Research Interest

Growing evidence has indicated the existence of deleterious networks in the brain of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s chorea, depression or schizophrenia. The deleterious neural networks are formed on the basis of intimate interactions among key pathogenic factors. These deleterious networks could be the common pathway of these brain disorders, triggering of which by aging, certain genetic and environmental factors leading to a cascade of pathological alterations of the illnesses. Understanding the mechanisms that modulate connectivity and plasticity of neural circuitry is crucial to develop new network-based therapeutical strategies.

Technologies & Methods

• In vivo and in vitro optogenetics and optopharmacology
• Mouse behavioural analysis
• Neuroimaging
• Immunostainings and in situ hybridisation
• Advanced microscopy and confocal
• Calcium imaging
• Branching and dendritic network analysis
• Histological techniques
• Electrophysiology in slices of brain (MEA)
• Primary cultures of neural cells. Astrocytes, neurons, oligodendrocytes
• Biochemical tests: western blot, ELISA, enzymatic phosphatase and kinase activities
• Stereotaxic surgery in animals (mice and rats)
• Implantation of subcutaneous and intracerebral osmotic pumps in rodents
• Techniques of molecular biology. qRT-PCR and PCR

Active Projects

• • Convocatòria del Programa d’Intensificació de l’Activitat Investigadora Internacional (2020-21). Universitat de Barcelona. Merce Masana.

• • Convocatòria del Programa d’Intensificació de Transferència pel curs 2020-2021. Universitat de Barcelona. Jordi Alberch.

• • Contracte del Programa Ramon y Cajal. Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad. YC-2016-19466. Jordi Alberch.

• • Definiendo el rol de la familia Ikaros en la esquizofrenia. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. RTI2018-094678-A-I00. Albert Giralt.

• • CIBER en Enfermedades neurodegenerativas. Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo. CB06/05/0054. Jordi Alberch.

• • Fisiopatologia i Tractament de les Malalties Neurodegeneratives. Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca. 2017SGR1095. Jordi Alberch.

• • Identificar los mecanismos convergentes activados por la huntingtina mutada y la falta de VPS13A responsables de la neurodegeneraciónselectiva de las neuronas estriatales par. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. PID2020-119386RB-I00. Jordi Alberch & Manuel Rodríguez.

• • Mención de Excelencia Maria de Maetzu al Institut de Neurociències de la Universitat de Barcelona (UBNEURO). Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad. MDM-2017-0729. Jordi Alberch.

• • Non-invasive dynamic neural control by laserbased technology (NEUROPA). European Union. FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020. 863214. Merce Masana.

• • School@Once Training European teachers to integrate health in the school day. European Union. 210582. Manuel Jose Rodriguez.

• • Un puente volador entre el sistema immune y nervioso en la esquizofrenia. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. EIN2020- 112425. Albert Giralt.

• • Una finestra al cervell. Ajuntament de Barcelona. Jordi Alberch.

• • 1 Confidential agreement.

Selected Publications

• • Creus-Muncunill, J., Guisado-Corcoll, A., Venturi, V., Pantano, L., Escaramís, G., García de Herreros, M., Solaguren-Beascoa, M., Gámez-Valero, A., Navarrete, C., Masana, M., Llorens, F., Diaz-Lucena, D., Pérez-Navarro, E., & Martí, E. (2021). Huntington’s disease brain-derived small RNAs recapitulate associated neuropathology in mice. Acta Neuropathologica, 141(4), 565– 584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-021-02272-9

• • de Pins, B., Mendes, T., Giralt, A., & Girault, J. A. (2021). The Non-receptor Tyrosine Kinase Pyk2 in Brain Function and Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases. Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience, 13, 749001. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsyn.2021.749001

• • Ding, K., Yang, J., Chin, M. K., Sullivan, L., Demirhan, G., Violant-Holz, V., Uvinha, R. R., Dai, J., Xu, X., Popeska, B., Mladenova, Z., Khan, W., Kuan, G., Balasekaran, G., Smith, G. A., & on Behalf of Global Community Health-Covid-Collaborative Research Team (2021). Mental Health among Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Multi-Country Comparison. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2686. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052686

• • Ding, K., Yang, J., Chin, M. K., Sullivan, L., Durstine, J. L., Violant- Holz, V., Demirhan, G., Oliveira, N., Popeska, B., Kuan, G., Khan, W., Dai, J., Xu, X., Mladenova, Z., Balasekaran, G., Smith, G. A., & on Behalf of Global Community Health-Covid-Collaborative Research Team (2021). Physical Activity among Adults Residing in 11 Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 7056. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137056

• • García-García, E., Chaparro-Cabanillas, N., Coll-Manzano, A., Carreras-Caballé, M., Giralt, A., Del Toro, D., Alberch, J., Masana, M., & Rodríguez, M. J. (2021). Unraveling the Spatiotemporal Distribution of VPS13A in the Mouse Brain. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(23), 13018. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222313018

• • Masana, M., Rodriguez, M. J., & Alberch, J. (2021). Proceedings of the Tenth International Meeting on Neuroacanthocytosis Syndromes. Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements, 11, 19. https://doi.org/10.5334/tohm.622

• • Muñoz-Violant, S., Violant-Holz, V., Gallego-Jiménez, M. G., Anguera, M. T., & Rodríguez, M. J. (2021). Coping strategies patterns to buffer the psychological impact of the State of Emergency in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic’s early months. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 24400. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03749-z

• • Pérez-Sisqués, L., Martín-Flores, N., Masana, M., Solana-Balaguer, J., Llobet, A., Romaní-Aumedes, J., Canal, M., Campoy-Campos, G., García-García, E., Sánchez-Fernández, N., Fernández-García, S., Gilbert, J. P., Rodríguez, M. J., Man, H. Y., Feinstein, E., Williamson, D. L., Soto, D., Gasull, X., Alberch, J., & Malagelada, C. (2021). RTP801 regulates motor cortex synaptic transmission and learning. Experimental Neurology, 342, 113755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113755

• • Pérez-Sisqués, L., Sancho-Balsells, A., Solana-Balaguer, J., Campoy-Campos, G., Vives-Isern, M., Soler-Palazón, F., Anglada-Huguet, M., López-Toledano, M. Á., Mandelkow, E. M., Alberch, J., Giralt, A., & Malagelada, C. (2021). RTP801/REDD1 contributes to neuroinflammation severity and memory impairments in Alzheimer’s disease. Cell Death & Disease, 12(6), 616. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03899-y

• • Pérez-Sisqués, L., Solana-Balaguer, J., Campoy-Campos, G., Martín-Flores, N., Sancho-Balsells, A., Vives-Isern, M., Soler- Palazón, F., Garcia-Forn, M., Masana, M., Alberch, J., Pérez- Navarro, E., Giralt, A., & Malagelada, C. (2021). RTP801/REDD1 Is Involved in Neuroinflammation and Modulates Cognitive Dysfunction in Huntington’s Disease. Biomolecules, 12(1), 34. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12010034

• • Rejc, L., Gómez-Vallejo, V., Joya, A., Moreno, O., Egimendia, A., Castellnou, P., Ríos-Anglada, X., Cossío, U., Baz, Z., Passannante, R., Tobalina-Larrea, I., Ramos-Cabrer, P., Giralt, A., Sastre, M., Capetillo-Zarate, E., Košak, U., Knez, D., Gobec, S., Marder, M., Martin, A., … Llop, J. (2021). Longitudinal evaluation of a novel BChE PET tracer as an early in vivo biomarker in the brain of a mouse model for Alzheimer disease. Theranostics, 11(13), 6542–6559. https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.54589

• • Senís, E., Esgleas, M., Najas, S., Jiménez-Sábado, V., Bertani, C., Giménez-Alejandre, M., Escriche, A., Ruiz-Orera, J., Hergueta- Redondo, M., Jiménez, M., Giralt, A., Nuciforo, P., Albà, M. M., Peinado, H., Del Toro, D., Hove-Madsen, L., Götz, M., & Abad, M. (2021). TUNAR lncRNA Encodes a Microprotein that Regulates Neural Differentiation and Neurite Formation by Modulating Calcium Dynamics. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 9, 747667. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.747667

• • Violant-Holz, V., Rodríguez-Silva, C., Carol, M., & Rodríguez, M. J. (2021). Impact of cocreation training capsules for preschool teachers on children’s healthy habits: a pilot study conducted in Barcelona, Spain. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 2089. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12160-2

Knowledge transfer & Innovation

• Cytes Biotechnologies. Spin off. Jordi Alberch
• Methods and pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease. Inserm/UB.BIO17159. PCT/EP2018/057462. Jean Antoine Girault, Albert Giralt, Veronica Brito i Silvia Gines