institute and hospital. Research institutes within the university, such as the Biotechnology and Biomedicine Institute (IBB) and the Institute of Neuroscience, round out the university’s facilities with space for a variety of types of biological and stem cell study.
Institute of Neuroscience
Created in 2003, the Institute of Neuroscience’s main research areas are bioinformatics (the collection and study of genetic data), neuroregeneration and repair, neurodegeneration and aging, and the neurobiology of both the normal and impaired mind.
Neuroregeneration and repair
The ability to regenerate nerves in human beings would be the ultimate medical breakthrough. Currently, once a human’s nerves or nerve endings are damaged or destroyed, the damage is permanent. Patients with spinal cord injuries or nerve damage from diabetes have very poor prognoses and low quality of life. Many patients also experience neuropathic pain, which is not easily treatable. The Institute of Neuroscience is looking for ways to heal damaged nerves so they can regenerate, which could greatly improve patient quality of life. The Institute studies the role of both stem cells and electrical stimulation as possible therapies in neural regeneration.
Neurodegeneration and aging
The Institute of Neuroscience also studies neurodegenerative disorders. Recently, researchers discovered that a cell protein that functions in mechanisms of memory formation is blocked in Alzheimer’s disease. The Institute developed a gene therapy to unblock the protein and reverse memory loss in mice in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s disease. It is possible that this therapy could someday be used to prevent and reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s in its early stages.
Neurobiology of the normal and impaired mind
Memory, learning, and cognitive function can all be impaired by disease or by acquired damage. The team studying the neurobiology of both the normal and disturbed mind examine memory circuitry, molecular structure, and cell elements of the normal and abnormal brain by asking questions such as: how does a person’s brain chemistry change during addiction; are there molecular changes that take place during mental illness or psychosis; and how does brain injury affect a person’s brain function? These are just a few of the subjects explored by the Institute in the hopes that new therapy and drugs to treat brain and mind disorders can be developed.
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics, at its most basic, is the collection and study of genetic data. The researchers of this area collect information and explore biology using computers and computer models. Models are useful for predicting how genetic information will behave. Researchers might simulate a virtual reality using mathematical or molecular models. The Institute also uses computational statistics, which allows it to study G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are receptors involved in numerous cell functions. Understanding GPCRs, the targets of half of commercial pharmaceutical drugs, could lead to new and more effective drug therapies, or at least bridge the gap between basic and clinical research. (Basic research is done mostly in the lab to learn the fundamentals of a subject, while clinical research is done on animals and people. Once a drug or therapy reaches the clinical trial stage to be performed on humans, it has reached one of the last stages before a drug or therapy is taken to market.)
Criminologists and economists can also use computers to study brain behavior in criminals. In 2013, researchers in the UAB’s Department of Sociology used a computer system to simulate the behavior of tax evaders. Researchers from the university’s Analytical Sociology and Institutional Design Group used the integral model SIMULFUS to predict the outcome of simulated decisions in a virtual society.
Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB)
The IBB was founded in 1970 to focus on biological basic science research. As technology and science has evolved, so has the IBB. Now, more than 200 researchers in seven disciplines work for the IBB. Like the Institute of Neuroscience, the IBB also studies bioinformatics. Other research focus areas include proteomics (the study of proteomes [proteins] and their functions), cellular biology, microbiology, structural biology, immunology (the study of the immune system), and genomics (the research of the function, structure, and mapping of genomes, and how they evolve). The study of stem cells encompasses all of these subjects, and more. Researchers at the IBB share space with scientists from biotechnology companies.
The Guttmann Institute
Like UAB, the Guttmann Institute specializes in neuroscience. It has two sections, a university institute and a hospital. The hospital resides in Catalonia and specializes in the care and treatment of persons with acquired brain damage or brain disease and spinal cord injury—partly through providing community health services and custom training programs to improve patient functionality, quality of life, and independence.
As a university, the Guttmann Institute partners with the Autonomous University of Barcelona through neuroscience research and teaching. The Guttmann Institute has published more than 150 articles, trained more than 1,000 students, and treated more than 11,000 patients. The hospital stands to benefit a great deal from successful stem cell research of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Recently, soccer player Gerard Pique of team FC Barcelona sponsored the tenth edition of Solidarity Stories, a Spanish collection of sports writings, and will dedicate all the profits from the book to the Guttmann Institute for its “Driving in the Brain Injury” project, a program designed to let people with brain injury drive as long as the injury allows. Other projects include a sensory stimulation room for patients with severe brain damage and a driver awareness program that promotes responsible behavior behind the wheel.
Associated with the Autonomous University of Barcelona as a university institute, the Guttmann Institute in Barcelona is a comprehensive rehabilitation center and research facility focusing on the field of neurosciences and neurorehabilitation technology, spinal injuries, and brain damage. (Wikimedia Commons)
Stacy Chambers
Independent Scholar
See Also: Alzheimer’s Disease; Spain.
Further Readings
Autonomous University of Barcelona. “Computer System Simulates the Behavior of Tax Evaders.” https://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite/latest-news/news-detail-1096476786473.html?noticiaid=1345668057346 (Accessed April 2014).
Autonomous University of Barcelona. “Loss of Memory Reversed in Alzheimer’s Mice Models.” https://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite/latest-news/news-detail/loss-of-memory-reversed-in-alzheimer-s-mice-models-1096476786473.html?noticiaid=1345670364253 (Accessed April 2014).
Friends of the Guttmann Institute Blog. “Gerard Piqué Sponsoring the Book ‘Solidarity Stories’ and the Collected Proceeds Will Benefit the Institut Guttmann.” http://www.amicsguttmann.org/blog/gerard-pique-apadrina-el-llibre-relats-solidaris-i-els-beneficis-recaptats-es-destinaran-a-linstitut-guttmann?lang=es
