Faces to Names A joint PhD programme with “la Caixa” Joining

in vivo
March 2008
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March 2008
Issue 02
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Issue 02
NEWSLETTER OF THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN BIOMEDICINE
The Art of Leadership
Tips and tricks for approaching
management challenges in the lab
were the subject of the second Barcelona BioMed Workshop, held on
March 3-6 and organized by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine.
A joint PhD programme
with “la Caixa”
Joining efforts in computational biology
Selected from a pool of more than 250 appli-
The new collaboration between IRB
cants from across the world, the 30 final can-
Barcelona researchers from the Struc-
didates arrived at IRB Barcelona on March
tural and Computational Biology Pro-
10 to get a first-hand look at the Institute
gramme and life scientists at the Barcelo-
and face tough interviews in the hopes of
na Supercomputing Center starts the year
being admitted to the PhD programme.
at full speed.
Faces to Names
A new service to speed up research conclusions
Interview with Herbert Auer, Manager of
the Functional Genomics Core Facility.
Page 6
03
‘Drugs for
Aging’ wins
national
award
Page 3
Page 2
Page 2
04
Are you overwhelmed with data and lack
the time or the tools to analyze it quickly
to speed up conclusions? Do you need
tailor-made software for your research?
If you're in one of these situations or just
tired of dealing with math, knock on the
door of the newly created Bioinformatics
and Biostatistics Unit of IRB Barcelona.
Since it started operations in January,
the Unit has been busy providing
consultation and quantitative research
resources to scientists at IRB Barcelona.
Awards
and
honors
07
New Bioincubator up and
running
Page 4
08
To be or
not to be
a bioinformaticist
March 2008
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Recruiting skilled PhD students in biomedicine
The successful candidates will join an established community of more than 150
students currently doing their PhD at IRB Barcelona
T
he tension was palpable in IRB Barcelona
on March 10-11, as the final candidates for
the PhD programme waited to face the interview
that could land them the position. Selected from
a pool of more than 250 applicants from across
the world, the 30 final candidates had to face all
sort of questions to get ahead of their competitors and prove their suitability to do a PhD in
biomedicine at IRB Barcelona.
The successful candidates, all in their twenties with excellent academic records, will take
up their positions at the Institute for Research
in Biomedicine in the fall. PhD students will do
their practical training in an IRB Barcelona laboratory where they will spend up to four years to
complete work toward their thesis.
The new junior scientists will work on
a research project chosen together with the
principal investigator and will
be able to take advantage of
the high-quality training and
educational activities IRB
Barcelona offers through
workshops, seminars and
conferences to ensure a solid
start to their careers.
The Institute for Research
in Biomedicine hosts an es(From left to right) CNIO director M. Barbacid, CSIC director C.
tablished community of more Martinez, Minister of Health B. Soria, president of “la Caixa” I.
than 150 PhD students that Faine, IRB Barcelona director J. Guinovart, CRG director M. Beato
and director of “la Caixa”'s welfare projects J.F. de Conrado.
organizes scientific and social
activities to strengthen links and foster multi- a strategic grant agreement with the Spanish
disciplinary interactions among laboratories. financial institution “la Caixa” in January.
With an investment of 4.9 million euros, the
A joint programme with “la Caixa”
joint initiative will recruit young talented sciIRB Barcelona was among four leading bio- entists from all over the world to IRB Barcemedical research centers in Spain that signed lona during the next four years.
Thrown in at the deep end
Researchers learn lab management skills
at the Barcelona BioMed Workshop
Y
ou are in your office, phone off
the hook, furiously trying to finish writing that grant proposal that is
due before midnight. From behind the
closed door you can hear the sound of
test tubes for that really important experiment crashing to the floor, and your
predocs who are meant to be collaborating are screaming at one other. What to
do? It’s a daunting scenario and one that
would put even a veteran group leader’s
management skills to the test.
Tips and tricks for approaching these
and many other management challenges
were the subject of the second Barcelona BioMed Workshop, “The Art of
Leadership: Fewer Conflicts, More Re-
sults” held on March 3-6, organized by
IRB Barcelona with the collaboration
of the BBVA Foundation and hosted by
the Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
The course, open to IRB Barcelona
researchers as well as to scientists from
other institutes, was based on the highly
successful courses offered by the European Molecular Biology Organization in
Heidelberg, Germany.
Through role-playing and discussion groups, the workshop participants
learned a variety of skills, including the
hiring of staff, leadership and team development, communication and conflict
management.
02
Participants during the first session of the Barcelona BioMed Workshop at the Institut d'Estudis
Catalans in Barcelona.
“Young scientists just coming out
of a postdoc position to head up a new
lab are often thrown in at the deep end
when it comes to managing research
laboratories,” says IRB Barcelona director Joan Guinovart. “This aspect is often neglected in their scientific training.
We thought it was important to give
researchers the tools they need to effectively run their labs and maximize their
chances for success.”
March 2008
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Joining efforts in computational biology
T
“The main goal of the EBL is to offer computational biologists in the programme the possibility to integrate experimental measures into their projects,
thus allowing empirical verification of
hypotheses,” explains Modesto Orozco, coordinator of the IRB Barcelona - BSC joint
research programme.
Pilot projects at the EBL focus on tackling pathological processes and will soon
start in the fields of systems biology and
promoter regulation. The joint programme
is allowing researchers from both institutions to share resources and services, and
Photo: D. Torrents
Dozens of researchers from both institutions, ranging from bioinformatics to computational biochemists, are working non-stop
toward unlocking new paths in computational
biology. One of the first tangible results of
this joint collaboration is the Experimental
Bioinformatics Laboratory (EBL), created
by IRB Barcelona in January 2008.
Photo: C. Pons
he new collaboration between IRB Barcelona researchers from the Structural and Computational Biology Programme and life scientists at the Barcelona
Supercomputing Center (BSC) started the
year at full speed.
Researchers from the joint programme recently spent two days in a resort in the Pyrenees,
where they held their first retreat to put everyone in the spotlight. Scientific talks to present
each other's work were followed by a competition among researchers to defend the ‘Worst
paper in 2007’, an exercise to learn about the other areas of expertise within the programme.
“I ended up defending a paper on the Neanderthal genome whereas my normal line of work
is the physical chemistry of atoms and molecules,” says Alberto Perez, postdoctoral fellow from
the Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics Group at IRB Barcelona.
to work together toward finding bioinformatic solutions in the development of
new projects in computational research.
To achieve this, the programme takes advantage of IRB Barcelona's privileged interface
of experimental biologists and BSC's unique
computing resources.
Through the programme, IRB Barcelona
scientists enjoy access to MareNostrum, the
most powerful supercomputer in Europe,
and other internal resources at the Barcelona
Supercomputing Center. In return, BSC researchers have access to the Experimental
Bioinformatics Laboratory and other research
services and facilities at IRB Barcelona.
The programme, funded in equal parts by
IRB Barcelona and BSC, has established an
external scientific committee, which oversees
and evaluates the joint activities carried out
by both institutions. The ultimate goal is to
join efforts to become a European research
pole of attraction in computational biology.
‘Drugs for aging’ wins national award
‘D
rugs for Aging’, a project aimed to
develop new drugs against agingrelated diseases, won a national business
research award for its technology transfer
approach last month. The award, given by
the Secretary of State for Research, was an
initiative of the Ministry of Education.
“The main goal of the project is to
use systems biology to find secondary
targets to develop new drugs for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes
and osteoarthritis,” according to Patrick
Aloy, IRB Barcelona principal investigator and scientific director of the project's
experimental area.
Since the beginning, the Institute for
Research in Biomedicine has played a key
role in the ‘Drugs for Aging’ project coordinated by the Spanish company Infociencia.
The Structural Bioinformatics Lab at IRB
Barcelona co-wrote the original proposal
and is currently leading the experimental
area, one of the project's pillars to speed up
the discovery of new drugs associated with
03
Patrick Aloy (right) next to Jose Manuel Mas,
chief technical officer of Infociencia, and Xavier
Daura, principal investigator of the Institute of
Biotechnology and Biomedicine (UAB).
aging. Other partners in the consortium include the Institute for Molecular Biology,
Pompeu Fabra University and the Institute
of Biotechnology and Biomedicine.
March 2008
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A new service to speed up research conclusions
A
re you overwhelmed with data and
lack the time or the tools to analyze
it quickly to speed up conclusions? Do you
need tailor-made software for your research?
If you're in one of these situations or just
tired of dealing with math, knock on the
door of the newly created Bioinformatics
and Biostatistics Unit of IRB Barcelona.
But what does the Unit really have to
offer? “We support scientists in a variety of
Asked about what
makes the Unit so unique,
Rossell states convincingly:
“That we make people's
life better by dealing with
ugly math for them, and
we do it free of charge.”
His immediate plans are to make the
Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Unit more
popular amongst the scientific community
in IRB Barcelona.
Photo: A. Alsina
Since it started operations in January
2008, the Unit has been very busy providing
consultation and quantitative research
resources to scientists at IRB Barcelona. The
increased demand for its services has come
as a pleasant surprise to the manager of the
Unit, David Rossell, who used to believe
that statisticians were not amongst the most
popular, at least until he started working at
the Institute for Research in Biomedicine.
scientific tasks such as designing experiments,
analyzing complex biomedical data and
developing software and mathematical
models,” explains Rossell, who moved back
from the MD Anderson
Cancer Center in the
United States earlier this
year to start the Unit.
“The service even helps
researchers to understand
those obscure statistical
ideas that abound in much
of the scientific literature.”
The presentation seminar of the Unit drew the attention last month of
dozens of researchers at IRB Barcelona.
AWARDS & HONORS
Eduard Batlle awarded an ERC Starting Grant to head a study on colon cancer
E
duard Batlle, coordinator of the Oncology Programme at IRB Barcelona
and principal investigator with the Colorectal Cancer Laboratory, will receive
funding from the European Research
Council (ERC) to perform a project on
the progression of colon cancer.
ERC Starting Grants form part of a
highly selective programme which seeks
to strengthen cutting-edge research done
by up-and-coming young investigators.
In this first call, the ERC judged 9,200
projects, of which only 3% met the criteria
established by the evaluation panel. Batlle’s
study will address several features regarding the origin and spread of colon cancer.
The evaluation panel made special mention
of the multidisciplinary and innovative approach of the research, the potential to discovery of new treatments, and the excellent
design of the proposal.
Born in Barcelona in 1970, Batlle's research activity focuses on the characterization of the mechanisms that drive colorectal
cancer initiation and progression. Among
other findings, he discovered the transcription factor Snail as a suppressor of E-cadherin expression in tumor cells and the role
of EphB receptors in colorectal cancer.
Sonia Armengou
MetLab, best public initiative 2007
Elected to serve ISMAR
T
M
he Tumor Metastasis Laboratory (MetLab) at IRB Barcelona was selected
Best Public Initiative of 2007 by Actualidad
Economica, the leading weekly financial
magazine in Spain. The other two nominees
competing for this award were the Barcelona
Biomedical Research Park and the Science
and Technology Park of Girona. The official
award ceremony was held last month at the
National Theater of Catalonia in Barcelona.
Roger Gomis (center), Managing Director of MetLab, with
his research team at IRB Barcelona. Photo: F. Alonso
04
iquel Pons, principal investigator
of the Biomolecular NMR Group
at IRB Barcelona, has been elected Council member of the International Society of
Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR), an institution devoted to the advancement of NMR
and its applications. Born in Barcelona,
Pons was also awarded the Research Prize
of the Spanish Biophysical Society in 2000
for his research in biomolecular NMR.
March 2008
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IN BRIEF
VIEWPOINT
Chemistry Programme
holds first retreat
What is your favorite thing about working
in an international environment?
A delegation of
principal investigators, research associates and postdoctoral fellows from
the Chemistry and
Molecular Pharmacology Programme held
their first retreat on February 13. Hosted
in a country house near the Collserola hills,
one of the outcomes of the meeting was
to set mechanisms to foster collaborations
with other research programmes at IRB
Barcelona. The starting point will be to hold
bilateral retreats with each programme.
Board of Trustees gives
positive feedback
The Board of Trustees, the governing
body of IRB Barcelona, met on January 29. The meeting
was set to present
and analyze the 2007 results of the Institute and to outline future plans in terms of
strategic direction. They congratulated IRB
Barcelona on the progress made so far.
New IRB Barcelona Programme coordinator
Marco Milan, principal investigator
at IRB Barcelona,
has been appointed
new coordinator of
the Cell and Developmental Biology Programme. Milan will
play a key role in helping the Programme
to achieve its scientific goals, which include
a wide range of experimental themes to address how cells are organized in time and
space, and how multicellular organisms develop from a single cell. Milan has been leading the Development and Growth Control
Laboratory in IRB Barcelona since 2003.
Nessim Kichik (Mexico), Birgit Claasen (Germany)
PhD Student, Postdoc, Chemistry & Mol. Pharmacology Programme
“Working and living with people from different countries is always
a rewarding experience. For example, the subtleties of social codes
sometimes differ substantially between nationalities and so you
learn to be more tolerant and try to understand these differences.
You also realize that your own beliefs are not always correct. Our
lab hosts people from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Some of our colleagues
have already extended invitations for us to visit their homelands and this is great because it
provides an opportunity to get first-hand knowledge of their culture.”
Thomas Jones (USA)
PhD Student, Cell & Dev. Biology Programme
“The best part of working in an international environment is the
chance to interact with students from diverse backgrounds. In my
lab, I have had the opportunity to work with people from three continents and seven countries. Each person brings unique experiences and
viewpoints to the lab. Such an environment allows us to learn about
other cultures and have a real feeling of being part of a larger world
community. Whether trying to learn a little of another language or being exposed to new cuisine or traditions, it makes the work environment more enriching.”
Eleonora Sorianello (Argentina)
Postdoc, Mol. Medicine Programme
“My native languages are Spanish and German. Sometimes I get my
wires crossed in the lab and start conversations in English and end
up in another language. I interact with researchers from all over the
world on a daily basis and it's very edifying, specially at a personal
level. Not only it opens your mind quite a lot and changes your
perspective on things, but it also makes you more receptive to new
ideas. In science, interacting with people from different nationalities
helps to open bridges for future collaborations with scientists from other countries.”
Zhang Lei (China)
PhD Student, Structural & Comput. Biology Programme
“Before I moved to Spain, I spent eight years in Singapore, a city-state
where one in four or five are foreigners, so working with people from
different countries isn’t new to me and yet I always find it stimulating and enriching. You can learn many things from each other, not
just the culture and language, but also other people's approaches to
handling a situation, to tackling a problem, and their way of thinking.
Interacting with foreign people keeps your mind open and creative as
you need to forgo stereotypes and old doctrines and welcome new ideas, which is crucial for
good research.”
05
March 2008
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Issue 02
FACES TO NAMES
Herbert Auer.
Manager, Functional Genomics Core Facility, IRB Barcelona
“It's hard to believe that more than half of
Americans still reject evolution”
Photos: S. Armengou
ANNA ALSINA
H
erbert Auer settled down in Barcelona
Cats on first class
things we don't understand yet. The good
news is that next-generation technologies in
genomics hold great promise to answer many
a year ago to launch the Functional Ge-
Herbert Auer (Austria, 1962) grew
nomics Core Facility at the Institute for Re-
up in Vienna and spent pretty much
search in Biomedicine. A genetics enthusiast,
his whole life there until he moved to
he moved to Spain from the Cancer Center at
the United States for work in 2002.
Ohio State University for professional reasons
When he and his wife decided to pack
and because he was homesick for Europe.
up and leave behind the American
- Why Spain?
sequencing, years can be cut down to weeks.
lifestyle for Barcelona, they were not
“After five years of living abroad, my wife and
We're not stuck with predictions that can fail
alone. Their two cats also crossed the
anymore. This new digital technology, which
Atlantic Ocean, but on better condi-
by the way we plan to implement in the core
tions than them. “The national airlines
facility, is revolutionizing molecular biology.”
within the United States were not tak-
- What would you like genetics to decipher?
I realized that we tended to share many more
things with people from Europe. It stopped
being important if someone was from Portugal, Great Britain, Finland or Greece, because in the end we all share a same history
over thousands of years, and this makes the
way we think much more alike. We didn't feel
ing animals anymore because of the
strict regulations after September 11,
so we ended up hiring a commercial
questions.”
- For instance?
“It took years from the first scientific observation until the HIV was discovered in humans.
Now with the emergence of next-generation
“Any question that hasn't been answered yet
is as interesting as any other. From the genetic
susceptibility to colon cancer, to the development of the Drosophila wing or the dynamics
at home in a place where we didn't share the
animal transport company. The tickets
mentality.”
for our cats were more expensive than
- How did a geneticist like you fit in the pub-
ours,” he recalls. Auer believes that the
lic discussions about evolution?
war on terror (“don't ask me why,” he
derstand how the miracle of nature works.”
“When I heard people were questioning
laughs) has somehow something to do
- What's your position about ethics in hu-
whether evolution happened or the world was
with animals.
man genetics?
of mitochondrial movements. For me, it's not
so much about which biological question we
can answer but how far we can go into it to un-
created six thousand years ago in one day, I
“Coming from a country like Austria where
couldn't believe they were serious. It's hard to unknown areas. Why do female chickens, the Nazis abused genetics during the Second
believe that more than half of Americans still once they get older, sometimes turn into fer- World War, I'm particularly sensitive about this
reject evolution.”
tile male chickens? Why did all the Habsburg topic. I hope politicians realize early enough
- Why did you make the switch from chemis- family, the former Austrian emperors, have about the need for legal regulations to avoid, for
try to genetics?
gigantic lower lips? Why do you have brown example, a future scenario in which insurance
“I really like to understand how things work eyes? We still know so little about genet- companies may not be willing to take customand genetics is a big open field with still many ics. Life is such a miracle; there are so many ers because of their genetic predispositions.”
06
March 2008
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Issue 02
Lost in the forest ...trying to find a way out and beat the competition
A
compass and a map were all IRB Barcelona members had in their hands when
they were dropped off in the forest. Definitely a different way to celebrate Christmas with
co-workers.
Tension burst from the moment the instructors fired the opening shot until the teams
crossed the finishing line. Their mission: to
find their way out and beat their competitors.
Rushing against the clock for four hours,
more than 25 IRB Barcelona teams struggled
to keep warm and pass all sort of physical and
brain-wracking tests. The winners, an eclectic group of postdoctoral researchers, technicians and students with running skills, had to
figure out the best way to share their reward:
a one-meter Catalonian sausage.
NEWS FROM THE PARK
New Bioincubator up and running
S
tate officials and public figures gathered in the Barcelona Science Park
(PCB) on January 30 for the official
opening ceremony of the Helix building.
The inaugural act was presided by
Jose Montilla, president of the Catalan
Government, and attended by the Mayor
of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu; the president
of the Santander Bank, Emilio Botin; the
rector of the University of Barcelona,
Marius Rubiralta; the director of the
Barcelona Science Park, Fernando Albericio, and the director general of Research, Ramon Moreno, as well as other
eminent public figures
in science, economics
and education.
With 6,500 m 2 of
laboratory space, the
Helix Building hosts
more than 30 research
groups,
companies,
public sector centres
and the new PCB-Santander Bioincubator. Comprising more than ten technology-based spin-offs, mostly from the
University of Barcelona, the Bioincubator focuses its activity on emerging fields
of the life sciences.
The new Bioincubator is promoted by
the University of Barcelona through the
Barcelona Science Park and the Bosch i
Gimpera Foundation, and is supported
by the Santander Bank. The facility seeks
to boost the development of new enterprises by providing them with scientific
and technological infrastructure, consultancy services in business management,
and financial support. Relations among
these new companies, the research institutes, more than 45 companies hosted by
the Park, and international networks are
facilitated through this Bioincubator.
By increasing laboratory space and
setting up the PCB-Santander Bioincubator, the Barcelona Science Park aims to
contribute to the long-term strengthening of technology-based enterprises in
the biotech sector and ensure an economy
founded on the generation of knowledge.
Carme Perez - PCB
Companies hosted by the PCB-Santander Bioincubator
Aromics, BarnaGen, Neuroscience Technologies, Biocontrol Technologies,
Genmedica Therapeutics, Omnia Molecular, Uban Research, Agrassys, Intelligent Pharma, Infinitec Activos, Bioingenium.
Other institutions hosted in the Helix building
The opening ceremony was presided by Jose Montilla (second
from the right). Photo: PCB
IRB Barcelona, Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona, Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya, Rheumatology Research Unit of the Vall d’Hebron
University Hospital, AIDS Research Unit. Companies: Oryzon genomics,
Biolab, ERA Biotech, Enantia, Ordesa Group, Combino Pharm.
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March 2008
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Issue 02
SPOTLIGHT
To be or not to be
a bioinformaticist
IRB Barcelona PhD students from the
Structural Bioinformatics Lab Amelie Stein,
26, and Roland Pache, 27, recently had a
chance to speak in their native language
again at the German School in Barcelona.
Their mission was to share their experience
in studying bioinformatics with students
and to encourage those who were thinking
of taking this career path.
- What was the presentation about?
“We talked a bit about careers in academia
and industry, but mostly about the studies
that would be ahead of them, partly because
that's what we know best having finished
only recently.”
Amelie and Roland, a few minutes before
their presentation at the German School.
- What was your advice for students?
“We saw many colleagues struggle during
the studies, especially with mathematics.
Our class started with 200 students and we
were down to 160 in four weeks. Bioinformatics is a degree that demands dedication,
self-discipline and independence.”
NEW AT IRB BARCELONA
Jens Luders (Germany, 1969) moved from Stanford University
to the Institute for Research in Biomedicine earlier this year to lead
the Microtubule Organization Group in the Cell and Developmental Biology Programme. His immediate challenges are to set up his
lab and to recruit research group members. A biologist by training with a PhD from the University of Heidelberg, Jens joined IRB
Barcelona because he wanted to be part of a “young and dynamic institute.” He says he has
found not only excellent science, but also many possibilities for his own research on microtubule organization during cell division and differentiation.
Annie Rodolosse (France, 1970) has recently joined the Colorectal Cancer Laboratory I at IRB Barcelona as a postdoctoral
researcher. She moved from France to Spain more than eight years
ago and has been doing cancer research since then. Annie left her
previous position at the Pompeu Fabra University, where she was
working as a postdoctoral researcher in pancreatic cancer, to focus
again on colon cancer, an area that she started to explore during her thesis. Her favorite
thing about her research work is the “freedom to pursue answers to scientific questions that
can contribute to a better understanding of biological processes.”
Xavier Lopez (Spain, 1983) is the new purchase technician at
the Institute for Research in Biomedicine. His main responsibility
is to centralize all the purchases from the various research areas of
the Institute that need to be acquired through public tenders. Prior to joining IRB Barcelona, he was purchase technician at Akzo
Nobel Car Refinishes, a company based in Barcelona. He holds
a degree in Business Administration and sees his career move as an opportunity to “learn
the workings and procedures of a purchasing department that operates in both the private
and the public sector.”
COMING SOON
Barcelona BioMed Series
Targeting and tinkering with interaction networks. April 14 - 16, 2008
Metastasis genes and functions. May 19 - 21, 2008
Practical workshop on advanced molecular dynamics techniques. July 10 - 11, 2008
Morphogenesis and cell behavior. October 6 - 8, 2008
- Why did you agree to participate?
“Because prospective students should know
about the challenges of such studies before
starting. The effort is definitely worth it as
you learn much about biological and computer sciences, which enables you to work
on interesting scientific questions.”
Other Events
Cell and Developmental Biology Programme retreat. April 3 - 4, 2008
IRB Barcelona PhD students cool-off session. April 10, 2008
Grand challenges in computational biology. June 2 - 4, 2008
For more information and registration see: www.irbbarcelona.org
Published by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine. Office of Communications & External Relations. Parc Cientific de Barcelona.  Baldiri i Reixac, 10-12. 08028 Barcelona, Spain. www.irbbarcelona.org.
Editor: Anna Alsina. Associate Editor: Sarah Sherwood. Contributors: Sonia Armengou, Tanya Yates,
Carme Perez. Design: Aymerich Comunicacio.
www.irbbarcelona.org