Research Lines

This research line focuses on the mechanisms and molecular determinants of essential protein functions, such as enzymes involved in proteolysis and glycan interactions. We further design and develop functionalized macromolecules and cell surface appendages for novel biomedical and biotechnological applications. Research Groups:

• Bernat Crosas – Regulation of the proteasome
• Ulrich Eckhard – Synthetic Structural Biology 
• Ignacio Fita – Oxidative stress systems
• F. Xavier Gomis – Proteolysis Laboratory 
• Marcelo Guerin – Structural Glycobiology 
• Enrique Marcos – Protein Design and Modeling 

This research line focuses on unraveling the structural principles dictating multivalent protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid assemblies, the development of computational tools, and the study of protein polymerization. Research Groups:

• Miquel Coll – Protein & nucleic acid complexes and molecular machines
• Héctor García-Seisdedos – Structural Systems Biology 
• Maria Solà – Structural basis of Mitochondrial DNA Regulation
• Isabel Usón – Crystallographic methods 
• Núria Verdaguer – Virus and Large Biological Complexes

This research line focuses on the structural organization and mechanics of eukaryotic chromatin by combining three complementary approaches: chromatin composition and 3D organization; chromosomal DNA topology; and super-resolution microscopy of protein:nucleic-acid ensembles. Research Groups:

• Ferran Azorín-Jordi Bernués – Chromatin structure and function
• Victoria Neguembor – Chromatin Folding and Nanoscopy
• Joaquim Roca – DNA Topology

This research line delves into unravelling the intricacies of gene expression mechanisms, encompassing the role of epigenetic regulators, their crosstalk with extracellular and intracellular signals, and the organization of genomic loci in driving cellular responses. Research Groups:

• Irene H. Herraez – Epigenetics and single cell dynamics 
• Albert Jordan – Chromatin regulation of human and viral gene expression
• Marian Martínez – Molecular signaling and chromatin
• Guillermo P. Vicent – Chromatin and gene regulation

This research line utilises diverse and complementary cellular models to dissect the molecular assemblies underlying intracellular networking and adaptive response, particularly focusing on trafficking, cell polarity, division and synaptic plasticity. Research Groups:

• Anna Aragay – Intracellular Signaling
• Carme Gallego–Martí Aldea – Multivalent networking and synaptic plasticity 
• Mª Isabel Geli – The endocytic pathway and the actin cytoskeleton 
• Sebastian Pons – Neural Proliferation Control
• Joan Roig – Cell Cycle and Signaling 

This research line aims to define the mechanisitic convergence between metabolism, mitochondrial function and epigenetics to determine health and disease. This line incorporated C. elegans as a new in vivo model, as well as novel methods protocols to quantify redox and mitochondrial function and dynamics. Research Groups:

• Marc Liesa – Mitochondria, redox and metabolic diseases 
• Marcos Francisco Pérez – Epigenetics and Metabolism 

This research line utilises Drosophila melanogaster, Zebrafish and mammalian embryos as model organisms to get insights into gene and protein functions underlying biological phenomena, such as cell dynamics and fundamental mechanisms of tissue development and homeostasis. Research Groups:

• Jordi Casanova – Cell signalling and morphogenesis 
• Esteban Hoijman – Embryo cells bioimaging
• Gerardo Jiménez – Gene expression and signaling 
• Marta Llimargas – Mechanisms of morphogenesis and organogenesis
• Enrique Martín-Blanco – Signals controlling cell migration during morphogenesis 

This research line investigates vertebrate central nervous system construction, emphasizing mechanisms regulating organ growth in development and evolution, and acquiring cell diversity for functional organogenesis. Research Groups:

• Mariona Arbonés – Proliferation and differentiation of the nervous system
• Elisa Martí – Development of the Nervous System in health and disease
• Murielle Saade – Centrosome-cilia in normal and pathological neural development