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:

Cau Ontiveros, Miguel Ángel

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

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Cau Ontiveros, Miguel Ángel
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Humanities
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Research interests

I have a major research interest in Roman and Late Antique Archaeology, and in pottery studies especially in the analysis of coarse and cooking wares. I have specialised in the application of physico-chemical, mineralogical and petrographic techniques to the study of ceramics to investigate their provenance, technology, distribution, and consumption. I have a broad interest in the analytical study of ceramics, including the theoretical foundations of the discipline and the study of living pottery-making traditions. One of my main research interests is to investigate the transformation of the Roman world, particularly on Mediterranean islands. I am currently leading excavations at the Roman and Late Antique city of Pollentia, the Christian complex of Son Peretó (Mallorca), the exceptional Late Roman shipwreck of Ses Fontanelles, as well as field surveys, and ceramic ethnoarchaeology expeditions in the Balearics and Sardinia. I am also working at the Roman villa of Llorís (Lleida).

Key words
archaeology, archaeometry, ethnoarchaeometry, ceramics, cooking wares, coarse wares, Late Antiquity, Roman, Mediterranean, island systems, Balearics, complex societies.

ORCID
: orcid.org/0000-0002-1138-157X

RESEARCHER ID
: M-2062-2014
Cerutti, Andrea

Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM)

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Cerutti, Andrea
Research Professor at
Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

The splenic marginal zone and gut mucosa can be viewed as interfaces between the immune system and the circulation or external environment, respectively. My group studies how B cells strategically positioned in these "frontline" areas make antibodies against circulating or intraluminal antigens, including intestinal microbes. We are particularly interested in the mechanism whereby splenic stromal cells or splenic innate immune cells, including neutrophils, dendritic cells, macrophages and innate lymphoid cells, facilitate the activation of splenic marginal zone B cells. We are also analyzing how intestinal B cells generate antibodies to commensal bacteria and how these antibodies shape the composition of the gut microbiota. Finally, we study the alterations of B cells in patients with primary antibody deficiency, including selective IgA deficiency and common variable deficiency. Our research is relevant to infections, inflammation, autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, and vaccine development.

Key words
B cells, Immunoglobulins, Heavy Chain Class Switching, Mucosal Immunity
Chang, Darrick

Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)

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Chang, Darrick
Research Professor at
Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

The research of Prof. Chang and his Theoretical Quantum Nanophotonics group at ICFO is based upon a vision that quantum effects are at the forefront of future technologies and discoveries, and that nanophotonic systems will be a prominent platform for this frontier. Specifically, they aim to harness the unique configurability, large optical forces, and strong light-matter interaction strengths achievable in nanophotonic systems to produce new applications and phenomena involving matter and light, which have no analogue in macroscopic setups. The group also develops theoretical techniques that enable a better understanding of the complex phenomena at play. The work is highly inter-disciplinary, and the group explores the potential impact across atomic physics, quantum optics, nonlinear optics, nano-mechanics, low-dimensional materials, and quantum information science. They also collaborate with leading experimental groups to bring their theoretical ideas toward reality.

Key words
atomic physics, quantum optics

ORCID
: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5426-7339
Chillón Rodríguez, Miguel

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

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Chillón Rodríguez, Miguel
Research Professor at
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

Medicine still has many challenges to solve especially on complex diseases where a large number of both, genetic and environmental factors, are involved. Among them, aging-associated diseases and rare disorders have attracted attention because there are no effective curative treatments for them. Some of these diseases affecting the nervous system, which in addition is difficult to access and to manipulate with classical pharmacological treatments. To address these problems we have focused our research interests on three main objectives: (1) gene therapy strategies for diseases affecting the nervous system, such as rare neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders; (2) gene therapy strategies using chronokines for cognitive decline and dementia; and (3) development of more efficient and less immunogenic viral vectors. To determine the therapeutic potential of our research strategies we work with animal models and well as with iPS-derived neurons from biopsies taken from patients

Key words
Gene therapy, viral vectors, Alzheimer disease, aging, neurodegenerative diseases;mechanisms of memory formation; autoimmune diseases ; Multiple sclerosis

ORCID
: 0000-0003-0840-2111
Christou, Paul

Universitat de Lleida (UdL)

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Christou, Paul
Research Professor at
Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

Our programs rely on our unique multi-gene/multi-pathway engineering capabilities to generate plants with high value recombinant pharmaceuticals for human health and veterinary medicine; cereals with enhanced nutrition, and novel strategies of sustainable agriculture with emphasis on developing countries, poverty alleviation and food security. A major focus is plant synthetic biology and genome editing. Our group is involved in training and capacity building in plant biotechnology focusing on developing countries. We also develop tools, methodology and a comprehensive understanding of the essential mechanisms underpinning the creation and performance of genome edited plants for the application of synthetic biology to major crops. During 2021 a major focus has been the use of plants to combat SARS-CoV-2.

Key words
Applied plant biotechnology. plant molecular biology, cereal crop biotechnology, developing country applications, food security, metabolic engineering, molecular pharming, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, HIV, SARS-CoV-2
Clements, Rebekah E

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

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Clements, Rebekah E
Research Professor at
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Humanities
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Research interests

Rebekah is a cultural historian of Japan, specializing in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868). Her research focuses on language, society, and the characteristics of Japanese early modernity, as understood in the broader context of East Asia. She is currently working on Korean exiles present in Japan following the Imjin War of 1592-1598. This work takes place within her project funded by the European Research Council, "The Aftermath of the East Asian War of 1592-1598" (2018-2023). The Aftermath project is a large scale attempt to understand the legacy of the Imjin War, also known as the East Asian War of 1592-1598 and Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Invasions of Korea. This conflict involved over 500,000 combatants from Japan, China, and Korea; up to 100,000 Korean civilians were removed to Japan. It was the largest conflict of the world of the sixteenth century and involved the largest successful overseas landings in world history by that date.

Key words
17th-19th century East Asia, East Asian networks, Cultural history of early modern Japan, History of translation, roots of cultural nationalism

ORCID
: 0000-0003-2597-0882