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 group aims to unravel the molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and metastasis to identify new diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic targets in cancer. By combining the knowledge and availability of human tumors in the Pathology department with the expertise of the basic molecular cell biology research group, we focus on:
Connexins and pannexins are structural units of gap junctions permitting direct intercellular communication. Deregulation of gap junctions is a frequent feature of carcinogenesis. We are characterizing the expression level of a variety of connexins and pannexins in primary and metastatic human tumours. In vitro we are studying how these proteins affect features related to the degree of malignancy such as migration, invasion and resistance to hypoxia. In connexin-deficient cell lines we are over-expressing specific wild-type or truncated forms of connexins and pannexins using retroviral constructs recently generated. In cell lines expressing high levels of specific connexins, we knockdown the expression levels using established lentiviral shRNA strategies. We aim to correlate connexin expression and cell communication with malignancy using a variety of well characterized assays with particular focus on colony formation, migration, invasion, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, changes in tumour stem cell populations, and hypoxia and drug resistance. The aim of the study is to: 1) Identify any significant correlation between the expression of various gap junction proteins and the malignancy, prognosis, chemo-resistance and overall survival in a variety of cancers 2) Gain mechanistic insight and identify direct functional roles of connexins and pannexins during tumour progression.
IP: Trond Aasen
To study the degree and types of skeletal muscle involvement in CF patients who present exercise intolerance and its relationship with the genotype.
To determine the relationship between the type and/or degree of skeletal muscle involvement by histologic and mitochondrial respiratory chain function study, and the CF genotype.
Correlation study between exercise capacity, pulmonary function and genotype.
IP: -
Aging may be considered as an accumulation of changes in cells and tissues that increases the risk of disease and death. The senescence-accelerated prone mice SAMP8 is an aging model with brain histopathological signs and other aging-related disorders, such as ß-amyloid and tau protein aggregates and increased oxidative stress. If hyperphosphorylated, tau protein contributes to the development of a tauopathy, process linked to neurodegenerative diseases of the aging brain such as Alzheimer disease. Several kinases (PKC, ERK, CDK5 or GSK3ß) perform this tau protein post-transcriptional modification. We plan to determine the effect that inhibitors of these kinases such as lithium, in vivo and in vitro, could have in slowing down the brain neurodegenerative processes. Besides, we will study the role of a newly described protein family, sirtuins.
Sirtuins are ontogenically preserved proteins related to longevity. We will evaluate the gene and protein expression of Sirt 1, 2 and 3 in cultured neurons and in the brain of this mouse strain. We seek to elucidate the participation of sirtuins in cerebral ageing using as a tools resveratrol, a flavonoid described as activator of these proteins, and caloric restriction, two paradigms that lead to an elongation of lifespan and neuroprotection in several animal models. In the in vitro studies, the role of GDNF in maintaining neuronal functionality and its correlation with sirtuins will be investigated because this trophic factor decreases with aging and shows a lesser expression in SAMP8 mice. These studies will contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies to prevent age-related neurodegeneratives diseases.
In previous works we studied several factors involved in cell signalling pathways that control cell growth. The found that the phosphorylated form of 4E-BP1 was the only factor that correlated with prognosis, and histologic aggressive features in several types of cancers. 4E-BP1 is a key regulator of CAP-dependent traslation and its main function is the inactivation of eIF4E. However, not all the aggressive tumors show activation of this factor. On the other hand, it has been shown that under hypoxia conditions cells the translation of some key factors can be regulated by CAP-independent pathways, mediated by factors known as ITAFs. The aim of our study is to find the CAP-depdendent/CAP-independent balance in tumors in relation to hypoxia, and evaluate its impact on prognosis.
IP: Josep Castellví Vives
IP: Carles Zafon Llopis Collaborators: Jordi Temprana Salvador, Carmela Iglesias i Felip Funding agency: Fundación Sdad Española Endocrinologia y Nutrición Funding: 10000 Reference: SEEN/PROJECTE/ZAFON/2024 Duration: 01/01/2025 - 01/01/2026
IP: Santiago Ramon y Cajal Agüeras Collaborators: - Funding agency: EUROPEAN COMMISSION Funding: 609600 Reference: EC/PATHFINDER_OPEN/2024/RAMON_Y_CAJAL Duration: 01/08/2025 - 31/07/2028
IP: Lucas Moreno Martín-Retortillo Collaborators: Andrea Vilaplana Blanes, Aroa Soriano Fernández, Jessica Camacho Soriano, Lorena Valero Arrese, Raquel Hladun Alvaro, Gabriela Guillén Burrieza Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III Funding: 240000 Reference: PI24/01576 Duration: 01/01/2025 - 31/12/2027
IP: Eva Colas Ortega Collaborators: Elena Suarez Salvador, Francesc Xavier Serra Marin, Carina Masferrer Ferragutcasas, Anna Ruano Lopez, Josep Castellví Vives, Sonia Monreal Clua, Diana Alejandra Guerrero Lojano, Raquel Delgado Gil Funding agency: Fundació La Marató de TV3 Funding: 200000 Reference: 202407-10 Duration: 20/02/2025 - 19/02/2028
The ten groups within the Cancer Area combine basic, translational and clinical research to identify new targets, biomarkers and therapeutic strategies
The grants promote new therapeutic strategies and diagnostic tools in highly complex tumors such as glioblastoma, triple-negative breast cancer, and endometrial cancer.
The Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya grants subsidies for carrying out validation tests on innovative projects in the field of health that are in the early stages of development.
Check the current rates for the services offered by the Translational Molecular Pathology research group.
Current Rates
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Rates Anatomia Patologica VHIR 2021
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