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:

Eeckhout, Jan

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

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Eeckhout, Jan
Research Professor at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Social & Behavioural Sciences
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Research interests

Jan Eeckhout has research interests in macroeconomics, with a special emphasis on the labor market and market power. He studies wage inequality, unemployment, labor market dynamism and technological change.

Key words
macroeconomics, market power, labor economics, matching, search

ORCID
: 0000-0001-6509-4296

RESEARCHER ID
: A-3981-2008
Emparan García de Salazar, Roberto

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

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Emparan García de Salazar, Roberto
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

I try to understand the physical nature of space and time at the most fundamental level. Einstein taught us that gravity makes spacetime a dynamic entity. So I study gravity's classical and quantum aspects and its most basic and fascinating objects: the black holes. The natural starting point is the theory of General Relativity and the theories that naturally incorporate the ideas of quantum holographic spacetime, namely, String and M-Theory and the AdS/CFT correspondence.

Key words
Classical and Quantum Gravity, String Theory, Black Holes

ORCID
: 0000-0003-2457-0203

RESEARCHER ID
: F-5166-2016
Enikolopov, Ruben

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

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Enikolopov, Ruben
Research Professor at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Social & Behavioural Sciences
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Research interests

My research interests are in political economy, development economics, and economics of mass media. In my work I use state of the art empirical approach to understand the effect of political institutions and information provision in mass media, and social media in particular, on various aspects of economic and political development. One of the main questions that I address in my work is how information affects political, economic, and financial outcomes. In a series of papers I investigate the causal effect of mass media on voting behavior in Russia, expressions of nationalism in Croatia, dictatorial support in Nazi Germany, as well as the impact of social media on political participation and corruption. In a series of field experiments conducted in Afghanistan I examine the effect of large-scale development program on the status of women, success of counterinsurgency efforts, etc. Using field experiment methodology I also show the extent of electoral fraud in Russian parliamentary elections.

Key words
economics, political economy, development economics, economics of mass media

ORCID
: 0000-0001-9733-7694

RESEARCHER ID
: N-7403-2013
Escudero Escribano, María

Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)

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Escudero Escribano, María
Research Professor at
Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

María’s research combines electrochemistry, materials engineering, and in situ characterisation to elucidate the design principles for the discovery and development of tailored catalyst materials for renewable energy conversion and production of green fuels and chemicals. The main research areas of the NanoElectrocatalysis and Sustainable Chemistry Group include: 1) novel nanomaterials for renewable energy conversion and storage; 2) electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide into renewable fuels and chemicals; 3) sustainable electrosynthesis of value-added chemicals; 4) surface nanostructuring and atomic ensemble control; 5) multimetallic and multifunctional nanomaterials for electrocatalysis; 6) electrochemical activation and partial oxidation of methane. The latter research line has been financed by an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022, to investigate atomic-scale tailored materials for the electrochemical conversion of methane into valuable fuels and chemicals.

Key words
Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, Energy Conversion, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Sustainable Chemistry, Power-to-X, Electrosynthesis, Renewable Fuels and Chemicals, Chemical Engineering, Spectroscopy, Structure-Property Relations

ORCID
: 0000-0002-6432-3015

RESEARCHER ID
: D-1408-2011
Esteller Badosa, Manel

Institut de Recerca contra la Leucèmia Josep Carreras (IJC)

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Esteller Badosa, Manel
Research Professor at
Institut de Recerca contra la Leucèmia Josep Carreras (IJC)
Life & Medical Sciences
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Research interests

-Definition of the Epigenome and Epitranscriptome of Cancer Cells: Profile of DNA methylation and histone modifications in tumor suppressor genes and repetitive sequences in cancer. Global and gene-specific definition of aberrant epigenetic changes and functional consequences in transcription regulation, DNA repair and chromosome instability. -Study of the Epigenetics and Epitranscriptomics Machinery and Mechanisms: Role and function of DNA and RNA methyltransferases, specificity of methyl-CpG binding domain proteins (the nuclear factors that recognize DNA methylation), analysis of biological properties of histone deacetylases and methyltransferases (enzymes that modify histones). -Study of Mutations in the Epigenetic Machinery: The mechanisms underlying the disruption of the epigenetic landscape in transformed cells are unknown. -Study of the Epigenetic and Genetic Disruption of Non-Coding RNAs in Human Cancer. -Characterization of the Epitranscriptome in Human Diseases.

Key words
DNA methylation, histone modifications, non-coding RNA, human cancer, neurological disorders

ORCID
: 0000-0003-4490-6093

RESEARCHER ID
: L-5956-2014
Fernandez-Nieves, Alberto

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

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Fernandez-Nieves, Alberto
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Research interests

My research interests are in experimental soft condensed matter. We study a variety of classical many-body systems that have characteristic energy scales accessible at room temperature and that are internally characterized by mesoscopic length scales. As a result, these soft materials are easily deformable by external stresses and fields, or even by thermal fluctuations, and have microscopic dynamics and structural features that can be directly imaged using optical-microscopy techniques and probed using light scattering; this enables addressing many open questions in equilibrium and non-equilibrium physics. Recent research involves partially ordered fluids, colloidal crystals and glasses, and active matter. A recurring theme is the presence of defects in the order and how they sense and respond to the local geometry, the local environment and the system’s inherent activity. We are also interested in fluid mechanics and hydrodynamic instabilities.

Key words
Topological defects, liquid crystals, drops and jets, electrohydrodynamics, instabilities, active matter, active nematics, colloids, polymer gels, phase behavior, scattering, rheology