28/06/2021 - Institutional, Research

For the second year running an IGTP PhD Student is awarded the prize for the best research paper by the ICS

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.

17/06/2021 - Conferences, Institutional, Research

The IGTP celebrates its Scientific Retreat in a mixed format focused on research and innovation

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.

23/06/2021 - Research

Multiparameter Flow cytometry shines a light on interactions between human spleen cells and extracellular vesicles from Plasmodium vivax patients

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.

17/06/2021 - Innovation, Research

Biointaxis launches a 0.88M euro crowdfunding campaign to finance a curative therapy for Friedreich's Ataxia

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.

11/06/2021 - Research

The IGTP is awarded 4 projects on covid-19 financed by the La Marató de TV3

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.

10/06/2021 - Research

New studies show that chronic Plasmodium vivax malaria is an infection of the spleen and most of the biomass of the parasite is found there

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.

02/06/2021 - Research

The Sentinel School Project trials two new strategies to detect covid-19 infections in schools

The two strategies aim to test new approaches to screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections and improve detection in schools. The project is coordinated by CEEISCAT, as a research group at the IGTP and promoted by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education of the Government of Catalonia.

27/05/2021 - Projects, Research

The IGTP participates in a pioneer EU project to investigate micro and nanoplastics impact and consequences on human health

PLASTICHEAL project will develop new methodologies and will provide reliable scientific evidence for regulators to set the knowledge basis for adequate risk assessment. The results will draw a variety of experimental human models and measuring potential health effects under short and long-term conditions. The researchers at the IGTP will focus on the study of the affect of plastics to the immune response to different microorganisms.

21/05/2021 - Research

A new study shows that multiple infections are common with multiple drug resistant tuberculosis

The IGTP has taken part in a study led by researchers from the IBV Biomedicine Institute of Valencia  published recently in Nature Communications. The study has increased the understanding of how genetic diversity arises in lung infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and how this is related to the development of antibiotic resistant variants. The study is based on surgical samples and data from tuberculosis patients form the SH-TBL cohort of the Experimental Tuberculosis Group (UTE) at the IGTP.

18/05/2021 - Research

Research identifies six groups in the population more susceptible to the impact of the pandemic

Researchers from the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit (UTE) led by Dr Cristina Vilaplana, have presented the results of the project COM-COVID, a questionnaire for the public aimed at understanding the effects of the pandemic on society. The COM-COVID is an initiative of the SMA-TB Consortium, led by the UTE and the IGTP, with the collaboration of the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute and the Fight AIDS Foundation. Dr Maria Rosa Sarrias from the Innate Immunity Group and Dr Carol Armengol of the c-LOG research group at the IGTP have also taken part. The results have been sent in a report by email to all the participants of the questionnaire who requested it, and the research article can also be consulted at medRxiv.