José Antonio Del Río

José Antonio Del Río Fernández
Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC), Barcelona
Project Leader

Modulation of Tau seeding and pathology in tauopathies by BBB-nanocarriers, epitope selective vaccination and ectoPrP Tau receptors bodies.

• Isidro Ferrer Abizanda
  Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC), Barcelona

• Ernest Giralt Lledó
  Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona

• Jordi Soriano-Fradera
  Universitat de Barcelona and Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Barcelona

In this project, we have analyzed the seeding and progression processes of various Tau species linked to human tauopathies. These studies have been able to determine that different tau strains produce distinct patterns of active neuronal and glial seeding, which also depend on the host tau. Additionally, we have characterized the changes in neuronal activity associated with the seeding and propagation of Tau, and we have been able to determine that the alterations observed in Alzheimer's disease at the level of gene expression and metabolism occur in very early stages. All of this has opened new avenues to understand these neurodegenerative processes. Furthermore, during the project, we have developed new inhibitors of Tau aggregation, which are currently being analyzed in tauopathy models.

Prof. del Río is the Group Leader of the Molecular and cellular neurobiotechnology group at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). Del Río has been working for more than 30 years on Developmental Neurobiology, Neural Regeneration and Neurodegeneration.

After obtaining his PhD from the University of Barcelona, he worked in some international Universities and research centers, including, Univ. Valencia, Basque Country University (in Spain) and Frankfurt and Freiburg Universities (in Germany) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma at Princeton (NJ, USA). He has been honored with the Fundación Francisco Cobos CSIC Award (2001) and the Generalitat of Catalunya Award of Young Researcher (2003). He has published more than 170 articles in international scientific journals.

As a PI, he has achieved 15 National projects from public competitive calls and 9 from foundations and private calls, 2 European grants and 2 MSC actions. He is associate editor of Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience and Cells. He is also an invited member of the SEBBM, SENC, FENS and Prionet Spain scientific societies. (Read full CV).

My scientific interests are linked to the study of cellular and molecular factors involved in various neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, we believe that only by thoroughly understanding brain development can we gain a deeper insight into neurodegeneration and aging. Therefore, we have studied how molecules that play relevant roles during axonal growth or cell migration are altered in neurodegeneration. Among them, in recent years, we have focused on the cellular prion protein with key roles in the evolution of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and various tauopathies as well in epilepsy.

Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB)
C/ Baldiri Reixac 10-12
08028 Barcelona
Tel.: (+34) 934 02 02 96

Email: [email protected]