Josep M. Canals Coll is currently Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona. He received a PhD in neurobiology from the University of Barcelona. He has been working on the use of stem cells as a therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, mainly focusing on Huntington’s disease, since 1998. He has been a member of the steering committee Spanish Network of Cell Therapy as well as member of the board of the Spanish Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Nowadays, he is part of the HD-iPSC international consortium and since 2013 he has also been an invited expert at the European Committee (partial agreement) on Organ Transplantation (CD-P-TO) of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare (EDQM) of the Council of Europe. He is a co-founder of Cytes Biotechnologies, a spin-off company of the University of Barcelona. During his career, Dr. Canals has published over 75 articles in internationally renowned journals including: Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Neuroscience, Journal of Clinical Investigation and, amongst others, Journal of Neuroscience.
Jordi Alberch is currently Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Institute of Neurosciences (Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence) of the University of Barcelona. He received his MD (1983) and PhD (1986) from the University of Barcelona. He was a visiting researcher at the Georgetown University (1988-1989), the University of Medicine and the Institute of New Jersey (UMDNJ)/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (1994-1995) and the Karolinska Institute (1997). His main research was the study of the pathophysiology and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. He has published more than 170 articles in high-impact international journals such as Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Nature Neuroscience, Brain or Journal Clinical Investigation.
The research group that Professor Alberch coordinates is part of the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and the Center for Networked Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Disorders (CIBERNED). Professor Alberch was Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Transfer of the University of Barcelona (2009-2016) and Interim Rector (2016) of the University of Barcelona. He was president of the Spanish Society of Neurosciences (2015-2017) and co-founder of Cytes Biotechnologies, a spin-off of the University of Barcelona.
Unai Perpiña holds a degree in Pharmacy and a specialization in Pharmaceutical Research and Pharmaceutical Quality Systems. In 2009, he joined the Neurodegeneration and Brain Ischemia Department of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute. There, he mainly worked in the field of adult neurogenesis, as well as in projects related to Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. During that period, he acquired knowledge of stem cell biology, neurogenesis, and neuroprotection. In 2014, he obtained a PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Barcelona. Later, he joined Creatio.
Nowadays, he is the Technical Manager of the Clinical Area at Creatio, where he participates in projects related to the production and validation of Advanced Therapies drugs.
Felipe Chiappe has a degree in Biology from the University of Girona and a Master’s degree in Genetics and Evolution from the University of Granada. He has collaborated in the Technical Research Services of the University of Girona and in the PREGEPES project, identifying genetic and ecological processes that produce speciation at the University of Granada. After, he worked as a Quality Assurance Technician at Novocat Farma and ISDIN.
In 2017, he joined Creatio as head of Quality Assurance, participating in several clinical trials of advanced therapies and in the implementation of ISO 9001 in the Creatio laboratories. Since 2018, he has been an internal auditor of the Quality Unit of the Research Area of the University of Barcelona. In 2022, he started a doctorate in the implementation of quality in the translation of advanced therapies research.
Cristina Herranz Sotoca holds a degree in Chemistry. She has extensive professional experience in many types of laboratories and companies. She has worked in the laboratory of sample analysis at ECA (1999-2004) and as a lab manager at CEPICMA, S.A Company (2004-2006).
In 2006, she joined the University of Barcelona as Lab Manager for the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine. In 2012, she was promoted to Head of the Production Department within the Clinical Production Area at Creatio.
Irene Porcar has a degree in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona. After working in various laboratories, in 2010 he began in the field of research as a senior technician in the Department of Neurochemistry and Neuropharmacology of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), participating in a pharmacology project in a murine model of Alzheimer’s. In 2012, he joined Sagetis Biotech, a start-up linked to the Materials Engineering group of the Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS) and led by Dr. Salvador Borrós. He worked as a research assistant in different projects of the company, dedicated to the development of polymeric vectors capable of releasing genes and drugs safely and effectively.
He joined Creatio in 2021 as Head of Quality Control the Clinical Production Area.
Andrea Comella Bolla has a Bachelor’s in Biology, a Master’s in Neuroscience and a PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Barcelona. She also has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry from ESAME Pharmaceutical Business School in the 2021-2022 academic year.
From 2013 to 2019, she joined the research group led by Dr. Josep Maria Canals from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona where she mainly worked in the field of stem cells in projects related to Huntington’s disease. During this period, she acquired knowledge in stem cell biology, neuronal differentiation and inflammation in Huntington’s disease, as well as in several laboratory techniques, such as calcium imaging, optogenetics and brain-on-chip.
Subsequently, in 2019 she joined the research group led by Dr. Henrik Ahlenius at the University of Lund (Sweden) where she did a postdoct in the field of stem cells and gene therapy in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. In 2021, she joined the CRO TFS HealthScience in Lund (Sweden) where she worked as a medical writer and drug safety assistant.
She joined Creatio in March 2023 where she works as Head of the Management and Marketing department.
Georgina Bombau has a degree in Biology from the University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Assisted Human Reproduction from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Clinical Analysis Laboratory from Pompeu Fabra University, where she carried out her internships in the Cell Line Bank at the Centre of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona (CMRB).
In 2013, she joined Creatio as a Research Technician of the Research Area within the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Biomedicine of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Barcelona.
Patricia Fuentes has a Master’s Degree in International Secreatarial and different courses and certificates related to the sector and linked to her job role.
She also has more than 20 years of experience as an assistant director. In 1996, she began her career as a receptionist in a Pathological Anatomy Laboratory, since then she has been improving her personal and professional skills in the research field. Throughout her experience in different companies, she has worked as an assistant manager in research centers such as: Fundació Clínic per la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB) – Hospital Clínic Barcelona; Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), where she collaborated daily with ICREA Professors specialized in Neuroscience and Computational Biology.
Patricia has joined Creatio as Management Administrator, supporting the Direction and Management Area of the Administration Department, created in 2023, under the direction of Dr. Josep M. Canals.
Anna Vila has a degree in Biotechnology from the University of Lleida and a master’s degree in Nanosciences and Nanotechnology from the University of Barcelona. In 2020, she received a PhD in Nanoscience from the University of Barcelona. Later, she specialized in scientific communication and project management, doing a postgraduate in scientific communication from the University of Vic – UCC. Since then, she has worked as a project and communication manager for different entities.
In 2022, she joined Creatio as a project manager.
María José García has a degree in Biology, with a Master’s in Biomedicine from the University of Alicante. In addition, she is a specialist in Clinical Biochemistry at the Bellvitge University Hospital (Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona).
During the realization of her specialty (2013-2017), as a BIR, she worked under ISO 15189 and ISO 9001 regulations. From 2018 to 2023 she was dedicated to Quality Assurance at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) , performing internal audits under Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). For the last three years, she has worked as Head of the Quality Assurance Unit in GLP, and also as a Quality Management Technician in ISO 9001 and 14001, within the Sustainability, Quality and Occupational Safety Area of the PCB.
In June 2023, she joined the Creatio Quality Assurance Department as a Quality Assurance Technician.
Joan Serret studied the Higher Degree Education in Analysis and Control at the Narcís Monturiol Institute, carrying out an internship in the Integrative Systems Biology, Metabolomics and Cancer group at the University of Barcelona.
He was Quality Coordinator, Principal Investigator and Study Director at the Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Platform of the Barcelona Science Park.
He joined Creatio technical team in 2023 as an in vivo Laboratory Technician at the Preclinical Studies Area – avantdrug – where he performs in vivo studies of toxicology, reprotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, responsible for clinical analysis, histopathology and cosmetic safety services.
Marta Cubero studied the Higher Degree in Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Technician, doing her internship in the Department of Neuroscience at the Autonomous University of Madrid. In 2017 she started as an animal caretaker in the facilities of Charles River at the CNIC (National Center for Cardiovascular research) in 2018 until December 2020 she became an animal facility technician. In 2021 she was an in vivo technician at the QUBE Technology Park Foundation until 2023.
In 2023, she joined Creatio team as an in vivo laboratory technician in the Preclinical Studies Area – avantdrug – where she carries out in vivo studies of toxicology, reprotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.
Laia Miralles is certified as a Laboratory Technician and Clinical Diagnosis from the Escola Bonanova. First with experience in the hospital field within the routine laboratories of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Immunology at Hospital de Sant Pau. Then, for 18 years in the HIV Retrovirology and Viral Immunopathogenesis research group (IDIBAPS) in the line of development and new vaccine platforms, and in participation in different clinical trials.
In 2023, he joined Creatio as a production technician of the Clinical Production Area
Maria Camanyes holds a degree in Genetics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology from the University of Barcelona. He has collaborated in the Intestinal and Host Health group of the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and in the Phytopharmaceutical Production group of the University of Barcelona in the project: “Biotechnological improvement of taxane production”. Later, he has worked as a biotechnology laboratory technician in a medical cosmetics company.
Currently, she is a Quality Control Technician at Creatio. Since October 2022 he is doing a doctorate on “The establishment of quality controls for new developments of advanced therapies”.
Ana López Alonso is a Research Technician of the Research Area in the Department of Biomedicine of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona. She has 19 years of experience in the management and maintenance of transgenic and knock-out mice colonies used in various research projects at Creatio.
Sílvia Artigas holds a Certificate of Higher Education in Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory Technician from the Ramon y Cajal School. She did her internship in the Microbiology Laboratory of the Hospital de Sant Pau and in the Translational Research in the Diabetes, Lipids and Obesity Research Group under the supervision of Dr. Rosa Gasa, at the August Pi I Sunyer Biomedical Resarch Institue (IDIBAPS).
She joined Creatio technical team in the summer of 2020, as a Research Technician in the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory in the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona. She provides support in cell cultures, in the maintenance of mouse colonies that are used for various lines of research and in the preparation of laboratory reagents.
Inés Castañeda got her degree in Biochemistry from the University of Castilla – La Mancha in 2019 and obtained a master’s degree in Neuroscience from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2020. Her experience in the area of research is due to her stay in the Neurodegenerative Chemistry group of the Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, where she trained in vitro and molecular techniques. Later, she joined the Neuroplasticity and Regeneration group at the UAB Institute of Neurosciences, where she continued her training in the field of in vivo experimentation.
In 2021, she joined Creatio as a Research Technician of in vivo studies at the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Barcelona.
Sandra Obejas holds a degree in Food Science and Technology from the University of Barcelona, a degree in Technical Agricultural Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, is certified as a Personal Animal Manipulator with scientific purposes, a Technical Specialist specialized in Analysis and Basic Processes, and an Assistant Technician in Laboratory Operator from the “Formación Profesional” Institute of PobleNou in Barcelona.
Sandra has extensive experience as a Laboratory Technician in different Research and Development Laboratories, mainly in the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University; Crystax Pharmaceuticals S.L at the Barcelona Science Park and Barcelona Regenerative Medicine Center Private Foundation at the Barcelona Biomedicine Park.
She joined Creatio technical team in summer of 2023 as a Laboratory Technician in the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine group of the Research Area.
Alice Louail is a post-doctoral researcher with expertise in nervous system development. She obtained a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris in 2015. Alice believes that brain development is guided by interactions between different brain cell types, and elucidating these cellular interactions is decisive to understand both brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders. She conducted her PhD in the Vision Institute in Paris, focusing on the mechanisms of neuronal cooperation in the developing nervous system. She developed an intra-utero targeted electroporation protocol to describe a cyclic AMP-dependent co-stabilization of axonal arbors from developing adjacent neurons. She was awarded her PhD in 2019 by Sorbonne University in Paris. In 2020, she joined Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience in Bilbao as a post-doctoral researcher where she led a project investigating the relationships between neuronal activity and the maturation of the identity and function of another brain cell type: microglia.
Alice joined Creatio in 2022 as a post-doctoral researcher in the Laboratory of stem cells and regenerative medicine to work on a project focusing on the transplantation of bio-printed mini-brains, as a potential treatment for Huntington’s disease.
Olga Varea is a postdoctoral researcher specialized in neurodegenerative and developmental diseases of the central nervous system. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the Autonomous University of Madrid and her doctorate at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center, Madrid, in 2009. In the doctorate, she studied the mechanisms of neuronal plasticity during neuronal development. Subsequently, she did her postdoc at Northwestern University of Chicago (USA) on the involvement of proteins associated with susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia in neuronal plasticity, development and functionality. During this period, 2010-2013, she described the proteolysis of Caspr2, CNTNAP2 neuronal activity-dependent, which it releases an ectodomain capable of modulating neuronal connectivity. After this period, she worked at the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI) of the University of Zaragoza, developing methods for detecting intra-endosomal changes during their traffic after ligand-receptor binding (LDL-LDLR). In 2017, she moved to Barcelona to join Dr. Joan J. Guinovart’s group at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB). There, she led a project based on the generation of two gene strategies to intervene in the progression of Lafora disease, a childhood and devastating disease.
In 2021, she joined Creatio as a postdoctoral researcher in the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory to develop a project for the characterization and reprogramming of striatal neuronal progenitors to optimize possible cell therapies to treat Huntington’s disease.
Jordi Abante has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. During his studies at the School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona, he specialized in signal processing and power electronics within the team of the Formula Student. Part of his work in the team consisted in the development of power converters. With this, he won the award for best final project in 2014. From 2014 to 2016, he completed a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. There, he worked on various projects within the field of computational biology under the supervision of Prof. Aniruddha Datta. In 2015, he was awarded a “la Caixa” scholarship for his PhD at Johns Hopkins University, where he spent between 2016 and 2021. There, under the supervision of Prof. John Goutsias and Andrew P. Feinberg, he developed several computational methods to study epigenetics alterations in various human diseases. During these years, he obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Between 2021 and 2023, he did a postdoc in the Department of Biomedical Data Engineering at Stanford University, in the laboratory of Prof. Julia Salzman. In 2021, he was awarded the Stanford Center for Computational, Evolutionary & Human Genomics Postdoctoral Fellowship. During his stay, he developed computational methods to discover mobile genetic elements and characterize horizontal gene transfer in bacteria.
In 2023, he joined the University of Barcelona as a postdoc under the supervision of Prof. Josep M. Canals Coll (Faculty of Medicine) and Prof. Petia Radeva (Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics) to work on the development of computational methods for analysing transcriptomic data to study the Huntington’s disease.
Cristina Vila holds a degree in Biochemistry in 2017 and subsequently obtained her master’s degree in neurosciences in 2018, both at the University of Barcelona. In 2023 she received her PhD in Biomedicine and Neurosciences at Creatio (Universitat de Barcelona). The objective of her thesis was to test the hypothesis that alterations in the neurodevelopment of Huntington’s disease could ultimately contribute to the pathogenesis in adulthood, as well as to try to characterize these alterations in murine models of Huntington’s disease.
Cristina joined Creatio to develop her degree and master’s thesis, and then she continued with her doctoral thesis.
Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher specialized in embryonic neurodevelopment and its possible impact on neurodegenerative disorders.
Natalie Chaves has a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the Universidade Federal do Pará (Belém, PA, Brazil). In 2013, she obtained her master’s degree in Neuroscience and Cell Biology from the aforementioned university, where she developed a research project in collaboration with the Evandro Chagas Institute (Belém, PA, Brazil) on the inflammatory response in the brain of neonatal mice and cultures of neurons and neuroglia resulting from infection by a virus found in the Amazon Region. From 2014 to 2018 she completed her PhD at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo, SP, Brazil), also in collaboration with the Evandro Chagas Institute. During that period, she worked in the areas of cell biology and surgical pathophysiology associated with liver diseases, and analyzed the beneficial effect of a commercial antioxidant on mice with steatohepatitis subjected to ischemia and reperfusion. She also worked as a direct marketing operator in the BiotechSpace Program, disseminating the services offered by that micro company to research laboratories. She moved to Barcelona and in 2020 she began a collaboration with Dr. Miquel Riera at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona with which she continues today. In 2022 she joined the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute as scientific support for the development of projects on post-transcriptional regulation in cellular differentiation and its alteration in neurodegenerative diseases.
In 2024 she joined Creatio as a postdoctoral researcher to work on the preclinical validation of the implantation of hESC-derived human neuroblastomas in patients with Huntington’s disease and on the patentability of products that improve the application of the new cell therapy product to be validated.
Cinta Gomis is currently working on her PhD thesis in Neuroscience at the University of Barcelona. She studied a degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona. During this period, she was part of the Ubiquitylation and Cell Signaling group, led by Dr. José Luis Rosa.
In 2021, she completed a Master’s degree in Translational Medicine at University of Barcelona. After, she joined Creatio as a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Josep M. Canals. Her research efforts have been devoted to the transplantation of stem cell-derived neural subpopulations to reconstruct brain tissues affected by Huntington’s disease.
Àlex Arqué is currently doing an Industrial Doctorate in Biomedicine at Creatio. He graduated in Biomedical Engineering from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in 2020. During that period, he did an internship and the Bachelor’s Project in the Molecular Physiology Laboratory of the Department of Health Sciences of the same university. Later, he obtained his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, shared between the University of Barcelona and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
Since 2021 he has been part of the R&D Department of the Tecnología Regenerativa Qrem S.L. company, specialized in autologous regenerative therapies. Currently, his research is based on the study of new treatments with directed monocytes, mainly, to musculoskeletal diseases.
Marc Estarellas finished the Biomedical Sciences Bachelor Degree at the University of Lleida (UdL) in 2022. During this period, he was part of the Neuronal Signaling Unit of the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida), led by Dr. Rosa Maria Soler y Tatché. In addition, he made an internship in the Balearic Research group on Genetic Heart Disease, Sudden Death and TTR Amyloidosis of the Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), led by Dr. Tomás Ripoll. In 2023, he completed the Master in Biomedicine specializing in cancer at the University of Barcelona (UB).
He is currently completing his doctoral thesis in Biomedicine at Creatio (University of Barcelona) under the direction of Dr. Joseph M. Channels. The aim of the thesis is to develop a cellular therapy for Huntington’s disease based on the transplantation of neural progenitors.
Daniel del Toro holds a degree in Biology from the University of Pompeu Fabra. In 2009, he obtained a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Barcelona, investigating neurodegenerative mechanisms occurring in Huntington’s disease. From 2010 to 2019, he did a postdoctorate in the team of Prof. Ruediger Klein at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. The aim of his postdoctoral project was to study the role of the Fibronectin Leucine-Rich Transmembrane (FLRT) protein family in cell migration during cortical development. Together with his team generated the first genetic mouse model that shows cortex folding due to changes in intercellular adhesion of migrating neurons after ablation of FLRT proteins. This discovery presents a breakthrough in the field, and it was awarded with the Young Scientist award from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (Munich, Germany) in 2018.
Since 2019, he has led the Cortical Neurodevelopment Group at the UB Faculty of Medicine through the Ramón y Cajal competitive program. Her research focuses on novel folding mechanisms of the cortex and how this process impacts animal behavior and intelligence.
Marta completed her Degree in Pharmacy at the University of Valencia in 2022 and her Master’s in Basic and Applied Neurosciences at the same university in 2023.
During this period she worked at the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology of the University of Valencia, where she developed her Bachelor’s thesis (in the Neuropharad group) and Master’s thesis (in the Doreal Lab group), following the research lines of the neurobiology of alcohol addiction and the development of nanoscale drug delivery systems for the treatment of painful comorbidities associated with alcohol consumption, respectively.
She is currently part of Creatio as a pre-doctoral student, completing her thesis under the supervision of Dr. Josep M. Canals.
Albert Giralt has a degree in Psychology by the University of Barcelona. In 2010, he received a PhD in Neurosciences from the same university. During that period, he focused his attention to the generation of novel gene therapy-based strategies in the context of Huntington’s disease using mouse models. Between 2013 and 2017, he moved to Paris to perform his postdoc under the mentoring of Professor Jean-Antoine Girault, where he studied of synaptic plasticity processes in the context of neuropsychiatric disorders using mouse models. In 2017-2018 he came back to the University of Barcelona, first as a Beatriu de Pinós program of excellence and then as a Ramón y Cajal principal investigator.
Since March 2018, he is leading the Hippocampal Function in Health and Disease Group at the University of Barcelona. The main line of his research is to investigate how perturbed neural circuits disrupts molecular processes in animal models for pernicious neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders designin novel and potential therapeutic strategies to fight them.
Daniel Tornero has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), and has more than twenty years of experience in this field. His scientific interest has been focused on exploring new strategies for the study and treatment of neurological diseases. In 2010 he started his Postdoctoral stage at the Lund Stem Cell Center (Sweden), in the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Restorative Neurology, where he developed cell therapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in a model of ischemic stroke. In parallel, he investigated the role of different populations of immune cells in the inflammatory response after ischemic stroke.
Since 2019, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona and Head of the Neural Stem Cells and Brain Damage laboratory. His projects focus on the study of repair mechanisms associated with cell therapies applied to brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, he studies the functional integration of transplanted cells and the reconstruction of damaged neuronal circuits. He also participates in projects related to the development of models, both in vivo and in vitro, that help to understand neurodegenerative processes and diseases that affect neurodevelopment.
Josep M. Canals Coll is currently Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona. He received a PhD in neurobiology from the University of Barcelona. He has been working on the use of stem cells as a therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, mainly focusing on Huntington’s disease, since 1998. He has been a member of the steering committee Spanish Network of Cell Therapy as well as member of the board of the Spanish Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Nowadays, he is part of the HD-iPSC international consortium and since 2013 he has also been an invited expert at the European Committee (partial agreement) on Organ Transplantation (CD-P-TO) of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare (EDQM) of the Council of Europe. He is a co-founder of Cytes Biotechnologies, a spin-off company of the University of Barcelona. During his career, Dr. Canals has published over 75 articles in internationally renowned journals including: Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Neuroscience, Journal of Clinical Investigation and, amongst others, Journal of Neuroscience.
Jordi Alberch is currently Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Institute of Neurosciences (Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence) of the University of Barcelona. He received his MD (1983) and PhD (1986) from the University of Barcelona. He was a visiting researcher at the Georgetown University (1988-1989), the University of Medicine and the Institute of New Jersey (UMDNJ)/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (1994-1995) and the Karolinska Institute (1997). His main research was the study of the pathophysiology and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. He has published more than 170 articles in high-impact international journals such as Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Nature Neuroscience, Brain or Journal Clinical Investigation.
The research group that Professor Alberch coordinates is part of the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and the Center for Networked Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Disorders (CIBERNED). Professor Alberch was Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Transfer of the University of Barcelona (2009-2016) and Interim Rector (2016) of the University of Barcelona. He was president of the Spanish Society of Neurosciences (2015-2017) and co-founder of Cytes Biotechnologies, a spin-off of the University of Barcelona.
Unai Perpiña holds a degree in Pharmacy and a specialization in Pharmaceutical Research and Pharmaceutical Quality Systems. In 2009, he joined the Neurodegeneration and Brain Ischemia Department of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute. There, he mainly worked in the field of adult neurogenesis, as well as in projects related to Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. During that period, he acquired knowledge of stem cell biology, neurogenesis, and neuroprotection. In 2014, he obtained a PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Barcelona. Later, he joined Creatio.
Nowadays, he is the Technical Manager of the Clinical Area at Creatio, where he participates in projects related to the production and validation of Advanced Therapies drugs.
Felipe Chiappe has a degree in Biology from the University of Girona and a Master’s degree in Genetics and Evolution from the University of Granada. He has collaborated in the Technical Research Services of the University of Girona and in the PREGEPES project, identifying genetic and ecological processes that produce speciation at the University of Granada. After, he worked as a Quality Assurance Technician at Novocat Farma and ISDIN.
In 2017, he joined Creatio as head of Quality Assurance, participating in several clinical trials of advanced therapies and in the implementation of ISO 9001 in the Creatio laboratories. Since 2018, he has been an internal auditor of the Quality Unit of the Research Area of the University of Barcelona. In 2022, he started a doctorate in the implementation of quality in the translation of advanced therapies research.
Cristina Herranz Sotoca holds a degree in Chemistry. She has extensive professional experience in many types of laboratories and companies. She has worked in the laboratory of sample analysis at ECA (1999-2004) and as a lab manager at CEPICMA, S.A Company (2004-2006).
In 2006, she joined the University of Barcelona as Lab Manager for the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine. In 2012, she was promoted to Head of the Production Department within the Clinical Production Area at Creatio.
Irene Porcar has a degree in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona. After working in various laboratories, in 2010 he began in the field of research as a senior technician in the Department of Neurochemistry and Neuropharmacology of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), participating in a pharmacology project in a murine model of Alzheimer’s. In 2012, he joined Sagetis Biotech, a start-up linked to the Materials Engineering group of the Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS) and led by Dr. Salvador Borrós. He worked as a research assistant in different projects of the company, dedicated to the development of polymeric vectors capable of releasing genes and drugs safely and effectively.
He joined Creatio in 2021 as Head of Quality Control the Clinical Production Area.
Andrea Comella Bolla has a Bachelor’s in Biology, a Master’s in Neuroscience and a PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Barcelona. She also has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry from ESAME Pharmaceutical Business School in the 2021-2022 academic year.
From 2013 to 2019, she joined the research group led by Dr. Josep Maria Canals from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona where she mainly worked in the field of stem cells in projects related to Huntington’s disease. During this period, she acquired knowledge in stem cell biology, neuronal differentiation and inflammation in Huntington’s disease, as well as in several laboratory techniques, such as calcium imaging, optogenetics and brain-on-chip.
Subsequently, in 2019 she joined the research group led by Dr. Henrik Ahlenius at the University of Lund (Sweden) where she did a postdoct in the field of stem cells and gene therapy in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. In 2021, she joined the CRO TFS HealthScience in Lund (Sweden) where she worked as a medical writer and drug safety assistant.
She joined Creatio in March 2023 where she works as Head of the Management and Marketing department.
Georgina Bombau has a degree in Biology from the University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Assisted Human Reproduction from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Clinical Analysis Laboratory from Pompeu Fabra University, where she carried out her internships in the Cell Line Bank at the Centre of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona (CMRB).
In 2013, she joined Creatio as a Research Technician of the Research Area within the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Biomedicine of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Barcelona.
Patricia Fuentes has a Master’s Degree in International Secreatarial and different courses and certificates related to the sector and linked to her job role.
She also has more than 20 years of experience as an assistant director. In 1996, she began her career as a receptionist in a Pathological Anatomy Laboratory, since then she has been improving her personal and professional skills in the research field. Throughout her experience in different companies, she has worked as an assistant manager in research centers such as: Fundació Clínic per la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB) – Hospital Clínic Barcelona; Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), where she collaborated daily with ICREA Professors specialized in Neuroscience and Computational Biology.
Patricia has joined Creatio as Management Administrator, supporting the Direction and Management Area of the Administration Department, created in 2023, under the direction of Dr. Josep M. Canals.
Anna Vila has a degree in Biotechnology from the University of Lleida and a master’s degree in Nanosciences and Nanotechnology from the University of Barcelona. In 2020, she received a PhD in Nanoscience from the University of Barcelona. Later, she specialized in scientific communication and project management, doing a postgraduate in scientific communication from the University of Vic – UCC. Since then, she has worked as a project and communication manager for different entities.
In 2022, she joined Creatio as a project manager.
María José García has a degree in Biology, with a Master’s in Biomedicine from the University of Alicante. In addition, she is a specialist in Clinical Biochemistry at the Bellvitge University Hospital (Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona).
During the realization of her specialty (2013-2017), as a BIR, she worked under ISO 15189 and ISO 9001 regulations. From 2018 to 2023 she was dedicated to Quality Assurance at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) , performing internal audits under Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). For the last three years, she has worked as Head of the Quality Assurance Unit in GLP, and also as a Quality Management Technician in ISO 9001 and 14001, within the Sustainability, Quality and Occupational Safety Area of the PCB.
In June 2023, she joined the Creatio Quality Assurance Department as a Quality Assurance Technician.
Joan Serret studied the Higher Degree Education in Analysis and Control at the Narcís Monturiol Institute, carrying out an internship in the Integrative Systems Biology, Metabolomics and Cancer group at the University of Barcelona.
He was Quality Coordinator, Principal Investigator and Study Director at the Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Platform of the Barcelona Science Park.
He joined Creatio technical team in 2023 as an in vivo Laboratory Technician at the Preclinical Studies Area – avantdrug – where he performs in vivo studies of toxicology, reprotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, responsible for clinical analysis, histopathology and cosmetic safety services.
Marta Cubero studied the Higher Degree in Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Technician, doing her internship in the Department of Neuroscience at the Autonomous University of Madrid. In 2017 she started as an animal caretaker in the facilities of Charles River at the CNIC (National Center for Cardiovascular research) in 2018 until December 2020 she became an animal facility technician. In 2021 she was an in vivo technician at the QUBE Technology Park Foundation until 2023.
In 2023, she joined Creatio team as an in vivo laboratory technician in the Preclinical Studies Area – avantdrug – where she carries out in vivo studies of toxicology, reprotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.
Laia Miralles is certified as a Laboratory Technician and Clinical Diagnosis from the Escola Bonanova. First with experience in the hospital field within the routine laboratories of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Immunology at Hospital de Sant Pau. Then, for 18 years in the HIV Retrovirology and Viral Immunopathogenesis research group (IDIBAPS) in the line of development and new vaccine platforms, and in participation in different clinical trials.
In 2023, he joined Creatio as a production technician of the Clinical Production Area
Maria Camanyes holds a degree in Genetics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology from the University of Barcelona. He has collaborated in the Intestinal and Host Health group of the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and in the Phytopharmaceutical Production group of the University of Barcelona in the project: “Biotechnological improvement of taxane production”. Later, he has worked as a biotechnology laboratory technician in a medical cosmetics company.
Currently, she is a Quality Control Technician at Creatio. Since October 2022 he is doing a doctorate on “The establishment of quality controls for new developments of advanced therapies”.
Ana López Alonso is a Research Technician of the Research Area in the Department of Biomedicine of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona. She has 19 years of experience in the management and maintenance of transgenic and knock-out mice colonies used in various research projects at Creatio.
Sílvia Artigas holds a Certificate of Higher Education in Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory Technician from the Ramon y Cajal School. She did her internship in the Microbiology Laboratory of the Hospital de Sant Pau and in the Translational Research in the Diabetes, Lipids and Obesity Research Group under the supervision of Dr. Rosa Gasa, at the August Pi I Sunyer Biomedical Resarch Institue (IDIBAPS).
She joined Creatio technical team in the summer of 2020, as a Research Technician in the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory in the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona. She provides support in cell cultures, in the maintenance of mouse colonies that are used for various lines of research and in the preparation of laboratory reagents.
Inés Castañeda got her degree in Biochemistry from the University of Castilla – La Mancha in 2019 and obtained a master’s degree in Neuroscience from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2020. Her experience in the area of research is due to her stay in the Neurodegenerative Chemistry group of the Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, where she trained in vitro and molecular techniques. Later, she joined the Neuroplasticity and Regeneration group at the UAB Institute of Neurosciences, where she continued her training in the field of in vivo experimentation.
In 2021, she joined Creatio as a Research Technician of in vivo studies at the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Barcelona.
Sandra Obejas holds a degree in Food Science and Technology from the University of Barcelona, a degree in Technical Agricultural Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, is certified as a Personal Animal Manipulator with scientific purposes, a Technical Specialist specialized in Analysis and Basic Processes, and an Assistant Technician in Laboratory Operator from the “Formación Profesional” Institute of PobleNou in Barcelona.
Sandra has extensive experience as a Laboratory Technician in different Research and Development Laboratories, mainly in the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University; Crystax Pharmaceuticals S.L at the Barcelona Science Park and Barcelona Regenerative Medicine Center Private Foundation at the Barcelona Biomedicine Park.
She joined Creatio technical team in summer of 2023 as a Laboratory Technician in the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine group of the Research Area.
Alice Louail is a post-doctoral researcher with expertise in nervous system development. She obtained a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris in 2015. Alice believes that brain development is guided by interactions between different brain cell types, and elucidating these cellular interactions is decisive to understand both brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders. She conducted her PhD in the Vision Institute in Paris, focusing on the mechanisms of neuronal cooperation in the developing nervous system. She developed an intra-utero targeted electroporation protocol to describe a cyclic AMP-dependent co-stabilization of axonal arbors from developing adjacent neurons. She was awarded her PhD in 2019 by Sorbonne University in Paris. In 2020, she joined Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience in Bilbao as a post-doctoral researcher where she led a project investigating the relationships between neuronal activity and the maturation of the identity and function of another brain cell type: microglia.
Alice joined Creatio in 2022 as a post-doctoral researcher in the Laboratory of stem cells and regenerative medicine to work on a project focusing on the transplantation of bio-printed mini-brains, as a potential treatment for Huntington’s disease.
Olga Varea is a postdoctoral researcher specialized in neurodegenerative and developmental diseases of the central nervous system. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the Autonomous University of Madrid and her doctorate at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center, Madrid, in 2009. In the doctorate, she studied the mechanisms of neuronal plasticity during neuronal development. Subsequently, she did her postdoc at Northwestern University of Chicago (USA) on the involvement of proteins associated with susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia in neuronal plasticity, development and functionality. During this period, 2010-2013, she described the proteolysis of Caspr2, CNTNAP2 neuronal activity-dependent, which it releases an ectodomain capable of modulating neuronal connectivity. After this period, she worked at the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI) of the University of Zaragoza, developing methods for detecting intra-endosomal changes during their traffic after ligand-receptor binding (LDL-LDLR). In 2017, she moved to Barcelona to join Dr. Joan J. Guinovart’s group at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB). There, she led a project based on the generation of two gene strategies to intervene in the progression of Lafora disease, a childhood and devastating disease.
In 2021, she joined Creatio as a postdoctoral researcher in the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory to develop a project for the characterization and reprogramming of striatal neuronal progenitors to optimize possible cell therapies to treat Huntington’s disease.
Jordi Abante has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. During his studies at the School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona, he specialized in signal processing and power electronics within the team of the Formula Student. Part of his work in the team consisted in the development of power converters. With this, he won the award for best final project in 2014. From 2014 to 2016, he completed a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. There, he worked on various projects within the field of computational biology under the supervision of Prof. Aniruddha Datta. In 2015, he was awarded a “la Caixa” scholarship for his PhD at Johns Hopkins University, where he spent between 2016 and 2021. There, under the supervision of Prof. John Goutsias and Andrew P. Feinberg, he developed several computational methods to study epigenetics alterations in various human diseases. During these years, he obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Between 2021 and 2023, he did a postdoc in the Department of Biomedical Data Engineering at Stanford University, in the laboratory of Prof. Julia Salzman. In 2021, he was awarded the Stanford Center for Computational, Evolutionary & Human Genomics Postdoctoral Fellowship. During his stay, he developed computational methods to discover mobile genetic elements and characterize horizontal gene transfer in bacteria.
In 2023, he joined the University of Barcelona as a postdoc under the supervision of Prof. Josep M. Canals Coll (Faculty of Medicine) and Prof. Petia Radeva (Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics) to work on the development of computational methods for analysing transcriptomic data to study the Huntington’s disease.
Cristina Vila holds a degree in Biochemistry in 2017 and subsequently obtained her master’s degree in neurosciences in 2018, both at the University of Barcelona. In 2023 she received her PhD in Biomedicine and Neurosciences at Creatio (Universitat de Barcelona). The objective of her thesis was to test the hypothesis that alterations in the neurodevelopment of Huntington’s disease could ultimately contribute to the pathogenesis in adulthood, as well as to try to characterize these alterations in murine models of Huntington’s disease.
Cristina joined Creatio to develop her degree and master’s thesis, and then she continued with her doctoral thesis.
Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher specialized in embryonic neurodevelopment and its possible impact on neurodegenerative disorders.
Natalie Chaves has a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the Universidade Federal do Pará (Belém, PA, Brazil). In 2013, she obtained her master’s degree in Neuroscience and Cell Biology from the aforementioned university, where she developed a research project in collaboration with the Evandro Chagas Institute (Belém, PA, Brazil) on the inflammatory response in the brain of neonatal mice and cultures of neurons and neuroglia resulting from infection by a virus found in the Amazon Region. From 2014 to 2018 she completed her PhD at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo, SP, Brazil), also in collaboration with the Evandro Chagas Institute. During that period, she worked in the areas of cell biology and surgical pathophysiology associated with liver diseases, and analyzed the beneficial effect of a commercial antioxidant on mice with steatohepatitis subjected to ischemia and reperfusion. She also worked as a direct marketing operator in the BiotechSpace Program, disseminating the services offered by that micro company to research laboratories. She moved to Barcelona and in 2020 she began a collaboration with Dr. Miquel Riera at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona with which she continues today. In 2022 she joined the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute as scientific support for the development of projects on post-transcriptional regulation in cellular differentiation and its alteration in neurodegenerative diseases.
In 2024 she joined Creatio as a postdoctoral researcher to work on the preclinical validation of the implantation of hESC-derived human neuroblastomas in patients with Huntington’s disease and on the patentability of products that improve the application of the new cell therapy product to be validated.
Cinta Gomis is currently working on her PhD thesis in Neuroscience at the University of Barcelona. She studied a degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Barcelona. During this period, she was part of the Ubiquitylation and Cell Signaling group, led by Dr. José Luis Rosa.
In 2021, she completed a Master’s degree in Translational Medicine at University of Barcelona. After, she joined Creatio as a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Josep M. Canals. Her research efforts have been devoted to the transplantation of stem cell-derived neural subpopulations to reconstruct brain tissues affected by Huntington’s disease.
Àlex Arqué is currently doing an Industrial Doctorate in Biomedicine at Creatio. He graduated in Biomedical Engineering from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in 2020. During that period, he did an internship and the Bachelor’s Project in the Molecular Physiology Laboratory of the Department of Health Sciences of the same university. Later, he obtained his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, shared between the University of Barcelona and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
Since 2021 he has been part of the R&D Department of the Tecnología Regenerativa Qrem S.L. company, specialized in autologous regenerative therapies. Currently, his research is based on the study of new treatments with directed monocytes, mainly, to musculoskeletal diseases.
Marc Estarellas finished the Biomedical Sciences Bachelor Degree at the University of Lleida (UdL) in 2022. During this period, he was part of the Neuronal Signaling Unit of the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida), led by Dr. Rosa Maria Soler y Tatché. In addition, he made an internship in the Balearic Research group on Genetic Heart Disease, Sudden Death and TTR Amyloidosis of the Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), led by Dr. Tomás Ripoll. In 2023, he completed the Master in Biomedicine specializing in cancer at the University of Barcelona (UB).
He is currently completing his doctoral thesis in Biomedicine at Creatio (University of Barcelona) under the direction of Dr. Joseph M. Channels. The aim of the thesis is to develop a cellular therapy for Huntington’s disease based on the transplantation of neural progenitors.
Daniel del Toro holds a degree in Biology from the University of Pompeu Fabra. In 2009, he obtained a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Barcelona, investigating neurodegenerative mechanisms occurring in Huntington’s disease. From 2010 to 2019, he did a postdoctorate in the team of Prof. Ruediger Klein at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. The aim of his postdoctoral project was to study the role of the Fibronectin Leucine-Rich Transmembrane (FLRT) protein family in cell migration during cortical development. Together with his team generated the first genetic mouse model that shows cortex folding due to changes in intercellular adhesion of migrating neurons after ablation of FLRT proteins. This discovery presents a breakthrough in the field, and it was awarded with the Young Scientist award from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (Munich, Germany) in 2018.
Since 2019, he has led the Cortical Neurodevelopment Group at the UB Faculty of Medicine through the Ramón y Cajal competitive program. Her research focuses on novel folding mechanisms of the cortex and how this process impacts animal behavior and intelligence.
Marta completed her Degree in Pharmacy at the University of Valencia in 2022 and her Master’s in Basic and Applied Neurosciences at the same university in 2023.
During this period she worked at the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology of the University of Valencia, where she developed her Bachelor’s thesis (in the Neuropharad group) and Master’s thesis (in the Doreal Lab group), following the research lines of the neurobiology of alcohol addiction and the development of nanoscale drug delivery systems for the treatment of painful comorbidities associated with alcohol consumption, respectively.
She is currently part of Creatio as a pre-doctoral student, completing her thesis under the supervision of Dr. Josep M. Canals.
Albert Giralt has a degree in Psychology by the University of Barcelona. In 2010, he received a PhD in Neurosciences from the same university. During that period, he focused his attention to the generation of novel gene therapy-based strategies in the context of Huntington’s disease using mouse models. Between 2013 and 2017, he moved to Paris to perform his postdoc under the mentoring of Professor Jean-Antoine Girault, where he studied of synaptic plasticity processes in the context of neuropsychiatric disorders using mouse models. In 2017-2018 he came back to the University of Barcelona, first as a Beatriu de Pinós program of excellence and then as a Ramón y Cajal principal investigator.
Since March 2018, he is leading the Hippocampal Function in Health and Disease Group at the University of Barcelona. The main line of his research is to investigate how perturbed neural circuits disrupts molecular processes in animal models for pernicious neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders designin novel and potential therapeutic strategies to fight them.