The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona plays a leading role in scientific research. Its main areas of investigation include Biotechnology and Biomedicine (including the vital contribution made through the clinical research carried out at associate hospitals), Animal Health, Food Technology and Safety, Environmental Sciences and Technology, Nanotechnology, Microelectronics, Material Science and Engineering, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Experimental Sciences, Social Sciences, and research in Humanities. This wide range of disciplines all integrated into one area helps to promote multidisciplinarity in research. The university coordinates a potent scientific and technological centre (the Esfera UAB), promotes new business projects, and directs and projects its productive activity towards its socio-economic surroundings by disseminating new knowledge.

UAB’s research groups participating in TREAT-NMD have long standing experience in the development, and production of viral vectors and gene therapy strategies for diseases afecting the nervous system, as well as optimization of large-scale cell culture-based systems and preparation and purification of the biological material by using bioreactors.

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is a high complexity hospital which dates back six centuries, making it the oldest hospital in Spain. The hospital attends over 34,000 admissions each year and more than 150,000 emergencies. In the field of research, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is one of the most prominent centres in Spain, as can be appreciated from the volume of papers published and their input factor, the number and quality of projects which receive funding and the grants awarded.

Website

• http://www.uab.es

Assumpció Bosch-PhD.

She is an associate professor at the UAB since 2006 and a group leader at the Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy (CBATEG) since 2004. Her main interests are focused on the development of gene therapy strategies for diseases affecting the nervous system, both central (lysosomal storage diseases) and peripheral (pain, genetic and acquired neuropathies) and on the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms implicated in the development of diabetic neuropathy combining the use of animal models, tissue cell culture and gene therapy viral vectors.

Jordi Joan Cairo, PhD

Jordi is an associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research activity is focused in the field of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, and more specifically in cellular, metabolic and tissue engineering. He has also worked in the development of metabolic flux analysis, apoptosis protection, and process optimization and intensification of animal cell cultures, particularly in perfusion systems.
 
Jrodi is one of the founders of the spin-off company HEXASCREEN Culture Technologies, focused on the development of a platform of minibioreactors for screening in Biotechnology. His teaching activity is focused on Biotechnology.

Miguel Chillón: PhD

Miguel is an ICREA Research Professor Center of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy (CBATEG) at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) since 2001, and the scientific representative of the UAB in the TTREAT-NMD governing-board.

He is the scientific responsible of the Vector Production Unit (VPU) since 2004, and a member of the Biosafety Committee of the UAB since 2006. His research is focused on developing new gene therapy viral vectors as well as in developing gene therapy strategies of rare diseases affecting central nervous system and intestine.

Jordi Gálvez Sánchez – PhD student

Jordi is a Chemical Engineer working in the Tissular and Cellular Engineering Group at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research is focused on the bioprocess engineering and cell culture both anchorage and non-anchorage dependent. Nowadays, he is developing a large-scale adenovirus-based production process for gene therapy.

Prof. Francesc Gòdia

Francesc is a Full Professor of Chemical Engineering, and served as Head of Chemical Engineering Unit at UAB from 1991 to 1994. Coordinator of the Chemical Engineering degree from 1994 to 1998. Vice-Director of the Engineering School at UAB from 1998 to 2002. Vice-rector for Strategic Projects at UAB, from 2002 to 2005. Commissionaire for Biotecnology and Biomedicine of UAB, since 2006. President of the Spanish Society for Biotecnology from 2002 to 2006. Member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Animal Cell Technology since 1999. Member of the Executive Board of the European Federation of Biotechnology since 2005.

His research activity is focused on the culture of mammalian cells for the production of proteins with interest in diagnostic and therapy of diseases, and the cellular, metabolic and tissue engineering. He is also working in the development of industrial fermentation processes, immobilized biocatalysts, bioreactor design, and the development of biological life support systems for long term manned missions in Space. He is one of the founders of the spin-off company HEXASCREEN Culture Technologies, focused on the development of a platform of minibioreactors for screening in Biotechnology.

Judit Homs, PhD student

She is a Biology and Biochemistry graduate student. She is currently in her 4th year of PhD project, focused on the search of efficient vectors for the transduction of different cell types in the peripheral nervous system and in the development of gene therapy strategies for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.

María de las Mercedes Segura.PhD.

She is responsible for developing processes for the large-scale manufacturing of recombinant viral vectors. Mercedes has focused her attention on suspension and serum-free cell culture procedures and chromatography technologies because these bioprocessing strategies are scalable and amenable to GMP manufacturing.

Throughout her career, she has gained experience with some of the most relevant viral vector systems including the baculovirus expression system (BacMam) during her M.Sc. studies in Argentina, retroviral (RV) and lentiviral (LV) gene transfer vectors during her Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies in Canada and adenoviral (AdV) and adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors at her current post-doctoral stage in Spain.

Susana Miravet,PhD.

She is a research technician of the Vector Production Unit (VPU) since 2004. She is working in the design, production, purification and characterization of viral vectors (human and canine adenovirus and adeno-associated virus).

Mercedes Monfar, PhD

Dr. Mercè Monfar has over fifteen years of laboratory experience in the areas of cellular and molecular biology. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Boston University (1990-91), at the Harvard Medical School (1991-95) and at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (1995-97). Between 1997-2001 she was Instructor Professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona). She currently holds a Specialist Technician for Research Support position at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, is Technical Responsible of the Vector Production Unit at the CBATEG and collaborates with Dr. Miguel Chillón in the production and development of viral vectors.

Maria Ontiveros,PhD.
 
She is a research technician of the Vector Production Unit (VPU) since 2004. She is working in the design, production, purification and characterization of viral vectors (human and canine adenovirus and adeno-associated virus).

Jose Piedra,PhD.
 
Jose is a research technician of the Vector Production Unit (VPU) since 2004. He is working  in the design, production, purification and characterization of viral vectors (human and canine adenovirus and adeno-associated virus).