Vascular Biology and Metabolism (VAM)

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Overview

The VAM area was created to allow a comprehensive, cooperative and multidisciplinary approach in basic, clinical and epidemiology research. The ultimate goal is the innovation and transfer of solutions in a group of diseases that are closely interrelated and that constitute the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world: cardio-cerebrovascular disease, diabetes-metabolic syndrome and renal impairment. The VAM area includes preclinical and clinical research staff from our center, and collaborative work with groups of the highest international prestige. VAM area includes 8 groups: Cardiovascular Pathology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Nephrology, Ophthalmology (focused on retinal vascular disease), CIBBIM-Nanomedicine and Kidney Physiopathology, Medical Molecular Imaging, Neurovascular Diseases, and Research on Aging, Frailty and Transitions in Barcelona. All groups use an integrative tridimensional approach to generate knowledge on the mechanisms of diseases to generate new diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Publications

248
total
1470
impact factor
5.93
average impact factor

Group Leader: Prof. José García-Arumí

Basic research activities focused on two principal lines: On one hand, the development of a new therapeutic strategy for AMD and for retinitis pigmentosa based on antioxidant inorganic nanoparticles. We have pre-clinically characterized the effect of these nanoparticles on animal models showing promising results allowing us to finish the patent procedures. The project was financed by the ISCIII-18 and by the European Innovative Research & Technological Development Projects in Nanomedicine (AC19), an European consortium coordinated by Dra. Anna Duarri. On the other hand, we have been working on iPSCs-derived retinal organoids as a disease model, as a drug screening platform, and as a cell source for cell therapy tests. Regarding the clinical investigation, our group established a collaboration with 5 hospitals within the Ocular Pathology RETICS – Oftared network to start a phase III multicentric clinical trial that obtained a grant from the ISCIII-18, coordinated by Prof. García-Arumí.

VHIR Annual Report 2019