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Gerard Cantero Recasens

I am a Principal Investigator of the Renal Physiopathology Group at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona. Motivated by my deep interest in understanding how ion signalling impacts cellular homeostasis and its pathological implications, I have cultivated over the years a diverse skill set including electrophysiology, biochemistry, live-cell imaging, molecular biology, and cell biology. My primary research focus lies in unravelling the intricate relationship between ion homeostasis, glycosylation, and protein trafficking under both physiological and pathological conditions, with a particular emphasis on renal diseases.

Institutions of which they are part

Main researcher
Kidney Physiopathology
Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca

Gerard Cantero Recasens

Institutions of which they are part

Main researcher
Kidney Physiopathology
Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca

I am a Principal Investigator of the Renal Physiopathology Group at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona. Motivated by my deep interest in understanding how ion signalling impacts cellular homeostasis and its pathological implications, I have cultivated over the years a diverse skill set including electrophysiology, biochemistry, live-cell imaging, molecular biology, and cell biology. My primary research focus lies in unravelling the intricate relationship between ion homeostasis, glycosylation, and protein trafficking under both physiological and pathological conditions, with a particular emphasis on renal diseases.

I conducted my Ph.D. thesis in Dr. Valverde’s lab (UPF) on the role of different asthma-associated proteins in controlling intracellular Ca2+ levels. During my Ph.D., I collaborated with Dr. von Blume (USA) to identify a new sorting mechanism at the Golgi; and with Dr. Hoth’s Lab (Germany) to hone my electrophysiological Ca2+ measurement techniques. Later, as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Malhotra’s lab (CRG), I led a team that unravelled how cells regulate mucins’ quality and quantities. From 2020 to 2022, I served as a senior researcher of the Renal Physiopathology Group (VHIR), where I studied the role of ion channels in rare renal diseases. Recently, I have been a visiting researcher at the Osaka International Cancer Institute, to deepen my knowledge on glycosylation (Japan); and at Leiden University (the Netherlands) to learn renal organoids’ generation.
My expertise in the field of ion channels is shown by my presentations at numerous scientific congresses and my high-impact publications (74 citations/year in the last 5 years). At present, I am director of a Ph.D. thesis and two Master Final Projects. Regarding my teaching experience, currently, I am professor of the Translational Biomedical Research Master at VHIR, where I am also the co-coordinator of the cardiovascular and kidney diseases module.
My involvement in the scientific community also includes being a member of the Dent Disease Foundation Medical Advisory Board (USA), review editor of Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, and national and international grants’ evaluator. Referring to my merits, I was awarded with a Spanish Ph.D. mobility fellowship, the extraordinary Ph.D. award, a Juan de la Cierva fellowship, and a short-term EMBO fellowship. Furthermore, I have secured national and international funding, including grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience and the "Sociedad Española Contra el Cáncer".

Projects

La variabilidad fenotípica en pacientes afectados de Hipomagnesemia Familiar con Hipercalciuria y Nefrocalcinosis (HFHNC) como oportunidad para entender las bases fisiopatológicas de la enfermedad y para la búsqueda de soluciones terapéuticas

IP: Anna Meseguer Navarro
Collaborators: Gema Ariceta Iraola, Gerard Cantero Recasens
Funding agency: Sociedad Española de Nefrología (S.E.N.)
Funding: 24000
Reference: SENEFRO/PROJECTES/2023/MESEGUER
Duration: 27/11/2023 - 26/11/2025

Fucosylation in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. STATing novel biomarkers and therapeutic strategies

IP: Anna Meseguer Navarro
Collaborators: Gerard Cantero Recasens, Miriam Izquierdo Sans
Funding agency: Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer
Funding: 150000
Reference: INVES234762CANT
Duration: 15/11/2023 - 14/11/2026

Papel del ClC-5 en la fibrosis renal. Identificación de posibles biomarcadores y dianas terapéuticas para la progresión de la enfermedad de Dent 1

IP: Gerard Cantero Recasens
Collaborators: Anna Meseguer Navarro, Hector Rios Duro, Gloria Mª Fraga Rodriguez, Julieta Torchia, Julieta Torchia
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 123420
Reference: PI22/00741
Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2025

Patologia Cel·lular

IP: Anna Meseguer Navarro
Collaborators: Gema Ariceta Iraola, Alejandro Cruz Gual, Gerard Cantero Recasens, David Lorente García, Marina Muñoz López, Hector Rios Duro, Luis Augusto Castro Sáder, Gloria Mª Fraga Rodriguez, Julieta Torchia
Funding agency: Agència Gestió Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca
Funding: 40000
Reference: 2021 SGR 01600
Duration: 01/01/2022 - 30/06/2025

Related news

The communication is part of a study aimed at identifying the mechanisms of progression of Familial Hypomagnesemia with Hypercalciuria and Nephrocalcinosis, a rare disease that affects the kidneys.

"Patients with familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis present miRNA profiles in urinary extracellular vesicles associated with disease progression" was the awarded work.

Researchers at the VHIR have carried out a study showing that the ClC-5 protein regulates collagen levels through the β-catenin pathway and lysosomal degradation.

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