On May 15th and 16th, our group participated in the XII Festa de la Ciència of the University of Barcelona, presenting our scientific outreach workshop: “The Chemical Journey of Food Inside the Body.” Through interactive activities, we demonstrated to students and the general public how structural biology, molecular interactions, and microbiota research advance our understanding of diseases and contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. The event offered an excellent platform to communicate computational chemistry in an accessible manner and to encourage scientific interest in metabolism and food science among younger generations.

We extend our gratitude to all the visitors who engaged with our workshop and to the University of Barcelona for organizing this impactful event.

This successful initiative was driven by our dedicated team: Mireia Gómez Gordo, Paula Vidal, Katerina Barmpidi, and Carolina Estarellas led the activities on Friday, while Carlos Cruz Marin, Brian Medel Lacruz, Marcelo Andrés Guzmán Tudela, and Mireia Gómez Gordo concluded the workshop on Saturday. To celebrate the completion of the event, the team gathered afterward to enjoy a traditional paella together.

We are excited to share a new publication co-authored by Katerina and Carol: “Spiranic compounds as novel AMPK paradoxical inhibitors: can we derive new mechanistic insights?” in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. The study presents the design, synthesis, biological evaluation, and computational characterization of a new family of spiranic compounds targeting AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK).

Our findings reveal that these molecules exhibit a paradoxical inhibitory profile, combining direct inhibition of AMPK activity with activation of downstream signaling pathways. Through a combination of biochemical assays, structural modeling, and molecular simulations, we identified a previously unexplored binding region associated with the closed conformation of the AMPK activation loop.

The work provides new insights into AMPK regulation and highlights alternative mechanisms for modulating this therapeutically relevant target. These results open new perspectives for the development of chemical probes and future therapeutic strategies aimed at metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Congratulations to all collaborators involved in this multidisciplinary effort.

Scan the QR code or click here to read the full paper:

Our group recently visited the Vinya d’en Sabater and the Escuela de Restauración de Santa Coloma, both located within the Campus de l’Alimentació de Torribera in Santa Coloma de Gramenet.

The Vinya d’en Sabater is an ecological and vegan vineyard that spans one hectare, cultivating five grape varieties, Pansa Blanca, Picapoll Blanc, Garrut, Garnatxa, and Picapoll Negre, and has been part of the DO Alella since 2020. Over the past decade, more than 13,000 kg of grapes have been harvested, involving over 200 participants through local training and employment programs. The vineyard has become a model of sustainability, education, and community engagement, and was recently honoured with the Premi Vinari for Best Recovery Initiative for its role in reviving Santa Coloma’s winemaking tradition.

After the vineyard tour, we were warmly hosted by the Escuela de Restauración de Santa Coloma, where we prepared huevos revueltos con rebozuelos, ajo y perejil and mousse de mató con miel y carquinyolis, featuring traditional Catalan products. The visit beautifully combined sustainability, gastronomy, and local heritage.

On June 17th our group participated in the CBDD Group Meeting, an annual conference held within our wider group. This year’s topic was “Computational Applications to Structure-Function and Structure-Activity” and we were very grateful for the participation of the group of Prof. Antonios Kolocouris from the University of Athens, Greece

Several PhD students participated by giving short talks about their projects. Mireia presented the latest developments of the Alzheimer’s project entitled “Computational assessment of monomeric Aβ folding: Paving the way for the aggregation study,” while Carol showcased her research lines, fostering discussions and potential new collaborations.

Katerina Barmpidi participated in the 20th Hellenic Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry held in Ioannina, Greece, where she presented her work on AMPK modulation, part of her ongoing PhD project in computational drug discovery.

As a board member of the EFMC Young Scientists Network (EFMC-YSN) of the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology (EFMC), Katerina was delighted to represent the network, meet enthusiastic young researchers, and exchange ideas on initiatives to further strengthen the scientific community.