Stem Cells and Neurodevelopment
The group of Stem Cells and Neurodevelopment puts together THREE principal investigators that cover large experience on neurodevelopment research, the use of stem cells for modeling and treatment of neurological disorders and in silico modelization of neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative diseases by machine learning. We are mainly interested in the use of mouse, human and in silico models to discover new treatments for neurological disorders based on cell therapy. All PIs participate in large national and international consortia, and have a large trajectory of international papers in outstanding journals. The group share a large number of techniques including GMP production of Advance Therapy Medicinal Products.
Principal Investigators
Josep M. Canals
Full Professor
Daniel Tornero
Associate Professor
Daniel del Toro
Associate Professor
Technologies & Methods
- Human stem cell differentiation
- Neuroimaging
- High throughput Calcium imaging
- Advanced microscopy and confocal microscopy
- Histological analysis
- Stereotaxic cell transplantation and viral injections in mice and rats
- High cell content imaging
- Conventional and Quantitative PCR
- Immunostaining and stereological analysis
- Western blot, ELISA, enzymatic activity evaluation
- Intra-utero injections of cells and vectors
- In vivo reprogramming
- Brain-on-chip systems and microfluidic cultures
- Clearing of whole-mount samples
- Machine learning (vector machine, logistic regression, random forest, or a Naïve Bayes model)
- Clinical production of ATMPs
- In silico modeling (neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative diseases)
Research Team
Georgina Bombau
Technician
Anna Lopez
Technician
Silvia Artigas
Technician
Unai Perpiña
Lecturer
Felipe Chiappe
Others
Cristina Herranz
Others
Irene Porcar
Others
Veronica Monforte
Technician
Cristina Vila
Postdoctoral Researcher
Claudia Peregrina
Early Stage Researcher
Sofia Zaballa
Early Stage Researcher
Cinta Gomis
Early Stage Researcher
Anna-Christina Haeb
Early Stage Researcher
Alba Ortega Gascó
Postdoctoral Researcher
Clàudia Puigsasllosas Pastor
Early Stage Researcher
Marie Karam
Postdoctoral Researcher
José Tomás Garrido Santos
Early Stage Researcher
Selected publications
Ballasch, I., García-García, E., Vila, C., Pérez-González, A., Sancho-Balsells, A., Fernández, J., Soto, D., Puigdellívol, M., Gasull, X., Alberch, J., Rodríguez, M. J., Canals, J. M., & Giralt, A. (2023). Ikzf1 as a novel regulator of microglial homeostasis in inflammation and neurodegeneration. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 109, 144–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2023.01.016
Estévez-Priego, E., Moreno-Fina, M., Monni, E., Kokaia, Z., Soriano, J., & Tornero, D. (2023). Long-term calcium imaging reveals functional development in hiPSC-derived cultures comparable to human but not rat primary cultures. Stem Cell Reports, 18(1), 205–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.11.014
Miguez, A., Gomis, C., Vila, C., Monguió-Tortajada, M., Fernández-García, S., Bombau, G., Galofré, M., García-Bravo, M., Sanders, P., Fernández-Medina, H., Poquet, B., Salado-Manzano, C., Roura, S., Alberch, J., Segovia, J. C., Allen, N. D., Borràs, F. E., & Canals, J. M. (2023). Soluble mutant huntingtin drives early human pathogenesis in Huntington’s disease. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 80(8), 238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-023-04882-w
Morales Pantoja, I. E., Smirnova, L., Muotri, A. R., Wahlin, K. J., Kahn, J., Boyd, J. L., Gracias, D. H., Harris, T. D., Cohen-Karni, T., Caffo, B. S., Szalay, A. S., Han, F., Zack, D. J., Etienne-Cummings, R., Akwaboah, A., Romero, J. C., Alam El Din, D.-M., Plotkin, J. D., Paulhamus, B. L., … Hartung, T. (2023). First Organoid Intelligence (OI) workshop to form an OI community. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2023.1116870
Pereira, I., Lopez-Martinez, M. J., Villasante, A., Introna, C., Tornero, D., Canals, J. M., & Samitier, J. (2023). Hyaluronic acid-based bioink improves the differentiation and network formation of neural progenitor cells. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1110547
Rodríguez-Urgellés, E., Casas-Torremocha, D., Sancho-Balsells, A., Ballasch, I., García-García, E., Miquel-Rio, L., Manasanch, A., del Castillo, I., Chen, W., Pupak, A., Brito, V., Tornero, D., Rodríguez, M. J., Bortolozzi, A., Sanchez-Vives, M. V., Giralt, A., & Alberch, J. (2023). Thalamic Foxp2 regulates output connectivity and sensory-motor impairments in a model of Huntington’s Disease. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 80(12), 367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-023-05015-z
Sánchez-Guijo, F., Avendaño-Solá, C., Badimón, L., Bueren, J. A., Canals, J. M., Delgadillo, J., Delgado, J., Eguizábal, C., Fernández-Santos, M.-E., García-Olmo, D., González-Aseguinolaza, G., Juan, M., Martín, F., Mata, R., Montserrat, N., Pérez-Martínez, A., Pérez-Simón, J. A., Prósper, F., Urbano-Ispizua, Á., … Moraleda, J. M. (2023). Role of Hospital Exemption in Europe: position paper from the Spanish Advanced Therapy Network (TERAV). Bone Marrow Transplantation, 58(6), 727–728. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-023-01962-0
Shen, Y., Zaballa, S., Bech, X., Sancho-Balsells, A., Díaz-Cifuentes, C., Seyit-Bremer, G., Ballasch, I., Alcázar, N., Alberch, J., Abad, M., Serrano, M., Klein, R., Giralt, A., & del Toro, D. (2023). Expansion of the neocortex and protection from neurodegeneration by <em>in vivo</em> transient reprogramming. BioRxiv, 2023.11.27.568858. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.27.568858