• Seven researchers in the BIST Community have received funding from CaixaResearch for their innovative health research projects: Drs. Benedetta Bolognesi, Xavier Fernàndez Busquets and Xavier Trepat from IBEC; Drs. Pia Cosma and Luis Serrano from CRG; and Drs. Eduard Batlle and Roger Gomis from IRB Barcelona.
• CaixaResearch has awarded €25.7 million for fundamental, clinical, and translational research projects in Spain and Portugal in this call. Projects led by BIST Community members make up 24% of the total projects funded.
BIST Community recipients of the CaixaResearch 2024 call for health research (from left to right): Xavier Fernàndez Busquets, Benedetta Bolognesi, Xavier Trepat, Pia Cosma, Luis Serrano, Roger Gomis, and Eduard Batlle.
”la Caixa” Foundation has selected 29 new biomedical research projects of excellence with a significant social impact for the CaixaResearch Health Research 2024 Programme, which is endowed with €25.7 million. These projects will be carried out at research centres, hospitals, and universities in Spain and Portugal. The projects received public recognition last week at an awards ceremony held at the CaixaForum in Madrid.
The call for proposals, which received 580 basic, clinical, and translational project proposals in this seventh edition, is particularly focused on addressing health challenges in various areas: infectious diseases (with 7 selected projects), oncology (6), cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (5), and neuroscience (5). In addition, 6 other selected proposals will develop enabling technologies in one of these fields.
Seven projects led by researchers from three centres of the BIST Community have been awarded in this call: Drs. Benedetta Bolognesi, Xavier Fernàndez Busquets and Xavier Trepat from IBEC; Drs. Pia Cosma and Luis Serrano from CRG; and Drs. Eduard Batlle and Roger Gomis from IRB Barcelona. The awarded projects include collaborations with international and local partners, including additional BIST Community members. In addition, ICREA Professor at ICN2, Victor F. Puntes will collaborate in a project to develop new strategies to treat arteriovenous malformations.
The selected projects led by BIST Community members are:
Genetic map to improve ALS diagnosis
Benedetta Bolognesi, principal investigator of the Protein Phase Transitions in Health and Disease group at IBEC, will collaborate with researchers in Australia to create a map of SOD1 protein mutations associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This map will both improve early diagnosis of the disease and open up new avenues for the development of targeted therapies.
Innovative therapies against malaria
Xavier Fernàndez-Busquets, principal investigator of the Nanomalaria group at IBEC and the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), will work with teams from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) to design new drugs that can bypass the resistance of the malaria parasite. Their aim is to identify molecules that inhibit Plasmodium aggregate proteins, which are essential for parasite survival.
New approaches in the fight against colorectal cancer
Xavier Trepat, ICREA Research Professor at IBEC, where he heads the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group, and Professor at UB, will lead a project in collaboration with Eduard Batlle (IRB Barcelona) and Marino Arroyo (CIMNE) to develop a model-on-chip and its digital twin to replicate the microenvironment of a colon tumour. This system will allow the study of the mechanical and chemical interactions between tumour cells and their environment, facilitating the development and testing of immunotherapies.
Synthetic retina to restore vision for blindness linked to retinitis pigmentosa
ICREA Professor Pia Cosma, principal investigator of the Reprogramming and Regeneration group at CRG, will lead a project to develop a synthetic retina capable of connecting to functional parts of the retina in patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa. The team, collaborating with Rui L. Reis from the University of Minho, will test the therapy in mouse models, aiming to restore vision and lay the groundwork for future clinical trials. The ultimate goal of the project is to identify a new treatment for various types of blindness.
A bacterial therapy designed to combat lung metastasis
ICREA Professor Luis Serrano, director of the CRG, where he also heads the Design of Biological Systems group, will develop genetically modified bacteria to deliver the LCOR protein and immunotherapy directly to lung tumours. This approach aims to enhance treatment efficacy and minimize autoimmune side effects associated with systemic therapies. The project will be done in collaboration with Toni Celià Terrassa from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute.
Better understanding the plasticity of metastatic tumour cells to combat breast cancer
ICREA Professor Roger Gomis, who leads the Growth Control and Cancer Metastasis group at IRB Barcelona, will lead a study on the plasticity of metastatic breast cancer cells to understand how they adapt and spread. By identifying the mechanisms behind this process, the team hopes to develop therapies that block metastases, reducing mortality rates from breast cancer.
How to prevent tumour cells from metastasising in colorectal cancer
ICREA Professor Eduard Battle at IRB Barcelona, who heads the Colorectal Cancer Laboratory, will use advanced mouse models of colorectal cancer to study how primary tumour cells spread and form metastases in organs like the liver. The research aims to identify therapeutic targets to prevent tumour relapse and metastasis.
