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:

Lugosi, Gábor

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

CLOSE

Lugosi, Gábor
Research Professor at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Social & Behavioural Sciences
view profile

Research interests

Gábor Lugosi has mostly worked on the mathematics of machine learning, probability, mathematical statistics, information theory, and game theory. His research has been motivated by applications in telecommunications and computer science and also by game-theoretic learning. Recently he has mostly worked on high-dimensional problems in statistics, random graphs, "on-line" learning and sequential optimization, and inequalities in probability theory.

Key words
statistical learning theory, probability, nonparametric statistics, learning in games
Macías, María J.

Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona)

CLOSE

Macías, María J.
Research Professor at
Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona)
Life & Medical Sciences
view profile

Research interests

Our research aims at deciphering the mechanisms that correlate cell signaling with gene expression using high resolution structural biology. We also aim at discovering how these mechanisms are regulated, and their consequent implications in human diseases. Our work has been focused on the family of transcription factors Smads, where we have discovered a mechanism that labels these key components of the TGFb pathway first for activation and then for degradation. Using NMR and X-ray crystallography we are currently characterizing the interactions of Smads and cofactors with DNA promoters, to provide a first understanding of how these molecular machines work and to pave the basis for the design of small molecular inhibitors specifically targeted towards tumor-derived SMAD forms. We also aim to determine the probability of relapse and metastasis of gynecological cancer patients combining information from data obtained from biopsis and genomic data deposited in databases.

Key words
Structural Biology, NMR, X-ray crystallography, Computational Biology, Signaling

ORCID
: 0000-0002-6915-963X

RESEARCHER ID
: K-3898-2014
Madella, Marco

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

CLOSE

Madella, Marco
Research Professor at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Humanities
view profile

Research interests

My background is in archaeobotany and environmental archaeology, and I am interested in understanding the socio-ecological dynamics of past human populations in extreme environments such as hyper-humid and arid/semi-arid, from the Mediterranean to the tropics. My interests span from past vegetation histories and land use, the modelling and simulation of processes in human behavioural change, people-plants co-evolutionary dynamics, long term trajectories of biodiversity and sustainability in prehistoric societies, and the origin and resilience of agriculture. Ancient agriculture, which is one of my main areas of interest, had an immense impact on humans and non-humans, and the future of our world is linked to making current agricultural system sustainable by maintaining biodiversity, re-evaluating traditional knowledge and mitigating environmental impact. My work in archaeobotany is playing a key role in developing such lines of investigation. A new research avenue that I have been developing during the last few years is that of identifying, monitoring and protecting heritage using remote sensing and modeling approaches. Key areas for my work are South and West Asia, and South America. I carry out fieldwork in Pakistan as PI of the ModAgrO project and in Colombia/Brazil as PI of the MAPHSA project.

Key words
Behavioural ecology, Archaeobotany, Geoarchaeology, Simulation, South Asia, Phytoliths, Charcoals, Micromorphology

ORCID
: 0000-0002-9324-1545

RESEARCHER ID
: M-3320-2014
Malhotra, Vivek

Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG)

CLOSE

Malhotra, Vivek
Research Professor at
Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG)
Life & Medical Sciences
view profile

Research interests

We want to understand the mechanism by which eukaryotic cells model membranes to generate transport carriers based on their needs. For example, how bulky molecules such as the collagens are secreted, how mucins are secreted in a regulated manner, and how transport carriers form at the Golgi. Protein such as TANGO's, PIMS and PKD are helping us resolve this issue. We have uncovered a new pathway by which cells secrete proteins that cannot enter the ER-Golgi pathway of secretion. We hope this will help us understand the mechanism by which cells release various cytokines, growth and angiogenic factors in a signal dependent manner. Finally we are interested in the mechanism by which Golgi complex is built during repeated cycles of cell-division.

Key words
Protein secretion, transport carriers, unconventional secretion, Biogenesis of Golgi membranes.

ORCID
: 0000-0001-6198-7943

RESEARCHER ID
: O-9811-2014
Malumbres, Marcos

Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Oncologia (VHIO)

CLOSE

Malumbres, Marcos
Research Professor at
Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Oncologia (VHIO)
Life & Medical Sciences
view profile

Research interests

Marcos’ lab focuses on the mechanisms that control cell differentiation and proliferation and their implications in pathology. His group is interested in molecules that drive tumor cell proliferation and the therapeutic opportunities of inhibiting their activity in cancer. Past research in the last years led to the approval of inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) in breast cancer therapy. Yet, these inhibitors are not efficient in other tumor types and understanding how cells drive the cell cycle in the absence of CDK4/6 activity is a major goal in his lab. Recent efforts in his lab also focus on therapeutic opportunities in genomically unstable tumors, as well as generating a platform of patient-derived samples in which genetics, biochemistry and single-cell studies can be combined to develop and test efficacious therapeutic strategies to be translated to the clinic.

Key words
cancer, cancer therapy, cell cycle, cyclin-dependent kinases, mouse models, patient-derived models, machine learning, microRNA

ORCID
: 0000-0002-0829-6315

RESEARCHER ID
: E-8834-2011
Mantsinen, Mervi Johanna

Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS)

CLOSE

Mantsinen, Mervi Johanna
Research Professor at
Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS)
Engineering Sciences
view profile

Research interests

My research is directed towards contributing to the development of nuclear fusion as a source of energy and, in particular, to the ITER project. ITER is an international nuclear fusion R&D project, which is building the world's largest experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor in France. ITER aims to demonstrate that fusion energy is scientifically and technologically feasible. My research is focused in the numerical modelling of experiments in magnetically confined fusion devices in preparation for ITER operation, working towards the objectives of the European fusion research programme EUROfusion for Horizon Europe in close collaboration with ITER, International Tokamak Physics Activity, EUROfusion and the Spanish national fusion laboratory CIEMAT. My overall objective is to enhance the modelling capabilities by code validation and optimization, with the ultimate goal of helping improve the performance of ITER and future fusion reactors.

Key words
nuclear fusion, plasma physics, ITER, numerical modelling, experimental fusion devices