SEMINARIOS BENCHSTORMING
Launched in February 2016 by co-Founders Verónica Rodilla and Jordi Martínez Quintanilla, Post-Doctoral Fellows of VHIO’s Growth Factors and Stem Cells & Cancer Groups led by Joaquín Arribas and Héctor G. Palmer respectively, our series of Benchstoming Seminars represent an excellent educational opportunity for junior faculty at VHIO to both present and exchange on and around their respective research interests across VHIO’s various research programs.
Not only do our young researchers learn more about their other colleagues and research lines currently underway, they can also express their ideas surrounding a given topic presented at each seminar; the specially crafted informal format favors free thought, flow, and interaction between the speakers and participants.
At the end of 2020, Elena Senís left the coordination of Benchstorming Seminars and Tian Tian, Postdoc in the Chromatin Dynamics in Cancer Group headed by Sandra Peiró, and Sara Simonetti, research and molecular pathologist from the Molecular Oncology Group headed by Paolo Nuciforo, joined the team.
- Date: Thursday 10th January
- Speaker: Diana Reyes Garau, Post-Doctoral Scientist, Experimental Hematology Group, PI: Francesc Bosch
- Talk title: Characterization of the effects derived from the TCR-Nck interaction inhibition for the treatment of autoimmune diseases
- Date: Thursday 24th January
- Speakers: Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Co-Founder & CSO, Peptomyc S.L., Alba Llop, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO’s Experimental Therapeutics Group (PI: Violeta Serra), Carlos López, Knowledge Transfer Manager at VHIO
- Talk title: Bringing your great ideas to market
- Date: Friday 22nd February
- Speaker: Elena Senís, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Cellular Plasticity & Cancer Group (PI: María Abad)
- Talk title: PISCIS: a new micropeptide with a role in stem cell differentiation and glioblastoma
- Date: Thursday 14th March
- Speaker: Faiz Bilal, Graduate Student, Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
- Talk title: Overcoming resistance to targeted therapies in MAPK dependent tumors
- Date: Thursday 21st March
- Speaker: Pol Cusco, Bioinformatician, VHIO’s Gastrointestinal & Endocrine Tumors Group (PI: Teresa Macarulla), Laura Pascual and Gemma Serra, PhD Students, VHIO’s Chromatin Dynamics in Cancer Group (PI: Sandra Peiró)
- Talk title: ChIP-seq data analysis
- Date: Thursday 04th April
- Speaker: Nicolás Herranz, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO’s Prostate Cancer Translational Research Group (PI: Joaquin Mateo)
- Talk title: Senescence and senolytics in disease
- Date: Thursday 02 May
- Speaker: Jara Palomero, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Tumor Immunology & Immunotherapy Group, PI: Alena Gros
- Talk title: Characterizing T cell responses in endometrial cancer
- Date: Thursday 16 May
- Speaker: Josep Maria Miquel, Senior Project Manager at VHIO
- Talk title: Developing successful proposals: It ain’t rocket science
- Date: Thursday 13th June
- Speaker: Alfonso Garcia Valverde, Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Sarcoma Translational Research Group, PI: César Serrano
- Talk title: KIT downstream pathways, that’s the gist of GIST
- Date: Thursday 10th October – Liquid Biopsy Month
- Speaker: Elena Élez, Medical Oncologist and Clinical Investigator, Gastrointestinal & Endocrine Tumors Group, PI: Teresa Macarulla, directed by Josep Tabernero
- Talk title: Liquid biopsy in colorectal cancer: moving to the clinic. Are we ready for prime time?
- Date: Thursday 24th October – Liquid Biopsy Month
- Speaker: Laura Escudero, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Gene Expression & Cancer Group, PI: Joan Seoane
- Talk title: Liquid biopsies in brain cancer
- Date: Thursday 7th November – CAR-T Cells Month
- Speaker: Irene Rius, Graduate Student, Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
- Talk title: Understanding the preclinical development of CAR-T cells
- Date: Thursday 21 November – CAR-T Cells Month
- Speaker: Pere Barba, Hematologist and Clinical Investigator, VHIO’s Experimental Hematology Group, PI: Francesc Bosch
- Talk title: CAR-T cell therapy in hematology: few answers to many uncertainties
- Date: Thursday 5th December – Immunotherapy Month
- Speaker: Ignacio Matos, Medical Oncologist & Clinical Investigator, VHIO’s Early Clinical Drug Development Group PI: Elena Garralda
- Talk title: Hyperprogressive disease with immune checkpoint inhibitors
- Date: Thursday 12th December – Immunotherapy Month
- Speaker: Andrea Garcia, Graduate Student, VHIO’s Tumor Immunology & Immunotherapy Group (PI: Alena Gros)
- Talk title: Development of personalized minimally-invasive T-cell therapies targeting the tumor mutanome
- Date: Thursday 19th December
- Invited Speaker: Lluc Mosteiro, Genentech, California, USA
- Talk title: Notch blockade induces dramatic metabolic changes that may reflect a switch of thyroid cell fate or function
- Date: Thursday 11th January
- Speaker: Gemma Serra, PhD Student, Chromatin Dynamics in Cancer Group, PI: Sandra Peiró
- Talk title: Characterization of the molecular mechanisms underlying LOXL2-dependent chromatin reorganization
- Date: Thursday 8th February
- Speaker: Mireia Pujals, PhD Student, Tumor Biomarkers Group, PI: Josep Villanueva
- Talk title: The impact of tumor microenvironmental stress on the cancer secretome
- Date: Thursday 8th March
- Speaker: Juan Nieto, Post-Doctoral Scientist, VHIO’s Experimental Hematology Group, PI: Francesc Bosch
- Talk title: Modulation of the immune response using cyclophosphamide after allogeneic stem cell transplantation in Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients previously treated with nivolumab
- Date: Thursday 05th April
- Speaker: Cristina Cruz, Medical Oncologist and Staff Scientist of VHIO’s Experimental Therapeutics and High Risk & Cancer Prevention Groups (PIs: Violeta Serra and Judith Balmaña, respectively).
- Talk title: Understanding the biology of hereditary BRCA breast cancers
- Date: Thursday 26th April
- Speakers: Benchstorming co-Chairs, Elena Senís and Toni Jauset
- Talk title: Refresher mini-masterclass with tips and tricks for preparing Benchstorming presentations
- Date: Thursday 10th May
- Speaker: Toni Jauset, VHIO-born spin-off Peptomyc S.L. (CEO: Laura Soucek, CSO: Marie-Eve Beaulieu)
- Talk title: The role of Fzd9 in Myc-induced tumorigenesis
- Date: Wednesday 23rd May
- Speaker: Albert Gris-Oliver, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Experimental Therapeutics Group (PI: Violeta Serra)
- Talk title: PI3K/AKT pathway activation determines the sensitivity to AZD5363 (AKT inhibitor)
- Date: Thursday 7th June
- Speaker: Verónica Rodilla, PhD (Joaquín Arribas Lab)
- Talk title: In vivo models to study OIS and TIS in breast cancer
- Date: Thursday 5th July
- Speaker: Regina Mayor, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Gene Expression & Cancer Group, PI: Joan Seoane
- Talk title: Cerebrospinal fluid ctDNA: a potent tool for the molecular diagnostics of gliomas
- Date: Thursday 19th July
- Speaker: Isabel Puig, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stem Cells & Cancer Group, PI: Héctor G. Palmer
- Talk title: TET2 controls chemoresistant slow-cycling cancer cell survival and tumor recurrence
- Date: Thursday 27th September
- Speaker: Jordi Martínez Quintanilla, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stem Cells & Cancer Group (PI: Héctor G. Palmer) & Faiz Bilal, Graduate Student, Growth Factors Group (PI: Joaquín Arribas)
- Benchstorming Seminar type: Techstorming
- Talk title: How to make organoids from healthy & tumor tissue
- Date: Thursday 4th October
- Speaker: Alejandro Athie, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Prostate Cancer Translational Research Group, PI: Joaquin Mateo
- Talk title: Somatic copy-number alterations from an IncRNA perspective
- Date: Thursday 18th October
- Speaker: Samuel Ribeiro, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Applied Genetics of Metastatic Cancer Group, PI: Leticia de Mattos-Arruda
- Talk title: Tumor microenvironment: a key approach to understanding cancer treatment response modulation
- Date: Wednesday 31 October
- Speaker: Marta Ligero & Alonso García, Radiomics Group, PI: Raquel Perez-Lopez
- Talk title: The path from medical imaging to precision medicine
- Date: Thursday 15 November
- Speaker: Maria Lozano, Graduate Student, Tumor Immunology & Immunotherapy Group, PI: Alena Gros
- Talk title: Identification of personalized tumor rejection antigens through immunopeptidomics
Date: Thursday 12th January
Speaker: Alba LLop, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Experimental Therapeutics Group, PI: Violeta Serra
Talk title: Deep sea as a source of novel anticancer drugs: lurbinectedin in BRCA-mutated breast cancer
Date: Thursday 26th January
Speaker: Olga Méndez, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Tumor Biomarkers Group, PI: Josep Villanueva
Talk title: Non-classical secretion in breast cancer invasion
Date: Thursday 9th February
Speaker: Mónica Sánchez, PhD Student, VHIO´s Experimental Therapeutics Group, PI: Violeta Serra
Talk title: Targeting PI3K in breast cancer: mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance
Date: Thursday 2nd March
Speaker: Alfonso García, Masters Student, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Switch Pocket Inhibitor to overcome Kit heterogeneity mutations in Imatinib resistant GIST
Date: Thursday 16th March
Speaker: Marta Palafox, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Experimental Therapeutics Group, PI: Violeta Serra
Talk title: Identification and validation of biomarkers of response to CDK4/6 inhibitors in ER+ and Her2+ Breast Cancer
Date: Thursday 30th March
Speaker: Silvia Casacuberta, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group, PI: Laura Soucek
Talk title: Myc inhibition by Omomyc and the immune system
Date: Thursday 27th April
Speaker: Gemma Montalban, PhD Student, VHIO´s Oncogenetics Group, PI: Orland Díez
Talk title: Investigating pathogenicity of BRCA1/2 splicing variants in familial breast and ovarian cancers
Date: Thursday 11th May
Speaker: Gaetano Verde, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Chromatin Dynamics in Cancer Group, PI: Sandra Peiró
Talk title: Progesterone receptor maintains estrogen receptor
gene expression in breast cancer cells by regulating
DNA methylation in the absence of hormones
Date: Thursday 25th May
Speaker: Emanuela Greco, PhD Student, VHIO´s Cellular Plasticity & Cancer Group, PI: María Abad
Talk title: Finding IncRNAs that encode micropeptides: MIDORI, an anitsense story that makes sense
Date: Thursday 8th June
Speaker: Isabel Jimenez, PhD Student, VHIO´s Experimental Hematology Group, PI: Francesc Bosch
Talk title: Exploring the role of immunosuppression in clinical progression of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Date: Thursday 22nd June
Speaker: Mercedes Nadal, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Characterization of resistances to antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting HER2
Date: Thursday 6th July
Speaker: Olga Boix, PhD Student, VHIO´s Cellular Plasticity & Cancer Group, PI: María Abad
Talk title: DNMTR, a novel micropeptide that kisses cancer cells to death
Date: Thursday 21st September
Speaker: Carlos Alberto Fajardo, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Group, PI: Alena Gros
Talk title: Novel viro- and immunotherapies of cancer: preclinical development and evaluation of immune responses in cancer patients
Date: Thursday 5th October
Speaker: Juan Manuel Duran, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Tumor Biomarkers Group, PI: Josep Villanueva
Talk title: LAMP2 and unconventional secretion in breast cancer
Date: Thursday 26th October
Speaker: Sandra Bonache, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Oncogenetics Group, PI: Orland Díez
Talk title: Finding new genetic variants in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
Date: Thursday 2nd November
Speaker: Laura Pascual, PhD Student, Chromatin Dynamics in Cancer Group, PI: Sandra Peiró
Talk title: Role of euchromatin LaminB1 in EMT
Date: Thursday 23rd November
Speaker: Iñaki Merino, Graduate Student, Cellular Plasticity and Cancer Group, PI: María Abad
Talk title: Masala micropeptide: A novel p21 regulator to spice up tumour suppression
Date: Thursday 4th February
Speaker: Verónica Rodilla, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Studying the consequences of killing senescent cells at different 6me points of tumor development in vivo
Date: Thursday 18th February
Speaker: Jordi Martínez Quintanilla, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Stem Cells & Cancer Group, PI: Héctor G. Palmer
Talk title: Therapeutic inhibition of the oncogenic Wnt/β-catenin pathway in mismatch repair deficient hypermutant tumors
Date: Thursday 3rd March
Speaker: Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Peptomyc S.L
Talk title: Pushing Myc inhibition to the clinic
Date: Thursday 17th March
Speaker: Albert Gris, Graduate Student, Experimental Therapeutics Group, PI: Violeta Serra
Talk title: PI3K blockade reverses primary resistance and adaptation to Eribulin treatment in PIK3CA mutant breast cancer tumors
Date: Thursday 14th April
Speaker: Mariano F. Zacarías, Postdoctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group, PI: Laura Soucek
Talk title: Targeting Myc in Melanoma
Date: Thursday 12th May
Speaker: Estefania Cuesta, Predoctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Stem Cells & Cancer Group, PI: Héctor G. Palmer
Talk title: Molecular mechanisms responsible for cancer cell dormancy
Date: Thursday 2nd June
Speaker: César Serrano, Medical Oncologist, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Targeting heterogeneity in imatinib-resistant GIST patients
Date: Thursday 16th June
Speaker: Mercè Juliachs, Postdoctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Tumor Biomarkers Group, PI: Josep Villanueva
Talk title: Extracellular SOD2 is induced by the tumor microenvironment and mediates tumor migration in invasive breast cancer cell lines
Date: Thursday 30th June
Speaker: Faiz Bilal, Graduate Student, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Exploring the mechanisms of resistance to MEK inhibition in pancreatic cancer
Date: Thursday 22nd September
Speaker: Toni Jauset, Graduate Student, VHIO´s Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group, PI: Laura Soucek
Talk title: Investigating the therapeutic potential and mechanism of action of Omomyc-based Myc inhibition in lung cancer
Date: Thursday 6th October
Speaker: Oriol Arqués, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Talk title: Therapeutic inhibition of WNT and NOTCH pathways in colorectal cancer
Date: Thursday 20th October
Speaker: Irene Rius, Graduate Student, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Functional characterization of HER3 mutations in human cancers
Date: Thursday 3rd November
Speaker: Daniel Massó Vallés, Graduate Student, VHIO´s Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group, PI: Laura Soucek
Talk title: Inhibiting Myc and Myc dependent inflammatory response as cancer therapies
Date: Thursday 17th November
Speaker: Elena Senís, Postdoctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Cellular Plasticity & Cancer Group, PI: Maria Abad
Talk title: A toolbox to induce dedifferentiation and its application in cancer
Date: Thursday 1st December
Speaker: Beatriz Morancho, Post-Doctoral Fellow, VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, PI: Joaquín Arribas
Talk title: Immunotherapy to treat cancer
Date: Thursday 15th December
Speaker: Marta Castroviejo, Graduate Student, VHIO´s Experimental Therapeutics Group, PI: Violeta Serra
Talk title: RAD51 as predictive biomarker of response to PARP inhibition