Santiago Vázquez

Dr. Eugènia Pujol 

is an Assistant Professor at Vázquez’s group. As an undergraduate, after finishing her Degree in Pharmacy in July 2015, she gained work experience in the R&D Department of Almirall S.L. thanks to a four-month trainee program in its Medicinal Chemistry Department. Afterwards, she completed an official postgraduate study in pharmaceutical sciences, in which she carried out synthetic work by joining Vázquez’s laboratory. In October 2016 she enrolled the PhD program and she has recently (2021) received her PhD by the University of Barcelona. Her project consisted of the design and synthesis of urea-based compounds with a broad range of therapeutic applications and, especially, the discovery of novel soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors as potential treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. As part of her PhD, she has also done a five-month research placement within Prof. Knapp’s research group (Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main), where she gained insight into the rational design of selective inhibitors as chemical probes. Finally, she has complemented her scientific background with business knowledge, thanks to the participation in several entrepreneurship programs and courses in intellectual property.

Dr. Andreea L. Turcu

is an Assistant Professor. She joined our group in 2013 as an undergraduated, doing synthetic work in organic and medicinal chemistry. After finishing her degree in Pharmacy (University of Barcelona, 2015), she started her PhD in 2016 and successfully completed it in 2021, under the supervision of Prof. Santiago Vázquez and Prof. David Soto (Faculty of Medicine, UB) working in a multidisciplinary project. She is currently working within the group in the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel compounds with activity in targets of interest for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, influenza virus and coronavirus. As part of her PhD, she had the opportunity to be part of Dr. Raphael Rodriguez’s group (Institut Curie, Paris), working for 3 months on the synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of DMT1 blockers, as a new perspective for cancer therapy. Furthermore, she collaborated with several pharmaceutical companies being in charge of the identification, determination and synthesis of impurities in drugs. Therefore, she has expertise in a broad range of experimental topics, encompassing organic synthesis, electrophysiology (Patch Clamp Whole Cells) and IC50 determination in cell cultures.

Dr. Sandra Codony

Dr. Sandra Codony is an Assistant Professor who has joined Dr. Carles Galdeano’s and Dr. Diego Muñoz-Torrero’s groups in collaboration with the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO). After obtaining her degree in Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences at University of Barcelona in 2015, she started her PhD studies in Medicinal Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Santiago Vázquez (2015 – 2020), working on a multidisciplinary project focused on the design, synthesis and evaluation of new soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors with potential biological activity, and their applications in different inflammatory diseases. As a part of her PhD, she spent three months conducting research at the Institute of Cancer Research in London under the supervision of Dr. Swen Hoelder.

Dr. Carla Barbaraci

is a Postdoctoral researcher who recently joined Vázquez’s group. After finishing her degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the University of Catania in 2015, she obtained a  second-level Professional Master’s Program in Drug Design and Development at the University of Pavia. During this period, she did also a 6 months Erasmus+ placement at the University of Barcelona within the Dr.  Muñoz-Torrero’s research group. Afterwards, she completed an official postgraduate study in pharmaceutical sciences, in which she carried out synthetic work under the supervision of Prof. Pelayo Camps at the University of Barcelona. In 2018 she started and recently received (June 2021) her PhD in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Catania under the supervision of Prof. Agostino Marrazzo. Her project involved the design, synthesis  and biological evaluation of Sigma-HDAC hybrids as potential therapeutic treatment for uveal melanoma. As part of her PhD, she spent 6 month within the group of Prof. Pedro Merino at the University of Zaragoza and 6 month working on pharmacological evaluation of small molecules on tumor cells in a target discovery biotech company.

Beatrice Jora

is graduated in Chemistry and with a Master Degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Barcelona. With an extended previous background in a chemical company, she decided to grow up and widen her knowledge in medical chemistry and started her PhD in our group in January 2019. The topic of her PhD is the discovery and optimization of new routes of synthesis of active principal ingredients in collaboration with pharma industry.

Celia Escriche

is graduated in Chemistry and with a Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Barcelona. As an undergraduate student, she worked in the research group of Stereoselective Synthesis of Natural Products at the University of Barcelona, working under the supervision of Dr. Fèlix Urpí. In February 2022, she joined the group of Dr. Santiago Vázquez as a master’s student, where she worked in the synthesis of amines with potential biological interest. Afterward, she did a two-month placement at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Dr. Eddy Sotelo’s research group, where she worked in the synthesis and evaluation of selective Cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonists for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. In September 2022 she started her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Santiago Vázquez.

Javier Sánchez

is graduated in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Madrid with a master in Drug Discovery. After graduation, he joined Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO, Madrid), where he worked in the Medicinal Chemistry section as a synthetic chemist, gaining experience in the early stages of the drug discovery process. He collabored in the synthesis and optimization of compounds, either classical small-molecule inhibitors or protein degraders.

He started his PhD. under the supervision of Dr. Diego Muñoz-Torrero and Dr. Santiago Vázquez in September 2022. The topic of his thesis will focus on the rational design, synthesis and evaluation of novel drug candidates with innovative mechanisms of action for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and neuropathic pain.

Dr. Oscar Lozano 

Óscar studied Biology (BSc 1997) and Pharmacy (BSc 2002) at the University of Barcelona. Later on, he carried out a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. J. Bosch, M. Amat and Dr. C. Escolano regarding total synthesis of natural products (UB, 2007). After a short postdoctoral stay in the group of Prof. J. Cossy (ESPCI, Paris, 2007) he worked in the group of Prof. V. Gouverneur (University of Oxford) for more than five years. After returning to Barcelona in 2013, he worked in different pharmaceutical and chemical companies. In July 2017, he joined BioPharma Synergies as a senior researcher, a position that he shared with a part-time Assistant Professor within our group until his untimely death in November 2021. We will always remember him as an outstanding chemist, an excellent mentor, and a wonderful friend.