The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded Starting Grants to Dr. Cristina Mayor-Ruiz and Dr. Alejo Rodríguez-Fraticelli, to support their research for five years.
This year, the ERC has awarded 397 Starting Grants to group leaders throughout Europe, 23 of them in Spain and, of these, 13 in Catalonia.
Dr. Mayor-Ruiz, head of the Targeted Protein Degradation and Drug Discovery laboratory, is developing "monovalent degraders," a novel type of drug with desirable physicochemical properties that can eliminate proteins previously considered intractable. The TrickE3 project aims to change the current paradigm of discovering these drugs by following a rational strategy.
Dr. Rodríguez-Fraticelli, head of the Quantitative Stem Cell Dynamics laboratory, focuses on understanding the diversity of stem cells, the implications of this diversity in various diseases, and how to manipulate it for therapeutic purposes. The MemOriStem project will concentrate on hematopoiesis, the process that gives rise to blood cells associated with many diseases.
For more information: https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/news/institutional/europe-backs-two-talented-young-researchers-irb-barcelona
