MSCA-IF: Joint application at the University of Granada. Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology/Excellence Research Unit “Modeling Nature” (MNat)

Professor JUAN ANTONIO MARCHAL, from the Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology/Excellence Research Unit “Modeling Nature” (MNat) at the University of Granada, welcomes postdoctoral candidates interested in applying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (MSCA-IF) in 2019 at this University. Please note that applicants must comply with the Mobility Rule (more information: http://sl.ugr.es/09Qg).

Brief description of the institution:

The University of Granada (UGR), founded in 1531, is one of the largest and most important universities in Spain. It serves more than 60000 students per year, including many foreign students, as UGR is the leader host institution in the Erasmus program. UGR, featuring 3650 professors and more than 2000 auxiliary personnel, offers a total of 75 degrees through its 112 departments and 28 centers.

UGR is also a leading institution in research, located in the top 5/10 of Spanish universities by a variety of ranking criteria, such as national R&D projects, fellowships awarded, publications, or international funding. UGR is one of the few Spanish Universities listed in the Shanghai Top 500 ranking (http://www.arwu.org/), and it is also well recognized for its web presence (http://www.4icu.org/top200/).

Internationally, we bet decidedly by our participation in the calls of H2020, both at partner and coordination. For the duration of the Seventh Framework Programme, the UGR has obtained a total of 66 projects, with total funding of 17.97 million euros, and for H2020, until 2015, more than 25 projects with total funding of more than 6 million euros. Our more than 3,000 researchers are grouped into 365 research groups covering all scientific fields and disciplines.

Brief description of the Centre/Research Group

The research group “Advances Therapies: differentiation, regeneration and cancer (TERADIRECA)” consists of 18 members including associated professors, senior researchers, PhDs and PhD students. They are medical doctors, biologists, pharmacists, biochemists, biomedical engineers and bioinformatics. Moreover, we have several national and international collaborations with prestigious recognized scientists. The two main axes of our research, regenerative medicine and experimental oncology, not only focus on the basic aspects but also is clearly translational and multidisciplinary, with the possibility of diagnostic application and therapeutic use to benefit the health of patients with high prevalence diseases such as degenerative diseases and cancer. We also use 3D bioprinting technology and the development of new bioinks, for the regeneration of cartilage lesions, the production of autologous biomimetic skin or vascular substitutes stand out. In the field of experimental oncology, our group has implemented different therapeutic strategies directed against cancer stem cells (CSCs), based on novel natural and synthetic drugs, gene therapy, ultrasound, nanotechnology (nanoparticles of olive oil, silk proteins or polystyrene) and combinations of all of them. From the field of diagnosis, we have made a great advance in the identification of new biomarkers with prognostic and predictive value of response to cancer treatment and have developed an integrated non-invasive, highly sensitive and selective platform based on the use of bioinformatics, nanotechnology and graphene biosensors.

Project description

Drug-loaded nanoparticles provide an ideal solution to overcome the low selectivity of the anticancer drugs toward the cancer cells and the induced severe side-effects, thanks to their passive and /or active targeting to cancer tissues. A fundamental reason for unsuccessful transfer of nanomaterials into the clinic is that nanoparticles fail to adequately overcome the biological barriers before they reach the tumour cells, leading to a nonspecific distribution and inadequate accumulation of therapeutics. Cell membrane-camouflage nanoparticles have emerged as a new kind of biomimetic nanoparticles that fill the gap between synthetic and biological systems presenting unique functionalities.

In our STEMNANOMAT project we are developing, evaluating and validating customized olive oil nanocapsules that are suitable for targeting oral administration of anticancer drugs against pancreatic CSCs using mouse avatar models (PDX) of PC. Moreover, we have functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles (NP) with a peptide RGD, a drug and a diagnosis agent. So, we have generated an effective, safe and non-toxic nanosystem for use in vivo with theranostic application, that is, for selective antitumor treatment together with monitoring of treatment efficiency (tumor reduction) in triple negative breast cancer tumors

The research project where the applicant will be incorporated is related to the development and application of various sources of cell membranes (red blood cells, macrophages, mesenchymal stem cells, lymphocytes, etc) coated with nanoparticles or with a multi-drug oily core. The effect and increase in systemic circulation, the immunological impact and effected on tumor microenvironment will be also studied

Research Area

Life Sciences (LIFE)

For a correct evaluation of your candidature, please send the documents below to Professor JUAN ANTONIO MARCHAL (jmarchal@ugr.es):

• CV
• Letter of recommendation (optional)