triggered protein organisation (Science Advances 2016). I was awarded and ERC (Consolidator) Grant in 2012 to investigate materials that promote growth factor binding and their use in regenerative medicine. I moved to Glasgow in 2013 where I have assembled a multidisciplinary team that have generated internationally leading outcomes and radical new concepts: the use of viscosity to control cell behaviour (PNAS 2018); living biomaterials (bacteria-based materials) for stem cell engineering (Advanced Materials 2018); the low dose use of BMP-2 for bone regeneration (Advanced Science 2019) and the relationship between material mechanics and metabolism (Nature Metabolism 2020). I develop basic concepts that are pushed all the way to translation. I received two ERC-PoC awards used to further develop material-based bone regeneration technologies that are now being used, funded by the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation, to help landmine survivors. I have filed 3 patents (1 granted) and lead a novel clinical trial using materials for bone regeneration to be delivered in 2023. In 2017, in collaboration with vets from the small animal hospital at the University of Glasgow, he developed the technology that saved from amputation the leg of Eva –a Munsterlander run over by a car who developed an infected bone critical size defect (see <a href="https://goo.gl/1Z3r8t">https://goo.gl/1Z3r8t </a>). I was awarded an ERC AdG in 2022 to investigate the role of viscoelasticity in regenerative medicine. I am also a keen science communicator and have participated in public engagement events (e.g. Science in the Café in Singapore, Spain and UK) and led a team of 20 PhD students and early career researchers with an exhibit at the Science Summer Exhibition of the Royal Society (material matters – biomaterials for bone repair <a href="https://goo.gl/uG2mCg">https://goo.gl/uG2mCg</a>). I have had my research broadcasted in national and international papers, TV (UK BBC, BBC World, Channel 4 and internationally) and Radio.

Key words
Bioengineering, Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, Matrix engineering

ORCID
: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8112-2100

RESEARCHER ID
: E-4680-2010