Research

1. Discovery, Validation, and Translation of Physiopathological Biomarkers into Clinical Tools

The field of cancer medicine is transitioning towards precision oncology, emphasizing the role of biomarkers in enhancing patient outcomes. Despite significant progress in molecular sciences and regulatory frameworks, the focus on biomarkers has often been more about promise than tangible health improvements. To achieve precision medicine, a shift from reductionist thinking to viewing cancer as a complex adaptive system is crucial, where biomarkers reflect biological system states.

SPECIFIC STUDIES:

  • Colorectal Cancer (CRC): Discovery, validation, and translation of biomarkers, including development of a urine-based lateral flow assay
  • Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (NHL): Biomarker discovery for prognostic applications
  • Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Biomarker discovery linked to immunotherapy outcomes
  • Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) Syndrome: Biomarker discovery for risk and susceptibility in genetically predisposed populations.

2. Development of Databases, Software and Tools for Biomedicine

The development of databases, software, and tools in biomedicine, is key for advancing research and clinical practices. Metabolomics, the comprehensive analysis of small molecules in biological systems, relies on sophisticated analytical technologies and databases to decipher the metabolic changes associated with diseases, environmental changes, and treatments.

SOFTWARES:

  • Amanida – a meta-analysis tool for overall statistical outcomes (p-values and fold-change)
  • Easy-Amanida – the amanida tool made easy for metabolomics using webchem in a convenient shiny webb app
  • GcDuo – a specific software for GCxGC data (from raw data to peak list)

TOOLS:

  • Metabolites Merging Strategy (MMS) – offering a systematic framework to harmonize multiple metabolite datasets for enhanced interstudy comparability

DATABASES:

  • Life Fluids – the first multiomics database of human biofluids (and curated!)
  • Urine volatilome – what urine smell can tell us

Science in 1′: What is Metabolomics?

With the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, we developed a short video explaining What is metabolomics. This is part of a interview from when I was selected as Talent URV: