The ICREAs

ICREA research professors form a vibrant community of scientists and researchers in all areas of knowledge that contribute to the advancement of humankind by exploring, interpreting and questioning. Have a look and learn about their amazing discoveries and findings here:

Aliaga Alcalde, Núria

Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (CSIC - ICMAB)

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Aliaga Alcalde, Núria
Research Professor at
Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (CSIC - ICMAB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

My work focuses on the relevance and necessity of molecular design in Nanoscience, where functional molecules play a key role since they provide homogeneous tunable nanometer-size units and properties ready to be exploited (as reliable sensors, switches, quantum computing materials or molecular electronics). Main targets are the design of specific molecules together with their control and organization on surfaces/nanodevices where their properties can be used. In my group, we synthesize different molecular-based systems (from 0D-3D, of curcuminoid nature and coordination compounds), characterize and study them on surfaces (eg.: graphene, gold, SWCNTs) and analyze their electronic behavior on nanodevices (eg.: nanoFETs). So far, our work has shown the advantages of our systems as (i) biomarkers and/or sensors, (ii) active components in nano-transistors and as (iii) Single-Molecule Magnets .

Key words
coordinaton chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, nanochemistry, molecular magnetism, molecular electronics, multifunctional materials, nano-structuration, luminescence, microfluidics

ORCID
: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1080-3862

RESEARCHER ID
: H-5886-2011
Aloy Calaf, Patrick

Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona)

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Aloy Calaf, Patrick
Research Professor at
Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

The main goal of my laboratory is to combine computational and structural biology with interaction discovery experiments to unveil the basic wiring architecture of physio-pathological pathways. It is our believe that a deeper knowledge of the global topology of interactome networks related to human disease will have important bearings in the discovery of new drug targets and biomarkers, optimization of preclinical models and understanding how biological networks change from the healthy state to disease. Additionally, in the last years, we have incorporated a complementary research line on systems pharmacology, so that the group can now tackle complex diseases from the drugs´ perspective, providing compound bioactivity descriptors that push the similarity principle beyond chemical properties, reaching various ambits of biology.

Key words
Structural bioinformatics, network biology, network medicine, protein interaction networks, peptide-mediated interactions, 3D interactomes
Álvarez Puebla, Ramón

Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)

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Álvarez Puebla, Ramón
Research Professor at
Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

Dr. Álvarez-Puebla is an expert in surface science and spectroscopy with emphasis on the fabrication and characterization of plasmonic particles and their integration into advanced "all optical" sensing devices for biomedicine, chemical biology and environmental monitoring. Currently he is interested in: - Design and development of plasmonic functional materials and their integration into real live "all optical" sensors. - Development of new technologies for pathogen/disease marker detection by using localized surface plasmon resonances, Raman and SERS. - In vivo intracellular monitoring and imaging of relevant cytoplasm metabolites under different conditions (health/disease). - Optical technologies for the ultrafast and ultrasensitive recognition of active compounds in combinatorial libraries.

Key words
Spectroscopy, nanotechnology, optical sensors, medical applications

ORCID
: orcid.org/0000-0003-4770-5756

RESEARCHER ID
: F-5053-2014
Anguelovski, Isabelle

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

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Anguelovski, Isabelle
Research Professor at
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Social & Behavioural Sciences
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Research interests

I am a social scientist trained in urban and environmental planning (PhD, MIT, 2011), nonprofit management (Harvard University, 2004), international development (University de Paris-1 Sorbonne, 2001), and political studies (Science Po, 2000). Before starting my PhD in 2006, I held several positions in international development NGOs in France and the US. As part of collaborative EU and international research projects, I study 1) the extent to which environmental gentrification processes lead to new forms of green locally unwanted land uses (GREENLULUs - ERC Starting Grant (2016-2021) in historically marginalized neighborhoods, 2) how municipalities protect vulnerable communities from climate risks and inequality, 3) what opportunities and constraints exist to transitioning towards a low-carbon economy within European urban regions, 4) how the governance of urban nature-based solutions planning in Europe addresses (or exacerbates) environmental injustices.

Key words
Urban studies and planning; Environmental justice; Urban development and sustainability planning; Displacement, gentrification, and exclusion; Urban climate adaptation planning; Food justice; Healthy cities; Urban social movements

ORCID
: 0000-0002-6409-5155

RESEARCHER ID
: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=VqOEGeQAAAAJ&hl=es&oi=ao
Apesteguia, Jose

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

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Apesteguia, Jose
Research Professor at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Social & Behavioural Sciences
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Research interests

In my research I study individual decision-making with an emphasis on its psychological foundations. I use theoretical tools as well as adopt an empirical approach to try to better understand individual decision-making, and to improve the predictive power of the decision-making models in economic environments.

Key words
Behavioral economics, Decision theory, Bounded rationality, Political Economy
Arbiol Cobos, Jordi

Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)

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Arbiol Cobos, Jordi
Research Professor at
Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)
Engineering Sciences
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Research interests

Exploring the limits of physical resolution in advanced electron microscopy and understanding the ultimate behavior of materials at the nanoscale and their related properties are the central aims of our research. Main research lines:
1) Single atom recognition and localization in embedded quantum and nanostructures. From the atomic resolution data we obtain in the aberration corrected electron microscopes we create 3D atomic models of the nanosystems studied to get full knowledge on their growth mechanisms.
2) Direct correlation between the structure and elemental composition at the atomic scale and the physical properties at sub-nanometer scale: study of the photonic, plasmonic and phononic properties of the nanomaterials, correlated to simulated theoretical models.
3) Development of in-situ / in-operando experiments in the TEM to understand the physical and chemical phenomena promoting energy mechansims, correlating theoretical models with

Key words
Materials Science, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Nanoscopy, Nanotechnology, Electron Spectroscopy, photonics, plasmonics, phononics, single atom, atomic resolution

ORCID
: 0000-0002-0695-1726

RESEARCHER ID
: B-6048-2008