The group "FOOD LIPID BIOMARKERS AND HEALTH" begins its activity on January 1st, 2017, and arises from the need to initiate a new approach in the research of food lipids and its relationship with human health. Previously, all its members were part of the Lipids group. Our main objective is the development of functional foods with added value (mainly dairy products), by improving the characteristics of their lipid fraction, to cover the basic nutritional needs and the demands of consumers for healthier and safer foods.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) represents an important human pathogen causing both acute and chronic hepatitis. It is estimated that over 240 million people are chronically infected and more than 780,000 people die every year due to complications of HBV, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Our laboratory is focused on studying basic aspects of the HBV infection. In particular we are interested in the identification and characterization of cellular factors that regulate the HBV infection, its persistence and its pathogenesis.

The Mathematical Modeling and Simulation group is aware of the enormous technological potential of mathematics and seeks to demonstrate it by addressing a wide spectrum of problems with a multidisciplinary mathematical approach, with an emphasis on numerical and computational simulation.

Transdiciplinary group (with expertise in theoretical biophysics, statistical physics, organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, computer simulation, theoretical biology, philosophy of science) investigating the origin of biological organization, its metabolic nature and the role of membrane compartments and organic interfaces in that organization.

Our research group investigates the evolutionary mechanisms shaping aquatic ecosystems, both marine and freshwater, and aims at characterizing their biodiversity. We investigate the evolutionary history of aquatic systems, and the different processes generating biodiversity. We use taxonomical, morphological, ecological, behavioral and genetic data to understand the past and future evolutionary trajectories of the aquatic systems. We are particularly interested in the future perspectives.

To identify evolutionary processes related to the origin of Biodiversity, focussed on processes of species formation, hybridization and evolutionary radiations, through diverse geographic scales, in taxononomically complex Arthropds. The formation of cryptic species is a widespread phenomenon in nature, which has a real incidence on animal biodiversity estimates. It has been proposed that the formation of cryptic species is directly related with the existence of divergent phylogeographic (mitochondrial) lineages, and dependent on the time elapsed since the lineages diverged.

The research group has worked during 14 years on natural products synthesis with biomedical application. The main objective of the group is the preparation by chemical synthesis of bioactive compounds based on natural products and study their biomedical application.

The research conducted by the group is distinctly multidisciplinary, encompassing several areas of interest, including paleoecology, the study of genomic changes in plants, plant-pollinator interactions, ethnobotanical knowledge, and the understanding of plant biological invasion processes. The IBB-CSIC research group is composed of one Research Scientist, four Tenured Scientists (one of whom will be promoted to Research Scientist in 2025), two contracted postdoctoral researchers, and three predoctoral researchers (two funded through the FPI program and one through the FPU program).

Research in our group focuses on the role of mitochondria in the development of pathological conditions, especially those in which oxidative stress is involved. We are particularly interested in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, which occurs when the blood supply to the heart is blocked and subsequently restored. Our main goal is to study the survival pathways that provide protection against IR damage, mainly the RISK (referfusion injury salvage kinase) and SAFE (survivor activating factor enhancement) pathways.