About
The Germans Trias Heart Institute (iCor) is an interdisciplinary research group devoted to the fight against cardiovascular disease from all forefronts. Dr Antoni Bayés Genís is the head of iCor at Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital (HUGTiP), and full professor of the Faculty of Medicine at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Currently, the iCor team includes surgeons, doctors, nurses, administrative staff and full-time multidisciplinary researchers from the ICREC Group. It is divided into ICREC Research Lab (MyoCare Lab, ASAC and PMP-Heart), Heart Failure Clinical Research, Coronary Surgery Research, Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology, Acute Coronary Syndrome, Coronary Imaging, Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology.
The ICREC Group (Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration) opened its doors in January 2002 with the aim of developing innovative biotherapies for cardiovascular diseases. Its current research activity is performed at IGTP’s laboratories and is coordinated by Dr Carolina Gálvez-Montón and Dr Santiago Roura Ferrer. The research activity of the group is divided into the following areas:
- Basic and Translational Research, historically known as the ICREC group (Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration) and now termed MyoCare Lab, with more than 20 years of experience in the study and application of novel biotherapies against myocardial infarction, mainly based in cell therapy, cardiac tissue engineering, adipose graft transposition procedure and extracellular vesicles. Recently, the group has opened new research lines on cardiac organoids, non-invasive monitoring of stents, electrophysiology, new pharmacological treatments of heart failure and their associated mechanisms of action, immunotherapy of chimeric antigen receptors, and cardiometabolism.
- Clinical Trials Support Area (ASAC), which aims to improve cross-sectional support for clinical trials conducted in the area of study of cardiovascular diseases by iCor at HUGTiP.
- Heart Precision Medicine Platform (PMP heart), with the focus on optimizing the value of biomarkers that improve the diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring and therapeutic guidance of patients with heart failure.
Keywords: Heart failure, cardiovascular diseases, advanced therapies, biomarkers, biotherapies, cardiac regeneration, animal models.
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Group leader
- Antoni Bayés Genís
Antoni Bayés Genís
Antoni Bayés-Genís is the head of the Germans Trias Heart Institute (iCor), full professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and director of the ICREC (Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration) Research Program. He has published over 867 SCI papers and has contributed to over 650 national and international conferences in oral format. Prof Bayes-Genis is the clinical chair and member of the Executive Committee of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology and has established several collaboration agreements with biotechnological companies.
With more than 10 years of experience in clinical trials in the field of cardiology, specifically in heart failure, Prof Bayes-Genis is an expert in heart failure with an interest in biomarkers and multi-omics for early diagnosis and management of patients with heart failure. At a preclinical level, his team is aimed to develop advanced therapies to rejuvenate the heart via removing fibrosis or replacing cells.
Contact: abayes.germanstrias(ELIMINAR)@gencat.cat
ORCID: 0000-0002-3044-197X
Team
Leading researcher
Josep Lupón Rosés(ELIMINAR)
Deputy directors, Established researchers
Santiago Roura Ferrer(ELIMINAR)
Carolina Gálvez Montón(ELIMINAR)
Established researchers
Carolina Soler Botija(ELIMINAR)
Paloma Gastelurrutia Soto(ELIMINAR)
Elena Revuelta López(ELIMINAR)
Oriol Rodriguez Leor(ELIMINAR)
Felipe Bisbal Van Bylen(ELIMINAR)
Mar Domingo Teixidó(ELIMINAR)
Cosme Garcia Garcia(ELIMINAR)
Victoria Delgado García(ELIMINAR)
Recognised researchers
Gemma Ferrer Curriu(ELIMINAR)
Oriol Iborra Egea(ELIMINAR)
Leonie Schoch(ELIMINAR)
Esther Jorge Vizuete(ELIMINAR)
Albert Teis Soley(ELIMINAR)
First stage researchers
Yvan Courageux (ELIMINAR)
Daina Martínez Falguera(ELIMINAR)
Georgina Iraola Picornell(ELIMINAR)
Maria Kalil Filló(ELIMINAR)
Support
Sheila Crespo Castillo(ELIMINAR)
Technicians
Borja Montejo Collet(ELIMINAR)
Francesc Poblador Bonet(ELIMINAR)
Research nurse
Mª Barceló Corman(ELIMINAR)
Research lines
The group has mainly focused on two fields: regenerative medicine, where it has developed and tested in vitro experimental models, small and large animal models, and even pioneered some early studies in humans (adiFLAP Trial: NCT01473433, AGTP II Trial: NCT02798276, and the PERISCOPE study: NCT03798353) and precision medicine based on biomarkers. In this second field, ICREC has worked to understand and validate the use of circulating biomarkers in clinical settings. The group has a line of research for each of these areas. Apart from these two historically most relevant lines, in recent years the group has started new lines of investment based on both new staff who are experts in other areas of knowledge and also based on collaborations with other groups of research.
Advanced Therapies
Researchers: Santiago Roura Ferrer, Yvan Courageux, Leonie Schoch
In the context of new biotherapies against cardiovascular diseases, this line focuses on the design and development of different therapeutic approaches against cardiac fibrosis. All this experience has been summarized, reviewed and published after an express invitation in the prestigious European Heart Journal (PMID: 28863429).
For instance, the group is currently developing a new biological medicinal product, EVCord, based on allogenic umbilical cord wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells-derived extracellular vesicles for the treatment of the acute inflammatory response after acute myocardial infarction.
Translational animal models (mouse, rat and pig)
Researchers: Carolina Gálvez Montón, Carolina Soler Botija, Daina Martínez Falguera, Georgina Iraola Picornell, Esther Jorge Vizuete, Maria Kalil Filló, Oriol Rodriguez Leor, Felipe Bisbal Van Bylen, Victoria Delgado García; Technician: Borja Montejo
The line of experimentation in animal models is a consolidated line of research with proven experience in murine and porcine models of myocardial infarction, heart failure and hypertensive cardiomyopathy. It has proven experience in murine and porcine models both performing infarcts by coronary ligation after thoracotomy, by angiography or coil deployment. In addition, the group has been able to successfully establish the mouse model of hypertensive cardiomyopathy using AngII/PE infusion in minipumps. Different cardiac tissue engineering projects have been developed using decellularized natural tissues resulting in more than 17 publications in this field in high impact scientific journals.
One of the current main projects of ICREC is aiding to evaluate the effect of cardiac organoids (COs) for cell therapy in a preclinical model of myocardial infarction. In collaboration with Dr Pfannkuche (university of Cologne) and Dr Bastiaan Boukens (University of Maastricht), COs could be postulated as a potential treatment for MI, protecting the myocardium from post-ischemic cell death, improving cardiac function and exerting protective effects on post-infarct electrical remodeling. The beneficial effects of this therapy are expected to improve the electrophysiological properties of the healed MI, leading to reduced risk of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and sudden cardiac death.
Cardiometabolism
Researchers: Gemma Ferrer Curriu, Cosme García García
In 2021, the cardiometabolism line was created with three main objectives: to investigate cardiac remodeling in heart failure (HF) to identify new therapeutic targets, to study whether the modulation of cardiac remodeling can help protect against the progression of HF and to discover the mechanisms of action of cardioprotective drugs.
Heart Precision Medicine Platform (PMP-Heart)
Currently deepening both the study of known biomarkers and the discovery of new biomarkers that help us improve the management of cardiac pathology. For this, the group has extensive collections of plasma and serum samples from patients treated in the Cardiology Service and collaborates with other hospitals, both national and international, to achieve robust results of international relevance.
Clinical Trials Support Area / Clinical Trials Unit - ASAC
Coordinators: Paloma Gastelurrutia Soto, Mar Domingo, Mª Elena Barceló Cormano, Blanca Ochoa Saenz
Since 2018, ASAC has coordinated and supported both the clinical studies conducted at HUGTiP’s Cardiology Service (Hemodynamics, Arrhythmias, Heart Failure, Cardiac Imaging, Coronary Unit and Clinical Care Unit), as well as the two translational trials derived from basic and preclinical research in advanced therapies where ICREC is a promoter:
- AGTP II (NCT02798276), a multicenter (11 centers), prospective and randomised study to evaluate the effectiveness of a new surgical procedure based on the transposition of an adipose graft in patients with non-revascularizable myocardial infarction.
- PERISCOPE Trial (NCT03798353) clinical study entitled “Pericardial matrix with mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of patients with infarcted myocardial tissue”.
Innovation and technology transfer
Manager: Oriol Iborra Egea
This line was created in 2018 and has as its objectives the protection of industrial and intellectual property, the valorisation of research results and, where appropriate, the exploitation and transfer of the knowledge generated at ICREC to productive fabric.
Oriol Iborra, PhD working at the ICREC Group, is in charge of accompanying and advising researchers from ICREC and iCor who have ideas or potentially transferable results. The unit can also be responsible for directly managing the development and transfer of these results by licensing knowledge and products or creating spin-offs.
ICREC members who support different lines of the group should also be highlighted. They are:
- Laboratory technical staff: Francesc Poblador Bonet, Borja Montejo Collet.
- Administrative management staff: Sheila Crespo Castillo.
Additionally, apart from the activities developed within the lines of research, it should be mentioned that the group proactively seeks collaborations with private bodies that are benchmarks in the cardiovascular disease sector. These collaborations seek to establish synergies that can facilitate and accelerate the development of projects by both ICREC and private companies, enriching the group with knowledge from other sectors and complementing the public funding that the group receives with private capital.
Active projects
Utilidad de Sacubitrilo/ValsartaN y Empagliflozina en la prevención de Arritmias ventriculares en la carDiopatía isquémica: de la ómica al mapeo miocárdico invasivo
PI: Carolina Gálvez Montón, Felipe Bisbal Van Bylen
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Agency code: PID2021-124703OB-I00
Duration: 01/09/2022 - 31/08/2025
Nuevo injerto humano vascular descelularizado y re-endotelizado producido mediante ingeniería de tejidos para su uso en derivación arterial (VasCraft)
PI: Christian Muñoz Guijosa
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Agency code: CPP2021-008438
Duration: 01/07/2022 - 30/06/2025
Proyecto CPP2021-008438 financiado por:
Proyecto CPP2021-008438 financiado por MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/ PRTR
In vitro method for predicting mortality risk in patients suffering from cardiogenic shock
PI: Ferran Rueda Sobella
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: DTS22/00180
Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2024
In vitro method for predicting mortality risk in patients suffering from cardiogenic shock (CS4P)
Agency code: 2021 PROD 00052
Duration: 19/10/2022 - 18/07/2024
In vitro method for predicting mortality risk in patients suffering from cardiogenic shock (CS4P)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Fundació “la Caixa” (Caixaimpulse Validate)
Agency code: CI21-00283
Duration: 16/06/2021 - 24/06/2024
Clinical application of biomarkers in the characterization and stratification of myocardial damage as well as in the assessment of biotherapies targeted to the restauration of ventricular function
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: CIBER Enfermedades Cardiovasculares
Agency code: CB16/11/00403
Start date: 2017
Somatic mutations and clonal hematopoiesis as predictors and drivers of heart failure progression (Myoclonal)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Fundació “la Caixa”
Agency code: HR22-00732
Duration: 01/10/2022 - 30/09/2025
Mutaciones somáticas y hematopoyesis clonal como factores de riesgo en aterosclerosis: del laboratorio a la clínica (Atheroclonal)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís (WP)
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Agency code: PLEC2021-008194
Duration: 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024
Pericardial Matrix With Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Patients With Infarcted Myocardial Tissue (PERISCOPE)
PI: Josep Lupón Rosés
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: ICI19/00039
Duration: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2024
BIOmarker based diagnostic TOOLkit to personalize pharmacological approaches in congestive heart failure (BIOTOOL-CHF)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: European Commission
Agency code: 101095653
Duration: 01/10/2023 - 30/09/2028
Avaluació dels efectes protectors antiarítmics i antiinflamatoris de l'empagliflozina en un model pre-clínic porcí d'infart de miocardi
PI: Carolina Gálvez Montón, Felipe Bisbal Van Bylen
Funding agency: Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol (Llegat JMC)
Agency code: 2022_42
Duration: 01/09/2023 - 31/08/2026
Incorporació de personal de suport als grups de recerca
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Departament de Salut (PERIS)
Agency code: SLT028/23/000249
Duration: 01/07/2023 - 31/12/2025
Estudio prospectivo, aleatorizado, multicéntrico, abierto, para evaluar la no inferioridad de una estrategia personalizada de precisión para la prevención de la muerte súbita en pacientes con miocardiopatía dilatada no isquémica (Estudio CIBER-Spanish I)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PMP21/00064
Duration: 16/12/2021 - 31/12/2025
Evaluación multiparamétrica de la congestión en pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca: precisión pronóstica de la congestión vascular por ecografía y correlación con biomarcadores cardiacos
PI: Mar Domingo Teixidor
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI22/01751
Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2025
Base genética y biológica de la cardiopatía inducida por marcapaso
PI: Víctor Bazán Gelizo
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI21/01700
Duration: 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024
Validación analítica y clínica del primer immunoensayo para personalizar estrategias terapéuticas en pacientes con shock cardiogénico
PI: Elena Revuelta López, Cosme García García
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI21/01703
Duration: 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024
Red RICORS en Terapias Avanzadas (TERAV)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: RD21/0017/0022
Duration: 2022 - 2025
Inflammatory modulation of STEMI-derived cardiogenic shock with extracellular vesicles (EVs): EV4MI Trial
PI: Cosme García-García, Santiago Roura Ferrer
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: ICI20/00135
Duration: 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2024
Bioimplantes cardíacos de nueva generación basados en vesículas extracelulares para infarto de miocardio: correcta fabricación y estudio pre-clínico. Acrónimo: EV4MI (extracellular vesicle for myocardial infarction) study
PI: Santiago Roura Ferrer
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Agency code: PID2019-110137RB-I00
Duration: 01/06/2020 - 31/05/2024
Effect of Empagliflozin on biventricular remodeling and performance in an experimental large - animal model of postcapillary pulmonary hypertension
PI: Antoni Bayés-Genís, Carolina Gálvez Montón, Evelyn Santiago Vacas
Funding agency: Boehringer Ingelheim España, S.A.
Duration: 2024 - 2025
Efficacy of the Adipose Graft Transposition Procedure (AGTP) in patients with a myocardial scar: The AGTP II trial
PI: Antoni Bayes-Genís
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PIC18/00014
Duration: 01/01/2019 - 31/12/2024
Organoides cardíacos para terapia celular en un modelo preclínico de infarto de miocardio
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Agency code: PID2022-142219OB-I00
Duration: 01/09/2023 - 01/09/2026
Vesícules extracel·lulars com a nova teràpia avançada contra el xoc cardiogènic: producció, validació i primera aplicació clínica en humans SHOCK-MI-EV
PI: Santiago Roura Ferrer, Antoni Bayes Genís
Funding agency: Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol (Llegat JMC)
Agency code: 2021_44
Duration: 01/09/2023 - 31/08/2026
Mètode in vitro per predir el risc de mortalitat en pacients que pateixen xoc cardiogènic
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: AGAUR (Ajuts per a projectes de valorització i transferència de coneixement desenvolupats per innovadors en estades en entitats del sistema de recerca i innovació de Catalunya (Innovadors) per a l'any 2021)
Agency code: 2021 INNOV 00023
Duration: 01/11/2022 - 30/06/2024
Past projects
Estudio del impacto del tratamiento con inhibidores de SGLT2 en el estrés oxidativo y la fibrosis cardíaca en pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca
PI: María Ruiz Cueto
Funding agency: Programa Trias Talents Facultatius HUGTiP 2021
Duration: 2022 - 2023
Avaluació dels efectes protectors antiarítmics i antiinflamatoris de l'empagliflozina en un model porcí d'infart de miocardi
PI: Júlia Aranyó Llach
Funding agency: Programa Trias Talents Facultatius HUGTiP 2021
Duration: 2022 - 2023
Efecto de los fármacos inhibidores de los receptores de angiotensina II y neprisilina sobre la presión arterial pulmonar en pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca y fracción de eyección preservada monitorizados con el dispositivo CARDIOMEMS
PI: Pau Codina Verdaguer
Funding agency: Programa Trias Talents Facultatius HUGTiP 2021
Duration: 2022 - 2023
In vitro method for predicting mortality risk in patients suffering from cardiogenic shock (CS4P)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR)
Duration: 2022 - 2023
Ajuts per donar suport a l'activitat científica dels grups de recerca de Catalunya (SGR-Cat 2021)
PI: Antoni Bayés Genís
Funding agency: Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR)
Agency code: 2021 SGR 01437
Duration: 2021 - 2023
Elucidating the potential interaction of empagliflozin with NHE1: structural and biochemical analysis
PI: Antoni Bayes-Genís, Oriol Iborra Egea
Funding agency: Boehringer Ingelheim España, S.A.
Duration: 2022 - 2023
Pericardial Matrix With Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Patients With Infarcted Myocardial Tissue (PERISCOPE)
PI: Josep Lupón Rosés
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Duration : 2018 - 2023
Caracterització Multimodal del Substrat Arrítmic resultant de la Teràpia de Regeneració Cardíaca (AGTP) en un Model de Infart de Miocardi Crònic
PI: Raquel Adeliño Recasens
Funding agency: European Social Funds
Agency code: 2020 FI_B 00637
Duration: 01/11/2020 - 31/11/2023
Area of cardiovascular disease research sponsor
Scientific publications
Highlighted publications
Zhang S, Paccalet A, Rohde D, Cremer S, Hulsmans M, Lee IH, Mentkowski K, Grune J, Schloss MJ, Honold L, Iwamoto Y, Zheng Y, Bredella MA, Buckless C, Ghoshhajra B, Thondapu V, van der Laan AM, Piek JJ, Niessen HWM, Pallante F, Carnevale R, Perrotta S, Carnevale D, Iborra-Egea O, Muñoz-Guijosa C, Galvez-Monton C, Bayes-Genis A, Vidoudez C, Trauger SA, Scadden D, Swirski FK, Moskowitz MA, Naxerova K, Nahrendorf M. Bone marrow adipocytes fuel emergency hematopoiesis after myocardial infarction. Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2023 Dec;2(12):1277-1290. DOI: 10.1038/s44161-023-00388-7.
Bayes-Genis A, Coats AJS. 'Peptide for Life' in primary care: work in progress. Eur Heart J. 2021 Dec 13:ehab829. DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab829.
Bayés-Genís A, Díez J. Transition to heart failure in hypertension: going to the heart of the matter. Eur Heart J. 2022 Sep 14;43(35):3332-3334. DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab651.
Lázaro I, Lupón J, Cediel G, Codina P, Fitó M, Domingo M, Santiago-Vacas E, Zamora E, Sala-Vila A, Bayés-Genís A. Relationship of Circulating Vegetable Omega-3 to Prognosis in Patients With Heart Failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022 Nov 1;80(18):1751-1758. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.08.771.
Ferrer-Curriu G, Soler-Botija C, Charvatova S, Motais B, Roura S, Galvez-Monton C, Monguió-Tortajada M, Iborra-Egea O, Emdin M, Lupón J, Aimo A, Bagó JR, Bayés-Genís A. Preclinical scenario of targeting myocardial fibrosis with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) immunotherapy. Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Feb;158:114061. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.114061.
Additional information
Doctoral theses
Title: Terapias mínimamente invasivas para el tratamiento de la estenosis aórtica. Bioprótesis sin sutura y prótesis valvular aórtica transcateter
Author: Victoria Vilalta del Olmo
Supervisors: Antoni Bayés Genís, Josep Rodés Cabau
University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Date of defence: 01/03/2023
Title: Métodos de valoración del estado nutricional: utilidad en el pronostico clínico de pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca crónica
Author: Clara Joaquín Ortiz
Supervisors: Núria Alonso Pedrol, Josep Lupón Rosés, Manel Puig Domingo
University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Date of defence: 24/02/2023
Title: Factores Asociados al impacto pronóstico de la Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation venoarterial en pacientes con shock cardiogénico refractario. Estudio de la microcirculación, flujo del ECMO y estrategias de ventilación
Author: Santiago Ramón Montero Aradas
Supervisors: Jesús Álvarez García, Matthieu Schmidt
University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Date of defence: 17/03/2023
Title: Evolució, pronòstic i factors predictors de fibril·lació ventricular primària a l'infart agut de miocardi amb elevació del segment ST
Author: Maria Teresa Oliveras Vilà
Supervisors: Antoni Bayés Genís, Cosme García García
University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Date of defence: 10/02/2023
News
Un nuevo fármaco muestra beneficios potenciales en la recuperación de pacientes tras un infarto de corazón
Investigadores del Grupo de Investigación en Regeneración Cardíaca e Insuficiencia Cardíaca (ICREC) del Instituto de Investigación Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP) y el Instituto del Corazón del Hospital Germans Trias (iCor) han encontrado efectos beneficiosos del nuevo fármaco Sacubitril/Valsartan en la gestión del infarto de miocardio (MI).
Primeros bioimplantes cardíacos para tratar a pacientes con infarto de miocardio con células madre de cordón umbilical
El resultado de un estudio pionero del IGTP y el BST avala la seguridad de los bioimplantes llamados PeriCord, hechos de células madre de cordón umbilical y pericardio de un donante de tejidos que hace que la zona afectada se regenere y revascularice.
Contact
Sheila Crespo
extn 635
More links
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