The group has a long and extensive experience in the chemical, biochemical and instrumental analysis of protein foods, especially meat and meat products, and more recently fish. Researchers from diverse backgrounds, including food (bio)chemistry, flavour chemistry, food quality, sustainable processing, and food by-product value adding are included. Studies the biochemical mechanisms involved in food processing with a view to improving the sensory quality and nutritional value. Worldwide pioneer in the purification and characterization of muscle and microbial.

The group is placed into the Food Biochemistry field, mainly in the study of proteins, metabolites (small molecule) and associated cellular processes of both animal and vegetal food matrices. This includes the study of the biochemical reactions responsible for the transformation of muscle into meat and the development of new strategies for the detection of food fraud. The group also has a solid scientific background in the study of vegetal foods, with special emphasis in the elucidation of new antioxidant metabolites derived from both mandarin and pomegranate juice.

The group of Physiology, Postharvest Pathology and Biotechnology dedicates its activity to the study of the quality of the fruit and its maintenance during postharvest storage. In our research projects, we use different multidisciplinary approaches and strategies to understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms related to fruit quality during post-harvest. We also address the development of storage technologies to prevent or reduce postharvest losses caused by physiological and pathological disorders, and to reduce the mycotoxin levels in fruit.

Research into the interactions between the gut microbiome, diet and the human organism and their influence on the health status and the development of pathologies related to diet and stress, in order to improve and personalise the prediction and prevention of these pathologies. Selection of a new generation of probiotic bacteria and bio-therapeutic products and evaluation of their efficacy and mechanisms of action on the immune and neuroendocrine system, whereby they can contribute to reducing the risk of developing pathologies such as obesity and its comorbidities and depression.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) allow non-invasive visualization of physiological and pathological processes at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels, providing the most complete characterization available of healthy and diseased phenotypes. Our group develops and evaluates new advanced biomedical spectroscopy and imaging methodologies for the diagnosis and monitoring of therapies in the most prevalent diseases, including: cancer, ischemic pathologies, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerations, diabetes, obesity and neuroinflammatory diseases.

The close relationship between metabolism and the immune system (immunometabolism) plays an essential role in the development of insulin resistance and T2DM associated with obesity states. Changes in the intestinal microbiota that occur in obese individuals are the first trigger of chronic low-grade inflammation that alters the functions of the tissues responsible for the control of the body's glucose homeostasis.

he Metabolic Syndrome is associated with an increased risk of developing an important number of prevalent diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cancer.

The main research interest of the group is to provide deeper knowledge of the novel resistance, tumor invasion and metastasis mechanisms in solid tumors as well as in the identification of new targeted therapies against biomarkers previously characterized by our group. The team headed by Dr. Gema Moreno-Bueno has a clear translational orientation and led to the characterization of new prognostic/ predictive markers in breast and gynecological tumors as well as in gastric carcinomas and carcinosarcomas.

Our group studies human colon cancer. We use primary cultures of fibroblasts and stem cell-derived organoids established from healthy and tumor tissue of colon cancer patients to investigate the role of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, the contribution of the tumor microenvironment, and the antitumor action of vitamin D in this neoplasia.

Study of mechanisms and genes involved in anti-tumour protection in mammals, with a special focus on cellular senescence.