News
Group News
Doctoral stay of Jonathan VĂĄsquez at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Trieste in Italy
Our PhD student, Jonathan Alexander VĂĄsquez, has dedicated three months to the development of his international traineeship at the University of Trieste in Italy. This initiative has been undertaken under the distinguished guidance and supervision of PhD. Antonella Bandiera from the renowned Department of Life Sciences.
During this time, Jonathan has had the invaluable opportunity to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team from diverse countries of the world. His research activities have primarily focused on the study of antimicrobial peptides, exploring their therapeutic potential and applications on orthopedic surfaces to prevent infections.
âI am grateful for the knowledge, assistance, and friendship provided by the research group â  Jonathan VĂĄsquez.
Doctor Luna KrstiÄ
On Jannuary 15, 2024, our research collaborator Luna KrstiÄ obtained her Doctor title with the award of «suma cum laude» with the work âDevelopment of new carriers to improve the bioavailability of natural compounds to treat ocular surface disordersâ under the supervision of Dr. Yolanda Diebold Luque and Dr. MarĂa J. GonzĂĄlez-GarcĂa from the Ocular Surface Diseases Laboratory, at the Institute of Applied Ophthalmo-Biology (IOBA) of UVa â Valladolid.
Congratulations Doctor Luna KrstiÄ
Doctoral stay of Sara Escalera at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health of the Royal Free Hospital in London
Our PhD student Sara Escalera has dedicated three months to the development of her international research stay at the Royal Free Hospital in London. This pursuit has been undertaken under the esteemed guidance and supervision of Pilar Acedo, from the prestigious Pereira/Acedo research group.
Throughout this time, Sara has had the invaluable opportunity to collaborate within a multidisciplinary team comprising both clinical professionals and fundamental researchers. Her research activities have primarily focused on the utilization of patient-derived xenografts and the meticulous evaluation of specifically targeted nanoparticles in both pancreatic and cholangiocarcinoma cells. The developed work together with Carolina San Pedro, has been presented at the UCL Cancer Symposium 2023 in poster format.
âThank you for all the support and for making me feel part of the group since day one. I hope this is the start of a fruitful journeyâ – Sara.
Presentations in the Annual Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials ESB2022
Our student Sara and our former student Juan presented their works in the European Society of Biomaterials meeting in Bordeaux (ESB2022). Juan presented his poster âMulti-stimuli responsive protein nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery in Cancer Therapyâ, and Sara presented her work âNovel cancer gene-therapy carriers based on the recombinant fusion of polycationic Elastin-Like Polymers and scFv antibody fragmentsâ in a speech. Great work guys!
It was a pleasure to meet such inspiring people, sharing knowledge and coming up with new ideas! Looking forward to Davos 2023!
Oral Presentation of Sara at the GEP-SLAP 2022 International Congress.
Our PhD student Sara Escalera has presented our last results in the GEP-SLAP 2022 conference. Thank you very much for attending, we are glad to share our work and learn from the best experts in polymer research. Hope to see you again next year!
Doctor Reinaldo Vallejo
On February 25, 2022, our group member Reinaldo Vallejo obtained his Doctor title with the award of «suma cum laude» with the work  âEncapsulation of hydrophobic drugs with elastin-like recombinamers by supercritical antisolvent process for advanced biomedical applicationsâ under the supervision of Dr. Soraya RodrĂguez, Dr. Mercedes Santos and Dr. F. Javier Arias.
Congratulations Doctor Reinaldo Vallejo
New publication of Juan GonzĂĄlez selected again by the journal of SEBBM
The Spanish Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM) has selected our work âSmart nanoparticles as advanced anti-Akt kinase delivery systems for pancreatic cancer therapyâ published in the prestigious journal «ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces» as the «Article of the month» March 2022
Link:
Â
Oral Presentations at the SEJIPOL2020-21 and ImagineNano2021 Events.
Our PhD Student Sara Escalera presented our latest work both at SEJIPOL2020-21 in the Institute of Science and Technology of Polymers (ICTP – Madrid) and Imaginenano2021 (Bilbao) in an oral contribution entitled âNovel targeted devices based on Elastin-like polypeptides for gene therapy in breast cancerâ
New Laboratories for our Research Group
The Research Commission under the Vice-Rector’s Office for Research, Innovation and Transfer has agreed to assign laboratories 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 of the LUCIA building to our research group.
We also appreciate the efforts made by the director of the building Dr. Julio F. San José and our colleague Dr. Felicidad Ronda to reach a satisfactory agreement.
The Regional Government distingues our Research Group as the «Unidad de Investigación Consolidada» N. 326
The Education Department of the Regional Government Junta de Castilla y León has selected our research group as the «Unidad de Investigación Consolidada» number 326 in its last list concerning 2021.
Congratulations to the group.
New Members in the Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia (RANF)
The prestigious researchers and professors Dr. TomĂĄs GirbĂ©s, Dr. RocĂo H. Vanrell, and Dr. Santiago D. Palma have been elected as corresponding (Medal 5), number and international Academy Members, respectively, in the Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia (RANF).
Congratulations friends.
Links:
Dr. Tomås Girbés. University of Valladolid
Dra. RocĂo H. Vanrell. Complutense University of Madrid
Dr. Santiago. D. Palma. Universidad Nacional de CĂłrdoba (Argentina)
Our Doctor Juan GonzĂĄlez starts his postdoctoral stay at the Molecular Imaging Innovations Institute (MI3) in the WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE of New York
Our Doctor Juan GonzĂĄlez starts his postdoctoral stay at the Molecular Imaging Innovations Institute (MI3) in the WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE of New York.
Good luck Juan!
Link:
Our Master student Sandra Ramos finished her master degree in the IBGM
On July 13, 2021, our group member Sandra Ramos obtained her Master title with the work âSĂntesis de polĂmero recombinante tipo elastina para la liberaciĂłn controlada y dirigida de fĂĄrmacos para el control de la angiogĂ©nesisâ under the supervision of Dr. Alessandra Girotti and Dr. F. Javier Arias.Â
Congratulations Sandra
Doctor SofĂa Serrano
On March 25, 2021, our group member SofĂa Serrano obtained her Doctor title with the award of «suma cum laude» with the work  âDevelopment of advanced modular molecules for innovative devices in delivery of therapeutic agentsâ under the supervision of Dr. Alessandra Girotti and Dr. F. Javier Arias.
Congratulations Doctor Serrano DĂșcar
Our PhD students Sara and Irene participate in the DĂa Internacional de la Mujer y la Niña en la Ciencia «CuĂ©ntame11F»
Our PhD students Sara and Irene have recorded a video showing their daily work in the lab for the Women and Girls in Science day.
In our lab, we are committed to Gender Equality; we believe that gender is a social construct, and it is not relevant to determine the competency of a person.
In this video, we show our work to encourage and motivate young girls to develop their scientific career. You are not alone!
Here is to Rosalind Franklin, Nettie Stevens, Lise Meitner, Jocelyn Bell, Nubia Muñoz and many more forgotten women; you are our inspiration.
Link: #CuĂ©ntame11F. IRENE ALONSO Y SARA ESCALERA. – YouTube
Doctor Juan GonzĂĄlez
On july 28, 2020, our group member Juan GonzĂĄlez obtained his Doctor title with the award of «suma cum laude», «International PhD Mention» and Extraordinary Doctorated Award with the work âAdvanced nanodevices based on Elastin-like Recombinamers as smart drug delivery systems for biomedical applicationsâ under the supervision of Dr. Alessandra Girotti and Dr. F. Javier Arias.Â
Congratulations Doctor GonzĂĄlez ValdiviesoÂ
The publication of Juan GonzĂĄlez selected by the journal of SEBBM
The Spanish Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM) has selected our work «Self-Assembling ELR-Based Nanoparticles as Smart Drug-Delivery Systems Modulating Cellular Growth via Akt» published in the prestigious journal Biomacromolecules as the «Article of the month»
Link:
Â
The scientific photography of Juan GonzĂĄlez wins the first award of PHOTOPOL2019
A scientific picture made by our student Juan GonzĂĄlez wins the first award in the First Competition of Scientific Photography in Polymers for Young Researchers (PHOTOPOL 2019) organized by the ICTP (Instituto de Ciencia y TecnologĂa de PolĂmeros) in collaboration with the Real Sociedad Española de QuĂmica.
Congratulations Juan!
Link:
Scientific News
2024 Nobel Price in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 with one half to David Baker «for computacional protein design» and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper «for protein structure prediction». The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 is about proÂteins, lifeâs ingenious chemical tools. David Baker has succeeded with the almost impossible feat of building entirely new kinds of proteins. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have developed an AI model to solve a 50-year-old problem: predicting proteinsâ complex structures. These discoveries hold enormous potential.
2024 Nobel Price in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun âfor the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulationâ. MicroRNA a new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation. Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans. It is now known that the human genome codes for over one thousand microRNAs. Their surprising discovery revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation. MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.
Â
2023 Nobel Price in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Katalin KarikĂł and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.
2020 Nobel Price in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm has decided to award the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna âfor the development of a method for genome editingâ .
Â
The International Year of the Periodic Table
Being 1869 considered as the year of discovery of the Periodic System by Dmitri Mendeleev, 2019 will be the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements and has therefore been proclaimed the «International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019)» by the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO.
2018 Nobel Price in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm has decided to award the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to Frances H. Arnold âfor the directed evolution of enzymesâ and to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter âfor the phage display of peptides and antibodiesâ.
Â
II Sustainable Science Fair
On Saturday May 5, 2018, the University of Valladolid will develop the second Sustaibable Science Fair in the Campus Miguel Delibes.
This event consists on different divulgative activities for kids and families promoting the science.
2017 Nobel Price in Chemistry
The past 4 of October the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm announced the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson «for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution».
Â
2015 Nobel Price in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm has decided to award the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for having mapped, at a molecular level, how cells repair damaged DNA and safeguard the genetic information. Their work has provided fundamental knowledge of how a living cell functions and is, for instance, used for the development of new cancer treatments.