At the IGTP TODAY
An International consortium discovers various genetic markers associated with infection by SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of covid-19. The IGTP forms part of the consortium with the GCAT|Genomes for Life Project, a population cohort of 20,000 people from across Catalonia. The GCAT has contributed the analyzed data of 5,000 participants to the study
A total of 23 researchers have taken part in the first event of the European project European Performing Science Night (EPSN) part of European Researcher's Night a European public event that brings scientists and society together. All three research groups on the camps taking part in the project participated in the workshop.
The Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) has celebrated its annual research workshop, where the ICS Research Prizes have also been announced. This year, for the second year running, the best research paper by a PhD student has been awarded to a student at the IGTP. The prize for the best research paper by a predoctoral student 2021 was presented to Juan Carrillo-Reixach and Dr Mireia Ramos- Rodríguez received the prize awarded in 2020.
The Second IGTP Retreat took place on 14 and 15 June in a mixed format broadcast from the Badalona International Business Centre (BCIN). Around 50 researchers attended the sessions within the current social distancing rules while close to 200 joined the event online and participated in the lively question sessions. The call to use the research power of academia to improve public health in the keynote speech was continued through the event and the presentations showcased a wide range of examples of success stories.
The Plasmodium vivax and Exosome Research Group (PVREX) has worked closely with the Cytometry Core Facility of the IGTP to use multiparameter cytometry combined with cell purification techniques to study the complex cell populations in the human spleen. The study published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology also looked at the interactions extracellular vesicles taken from plasma from patients with Plasmodium vivax infections, a parasite which causes malaria, and the different types of spleen cells. This is the first time this type of study has been done using spleen samples from donors.
Biointaxis is a spin-off of the IGTP led by Dr. Antoni Matilla-Dueñas. To date, the research has been financed with the support of patient associations, the founders themselves, La Caixa Foundation, the CDTI and the Ministry of Science and Innovation. The project, that received the European seal of excellence in 2020, is in the final phase of gene therapy after years of research progress and it is the only candidate with potential to cure the disease at the moment. This round aims to overcome the critical inflexion point - the demonstration of the biodistribution and safety of the therapy in non-human primates. The value of the company will increase considerably when this data is available in less than 1 year; the financing campaign is being carried out through the equity crowdfunding platform of Capital Cell.
The IGTP has been awarded 4 projects in the 2020 edition of the La Marató de TV3 dedicated to the study of SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes. IGTP researchers are leading 3 projects and taking part in 2 more that are coordinated by other institutions on the Can Ruti Campus. All the projects are multi-disciplinary and collaborations between groups in different fields on the campus, underlining how research into complex diseases is more and more undertaken by collaborative networks. A total of 36 projects have been funded and will be financed by the over 12 million euros collected in the last marathon.
The new studies change the accepted facts about the biology of Plasmodium vivax, a parasite that causes an often chronic and sometimes fatal form of malaria. The work focuses on the spleen, which has been thought to be the organ that cleared malaria parasites from the blood; the new data shows that in fact it is a reservoir and nursery for the parasite. This work can explain why malaria caused by P. vivax can have a latent liver form responsible for clinical relapses together with intrasplenic parasites likely responsible for chronic asymptomatic infections, thus providing new avenues for alternative control strategies.
The Friends of Can Ruti (Amics de Can Ruti) have launched a new website to showcase the research on the Can Ruti Campus and attract donations to support research projects and healthcare services. Since 20217 the Friends of Can Ruti have been accompanying the growth of the campus and explaining the day to day of the hospital and the research institutes to the local community.
Badalona will be one of the locations to feature in the European Researchers' Night. The research team led by the Èpica Foundation of the Fura dels Baus has been awarded funding for their project European Performing Science Night to hold an event within European initiative with the participation of the IGTP.
