The research activity of this area focuses on the relationship between the immune response and cancer, as well as on the study of malignancies derived from cells of the immune system, such as leukemias and lymphomas. Among other areas it relates with improved diagnosis and classification of leukemias and lymphomas as well evaluation of treatment e¿ectiveness during follow-up via detection of low numbers of therapy-resistant malignant cells, i.e. detection of "minimal residual disease" (MRD).

Many cellular processes in eukaryotes are controlled by reversible events. Among them, protein phosphorylation or ubiquitylation are two diferent reversible processes key in the regulation of the cell cycle. These post-translational modifications of proteins depend on the activity of specific enzymes that target their substrates to regulate their activity, localization or (network) interactions.

Fertility is a complex function depending on the coordinated and combined action of the male and female reproductive systems and its dysfunction is a major health issue affecting one in seven couples in the first world. In addition, these reproductive problems are being exacerbated by societal changes in modern countries because both women and men have been delaying having children.The gametogenesis is among the most complex and highly regulated differentiation programmes that make use of a unique reductional division or meiosis to give rise to highly specialized cells: the gametes.

The increased complexity of organisms in evolution requires new layers of regulatory mechanisms. We have identified a human chromatin kinase, VRK1 that plays a complex regulatory role in human biology, and have become the reference group. VRK1 forms complexes with transcription factors such as p53, Sox2, CREB or ATF2 regulating gene transcription, and is critical for entry in cell cycle and proliferation. In cancer, VRK1 is a driver gene associated with poorer prognosis. VRK1 regulates histones chromatin remodeling and its associated epigenetic marks.

Our research is focused in the understanding of the role of several receptor tyrosine kinases and their signal transduction routes in cell proliferation. Interest in the activation of RTKs by membrane anchored ligands has been a major focus of our laboratory with special emphasis on the study of the mechanisms responsible for the solubilization of membrane-anchored growth factors, and the biological properties of these factors in the membrane-anchored conformation. In addition, the role of novel RTK signalling intermediates is being analyzed.

My research is focused on attaining a better understanding of the initiation, maintenance, and progression of leukemia, toward improving current treatment and/or prevention strategies. In this effort, I employ tools from functional genomics, computational biology, molecular genetics, and mouse models. This work has allowed to establish both a pioneer relationship between stem cells and cancer and a causal link between infection and leukemia.

Activity: Design of a genetic strategy to identify important genes in tumor susceptibility and progression modifier genes. Description: This strategy permitted us to identify a number of P53-dependent and independent genetic alterations; together with the role of Fbsw7/Cdc4, Pten, Aurora-A, Atm, P63 and P73 in radioinduced lymphoma

Our group aims at understanding the structural basis of molecular mechanisms that underline cell adhesion and cell signaling processes, whose misregulation is linked to diseases including cancer and skin disorders. We are especially interested in determining the mechanisms of molecular recognition between proteins. Active areas of investigation include the integrin family of cell adhesion receptors, the plakin family of cytoskeletal-linkers, and their role in adhesion complexes such as hemidesmosomes.

Dr. JAVIER DE LAS RIVAS (MSc, PhD, Investigador Científico CSIC, PI at the IMBCC). His group works on 2 main research areas: (i) Development and application of BIOINFORMATICS and COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY methods for "omics" data analysis, focusing on the integration of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data. All in the field of FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS for: gene expression profiling (pcRNAs and ncRNAs), identification of gene signatures and causal/driver genes, with special interest on "cancer studies" over human samples derived from clinical cohorts.