(Accessed April 2014).
Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine. “ibb: Institut de Biotechnologia I de Biomedicina.” (Website available in English.) http://ibb.uab.cat/ibb/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 (Accessed April 2014).
Autonomous University of Madrid
Autonomous University of Madrid
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Autonomous University of Madrid
The Autonomous University of Madrid (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; UAM) has its own department dedicated to the study of human cells, the Departmento Biología Molecular (Department of Molecular Biology). The university also contains its own research center, the Centro de Micro-Análisis de Materiales (CMAM; the Center for Microanalysis of Materials). The university also pairs with various research institutions, and it is these partnerships that allows UAM to play a leading role in stem cell research.
The UAM partners with the Centre de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa (CMB; the Center of Molecular Biology); the Centro de Investigacion de la Alimentación (Research Institute of Food Science); the Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (the Institute of Mathematical Sciences); the Instituto de Fisica Teórica (the Institute for Theoretical Physics), and the Instituto de Investiganciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols (the Institute of Biomedical Investigation, Alberto Sols). A number of these institutions also work in conjunction with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC; the Spanish National Research Council), Spain’s largest research institution. Recently, along with the U.K.’s Medical Research Council, UAM discovered that adult stem cells can turn cancerous.
The CMAM belongs solely to the UAM and performs advanced research using ion beam techniques. Not only does this center study biology and biomedicine, it also performs research in magnetism, nanotechnology, and nuclear physics. It pairs with other research institutions on international science projects, and its influence is felt in such diverse subjects as archaeology and cultural heritage. Research training is provided to graduate students, postdoctoral students, and technical staff.
One of the most important institutions pairing with UAM is Madrid’s Center of Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa, a research center named for the Italian biochemist and molecular biologist who, along with Arthur Kornberg, won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Professors from the UAM work on research projects with employees of the CMB. The CMB is dedicated to studying stem cells and figuring out the role they could play in treating diseases and disorders. Within the center are the following departments: Cell Biology and Immunology (CBI), Virology and Microbiology, Development and Differentiation, Molecular Neurobiology, and Genome Dynamics and Function.
The CBI studies the immune system and cell processes. This department contains 20 research groups that study the molecular mechanisms of cell organization and function in mammals. Much of the CBI is dedicated to figuring out how T cells, a type of white blood cell that scans for infections and cellular abnormalities as it circulates around the body, develop, operate, and can transform into malignant cells. The groups who study the immune system research how immune cells differentiate from hematopoietic precursors, a type of stem cell that has been researched for more than 50 years and is one of the few types of stem cells currently used in therapy. Learning how to use immune cells could help scientists learn how to mitigate the effects of, or even prevent, a multitude of diseases and disorders. The scientists who study the immune system at the CBI research how toxins or other foreign substances (e.g., antigens) are introduced into and recognized by the immune system (processes called, respectively, antigen presentation and antigen recognition). They also study how immune cells interact with parasites and viruses. The groups who study cell processes focus on the molecular mechanisms that control cell migration, adhesion, and polarization in immune, epithelial, and endothelium cells, and the process of the intracellular trafficking of proteins.
Department of Virology and Microbiology
The study of virology is the study of viruses. The scientists in this department work to figure out how microbes interact with their hosts and environment. What is the molecular basis for infectious disease? How do cell receptor recognition and viral replication play a role? They also perform biochemical analysis of the regulatory processes involved in antibiotic resistance and the control of bacterial growth. Understanding how infectious disease works on a molecular level is crucial to helping farmers and curing many of the diseases that inflict humans.
Department of Development and Differentiation
Understanding the processes of how an adult organism is formed is crucial to being able to use regeneration or tissue repair as a therapy. To study this, the Department of Development and Differentiation (DDD) collaborates with other national and international centers. To foster communication within the department and the university, the DDD contributes to the Center Seminar Series and organizes weekly meetings for its postdoctoral and other students. It also holds a bimonthly seminar series, the “New Frontiers in Developmental Biology,” a forum for debate.
Department of Molecular Neurobiology
This department studies how neurons function on a molecular basis. Research comprises three key subjects: neuronal differentiation, development and growth; the mechanics of how synapses are transmitted and the plasticity of neuronal function; and age-related and neurodegenerative disorders. The scientists in this department also study how changes in synaptic communication can cause different kinds of cognitive disorders. As with other departments, there is a great deal of interaction and cross-research among specialists.
Department of Genome Dynamics and Function
Founded in 2008, the Department of Genome Dynamics and Function (GDF) covers the aspects of gene cells and how they work. Researchers focus on two main areas of study: the regulatory mechanisms of genome replication, and the expression of genetic material. Genetic material is expressed through three processes: transcription (how DNA is copied to RNA), post-transcriptional regulation, and translational control (the process of controlling translation, i.e., how RNA is used to produce proteins).
The fundamental processes of replication (DNA copying), transcription, and translation are studied in gene cells to understand how, as cells proliferate and develop, they give way to disease. Scientists in this department take several experimental approaches at the genomic, genetic, cellular, molecular, and structural levels.
Services
Not only does the UAM have strong research departments but the school offers services to professional scientists and researchers. These services fall into three main categories. Scientific services provide labs, animals, and equipment. Technical services provide a library, washing and sterilization services, graphic design and photography, computer services, and information about workplace safety. Technical services also maintain laboratory and scientific equipment. Administrative services help run the laboratories and provide other services in an efficient manner, and provide support to scientists.
The UAM houses the Department of Scientific Culture, which works to provide outreach to the public as a promotion of scientific
