About the VHIR
Here at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) we promote biomedical research, innovation and teaching. Over 1,800 people are seeking to understand diseases today so the treatment can be improved tomorrow.
Research
We are working to understand diseases, to find out how they operate and to create better treatments for patients. Get to know about our groups and their lines of research.
People
People are the centre of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). This is why we are bound by the principles of freedom of research, gender equality and professional attitudes that HRS4R promotes.
Clinical trials
Our work is not just basic or translational; we are leaders in clinical research. Enter and find about the clinical trials we are conducting and why we are a world reference in this field.
Progress
Our aim is to make the research carried out at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) a driving force for transformation. How? By identifying new channels and solutions for the promotion of people's health and well-being.
Core facilities
We offer specialist support for researchers, internal and external alike, ranging from specific services to preparing complete projects. All this, from a perspective of quality and speed of response.
News
We offer you a gateway for staying up to date on everything going on at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), from the latest news to future solidarity activities and initiatives that we are organising.
Our laboratory, in the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit of the Neurology Service, has a twenty-year history of clinical care and research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neurone diseases (hereditary, spastic paraplegia, post-polio syndrome, Hirayama disease, spinal muscular atrophy), myasthenia gravis, genetically determined myopathies, and peripheral neuropathies. Our main lines of research focus on the molecular mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and how genetic mutations in family ELA predispose or modify genetic factors. We also look for effective biomarkers in blood and in cerebrospinal fluid that allow the evaluation of new medication.
In our main research line, clinical/genetic characterization of familial forms of ALS, a Spanish/Italian collaboration evaluated a possible phenotype/genotype correlation and sought a founder effect in four Mediterranean families (3 Spanish and 1 Italian) carrying the p.I112M SOD1 mutation. This interesting study was motivated by the shared historical links between Catalonia and Sicily (Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:70-75).
IP: Josep Gamez Carbonell
In 2011, our group investigated the prevalence of FUS/TLS mutations in a Catalan familial ALS cohort previously studied for SOD1 in 2006. We identified the first two FUS/TLS families in Spain. One of the main conclusions is that FUS/TLS mutations are the second most common cause of FALS in our population (Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:118-123).
Our group joined ALSUntangled, a network of clinical experts in ALS providing an informed opinion about alternative and off-label treatments, about which they are frequently asked by patients attending their clinics. The goals for each investigation are to clarify what is on offer, its cost, the scientific and ethical basis of the ‘‘treatment’’, and the potential benefits and risks. In consequence, we published the following reports: Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:471-2, Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:389-91, Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:309-11, Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:235-7, Amyotroph Lateral Scler 2011;12:153-5.
IP: Arnau Llauradó Gayete Collaborators: Josep Quer Sivila, Laura Costa Comellas Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III Funding: 480370 Reference: PMPER24/00018 Duration: 01/01/2025 - 31/12/2026
IP: Raul Juntas Morales Collaborators: Margarita Gratacós Viñola, Maria Salvadó Figueras, Nuria Raguer Sanz, David Ovelleiro Fraile, Consuelo Garcia Carmona, José Manuel Vidal Taboada, Javier Joaquín Sotoca Fernández, Arnau Llauradó Gayete, Daniel Sánchez-Tejerin San José Funding agency: Fundación Francisco Luzón Funding: 139000 Reference: FCO.LUZON/PROJECTES/2024/JUNTAS Duration: 12/12/2024 - 11/12/2027
IP: Raul Juntas Morales Collaborators: Margarita Gratacós Viñola, Maria Salvadó Figueras, Nuria Raguer Sanz, David Ovelleiro Fraile, José Manuel Vidal Taboada, Javier Joaquín Sotoca Fernández, Arnau Llauradó Gayete, Daniel Sánchez-Tejerin San José Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III Funding: 190000 Reference: PI23/00850 Duration: 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2026
PhD student: Laura Zalba Jadraque Director/s: José Manuel Vidal Taboada, Raul Juntas Morales, José Manuel Vidal Taboada University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2023
PhD student: Maria Salvadó Figueras Director/s: Josep Gamez Carbonell, José Manuel Vidal Taboada, José Manuel Vidal Taboada University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2020
The donation raised through ALS, the Musical will support the development of new biomarkers and more personalised research into the disease
