Cellular and molecular mechanismos underlying early neurogenesis and brain maturation.

We study a fundamental question in neuroscience: how neuronal circuits are refined by environmental cues to produce adaptive behaviors? Circuit refinements involve maturation of selected synaptic connections and elimination (“pruning”) of others and are most prominent during critical periods—a stage of postnatal brain development when synapses have a high potential for undergoing plasticity. This malleability allows early experience to modify the architecture of neural circuits, providing a foundation for future learning.

Multidisciplinary group of engineers, architects and chemists focused on the study, experimentation and development of new materials and structures used in construction and rehabilitation and improvement of the existing ones under a performance-based approach The design and implementation of technical systems in general and civil engineering structures in particular must necessarily cover safety, environmental and economic considerations.

The goal of our lab is to understand how brain’s innate immune cells integrate within neural circuits to influence brain function in health and disease. The questions we pursue are grounded in understanding the interplay between brain physiology and the brain’s innate immune system, as a central axis controlling homeostasis and disease. Our ultimate goal is to develop novel approaches for the treatment of chronic neurodegenerative conditions by modulating immunity and neuroinflammation.

My group focuses on understanding the ecological principles that underpin weed agroecology in order to develop integrated weed management strategies under global change scenarios that are both economically and ecologically sustainable. Current research interests are focused on: a) Development of models of population dynamics of weeds; b) Weed agroecology, with emphasis on biodiversity, ecosystem services/disevices and the impact of climate change and c) Transfer of results to the agricultural sector through the development of decision support systems. We use a variety of approaches, inc

The group bases her activity in establishing the structure-activity relationships of the catalytic solids using in situ and operando X-ray by spectroscopic and diffraction methods, that is, by using techniques fundamentally based on synchrotron radiation.

The IREC Toxicology group was created in mid-2003 and since then it works on the evaluation of exposure to different types of toxicants in wildlife and livestock, as well as the effects they can have on the individuals, in the conservation of populations and the use of these natural resources. In this respect, we also study food safety implications that this type of contamination poses to human consumers. The knowledge obtained allows to develop strategies for risk reduction and perform better overall use of natural resources.

The research activity of this group is related to the prevention, evaluation, control and minimization of the environmental impact of pollutants from industrial activities.

The Advanced Electronic Materials and Devices Group joined the ICN2 in September 2015. The group focuses on the material sciences and technology aspects of novel electronic materials, with a strong emphasis on carbon materials, such as graphene, as well as other 2D materials (MoS2). The group also works towards the development of technological applications based on these materials in such as electronics, bioelectronics and biosensing, energy storage and conversion, etc.

Our research focuses on: a) the discovery of novel targets and drugs triggering selective tumor cell death; b) lipid rafts and their role in cell death; c) the mechanism of action of the so-called antitumor alkylphospholipid analogs (APLs), especially the ether phospholipid edelfosine, the first lipid raft-targeted antitumor drug, using different biological systems (mammalian cells, yeast, C.