ERA4TB

The European Regimen Accelerator for Tuberculosis (ERA4TB) is an ambitious European project aimed at accelerating the development of new antibiotics against all forms of tuberculosis, especially those that are resistant to current treatments. The project seeks to break away from the traditional sequential approach to drug development and adopt a parallel research model to reduce waiting times and optimize the costs of developing new TB treatment regimens. To this end, the project aims to bring at least six new antibiotics into clinical trials and to select therapeutic combinations that offer faster and more globally effective solutions.

"The new combinations are already being identified and will move into clinical development, starting with Phase 1 (PhI) with healthy volunteers. Three PhI studies have already been successfully completed, but for them to reach the market, they have to pass phases 2 and 3, which will take five or six more years," says Alfonso Mendoza, from UC3M's Biomedical Science and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) research group.

TAINT-TB

The TAINT-TB project is focused on developing contrast agents for computerized tomography capable of specifically marking tuberculosis, which will make it possible to visualize the distribution of the disease in the body and achieve greater precision in the diagnosis and monitoring of the infection. This will facilitate faster diagnoses, even in countries with limited resources, and provide a key tool for monitoring the evolution of the disease. At the same time, by making it possible to accurately quantify the bacterial load, the contrasts developed can be used in the development of new drugs by reducing the time required to evaluate their efficacy, reducing costs and facilitating their commercialization. 

"The contrasts that we are developing in the project will serve to improve the quantification, diagnosis and monitoring systems for tuberculosis in animal models in the preclinical development of treatment against tuberculosis," explains Patricio López Expósito, from the UC3M Department of Bioengineering.

TCOLF-TC312

The TCOLF-TC312 project, similarly, seeks to develop a model for studying tuberculosis using humanized mice with CD34+ cells. This will allow us to better understand the interaction between the human immune system and the disease-causing bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Currently, animal models do not fully reflect the complexity of the disease in humans, making it difficult to develop effective treatments. Using systems biology, this project aims to create a more accurate environment for analysing how the host, bacteria and drugs respond in the context of infection. The combination of the humanized immunological model with advanced imaging technologies (such as positron emission tomography and computerized tomography, PET/CT) will allow real-time monitoring of disease progression and response to treatments. This will facilitate the discovery of biomarkers for early diagnosis, the prediction of disease progression and the evaluation of the effectiveness of new therapies, as well as addressing new therapeutic approaches aimed at enhancing the immune response.

"If everything goes well and the results are good, the tool should be available within two years," concludes Santiago Ferrer Bazaga, from the UC3M Department of Bioengineering. Four organizations are participating in the project, three of which are companies, and the role of UC3M is the coordination and scientific direction of the project.

More information:

ERA4TB Project

TCOLF-TC312 Project

La profesora encargada de la laudatio ha sido María Arrate Muñoz Barrutia, del Departamento de Bioingeniería de l天美传媒, que se ha referido a Nogales como "el vivo reflejo de cómo el esfuerzo, la curiosidad y el talento pueden trascender fronteras".

En su discurso como Doctora Honoris Causa, Eva Nogales ha señalado el orgullo que le supone que su "trayectoria ejemplifique el ascensor social que supone la universidad pública". Asimismo, ha apuntado que "el mundo académico va más allá de la ciencia, y su labor social ni empieza ni acaba en la ciencia. Los enormes problemas a los que se enfrenta el mundo solo pueden entenderse bajo una perspectiva inclusiva e integradora que abarque todos los campos". 

La ministra de Sanidad, por su parte, ha destacado que Nogales "ha allanado el futuro para que muchas niñas puedan llevar una bata blanca". 

El acto lo ha cerrado el rector de l天美传媒, que ha remarcado que "ejemplos como el de Eva Nogales con una trayectoria científica al servicio de la sociedad, mejorando la vida de las personas, dan sentido a la educación y a la ciencia pública al servicio de la ciudadanía".

Eva Nogales es profesora distinguida de Bioquímica, Biofísica y Biología Estructural en el Departamento de Biología Molecular y Celular de la Universidad de California en Berkeley (EEUU), además de investigadora del Instituto Médico Howard Hughes. El año pasado recibió el Premio Shaw 2023 en Ciencias de la Vida por sus contribuciones a la biología estructural de la transcripción de genes (uno de los procesos fundamentales de la vida), convirtiéndose en la primera científica española que recibe este galardón.

The chatbot can be a very useful tool, enabling researchers to perform complex image analysis tasks in a simple and intuitive manner. For example, if a researcher needs to process microscopy images using segmentation models, the chatbot can help select and execute the appropriate model.

The assistant is based on extensive language models and employs a technique called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which enables real-time access to databases. “The main advantage is that we do not train the model with specific information; instead, we extract it from up-to-date sources, minimising errors known as ‘hallucinations’, which are common inaccuracies in other AI models like ChatGPT,” adds Arrate Muñoz Barrutia, professor in the Department of Bioengineering at UC3M and another author of the study. “This ensures the user receives truthful and contextualised information, which is the most important thing for us.”

The BioImage.IO Chatbot has additional advantages, as it is also optimised to work directly with microscopes and other laboratory equipment through an extension system that allows researchers to control these devices using simple commands sent directly from the chatbot interface. “Another benefit of our assistant is that it is open-source,” notes Muñoz Barrutia, “allowing other developers to continue creating new modules and improving the tool.”

The model was refined by these UC3M researchers in collaboration with Ericsson Inc and with significant contributions from Wanlu Lei, Gabriel Reder and Wei Ouyang at KTH’s Departments of Intelligent Systems and Applied Physics, respectively. Team members recently presented it at the I2K (From Images to Knowledge) 2024 congress held in Milan, Italy. This team has successfully integrated the chatbot into cloud-based platforms running on web browsers, enabling real-time database queries for image analysis. According to Fuster-Barceló, this extensibility is one of the chatbot’s major advantages, as it facilitates integration into different workflows, including third-party websites and other research systems.

As for the next steps, the researchers plan to enhance the chatbot’s capabilities with a more versatile AI model, capable of reading scientific articles and assisting in experiment planning. This could pave the way for advanced automation in research settings and, perhaps, greater democratisation in access to complex scientific tools, they conclude.

References: 

Lei, W., Fuster-Barceló, C., Reder, G. et al (2024). BioImage.IO Chatbot: a community-driven AI assistant for integrative computational bioimaging. Nat Methods 21, 1368–1370.

Arrate Muñoz-Barrutia, A (2024). BioImage.IO chatbot: A community-driven AI assistant for integrative computational bioimaging. I2K (From Images to Knowledge). October 23-25 2024. Milan, Italy.

“We're tremendously excited to combine our diverse expertise to investigate this cutting-edge question,” said Lesman, principal investigator on the grant. “Our preliminary models suggest cells may be able to communicate over relatively long distances through dynamic motions in the extracellular matrix, similar to how spiders sense vibrations through their webs. But this has never been directly studied before.”

Mortimer, a biologist who studies vibrational communication in animals such as spiders and elephants, will lead the experimental work to record and characterize the hypothesized cell-generated vibrations using state-of-the-art laser vibrometry techniques.

“I'm eager to apply approaches from my research on macro-scale animal communication to eavesdrop on the nanoscale whispers between cells,” she said.

The measured physical properties of the vibrations will feed into computational models led by Zaera to map how the signal propagates through the extracellular matrix.

“My lab's existing finite element models of fibrous materials are well-poised to simulate how the extracellular matrix, with its complex architecture, conducts dynamic mechanical information,” Zaera said.

Finally, the team will study how cells detect and respond to the vibrational signals at a molecular level using live microscopy and biomarkers, advised by Genin, a cell mechanobiology expert.

“From my research on how cells transduce minute mechanical forces during wound healing and fibrosis, I anticipate these vibrations may activate mechanosensitive signaling pathways to coordinate cell behavior,” Genin said.

This new mode of cell-cell communication, if validated, could have important implications for both healthy and disease processes involving cell interaction and collective behavior, from embryonic development to wound healing to cancer metastasis, the researchers said.

“By understanding the ‘language’ that cells use to talk to each other through extracellular matrix vibrations, we may identify new ways to promote healing and block pathological conditions,” Lesman said. “For example, we could potentially program 'messages' to stimulate tissue regeneration, or jam signals that enable tumor cell invasion.”

The research program will involve developing new techniques to 3D bioprint defined cell-matrix structures to control cell-cell distance and orientation. The project aims to show that cells can generate, propagate and perceive complex vibrational information through the extracellular matrix and elucidate the key cell and matrix parameters that govern this process.

“This high-risk, high-reward, interdisciplinary research is only possible through international collaboration,” Genin said. “By combining our complementary expertise, we can pursue this exciting hypothesis at the frontier of cellular mechanobiology in a way that none of us could do alone. Interesting research will come out of this regardless of whether experiments ultimately support our hypothesis.”

The team said this work may open a new paradigm to understand and engineer how cells coordinate their individual activities into collective behaviors, with potential future applications in regenerative medicine, cancer therapy and synthetic biology.

“We're thrilled to have the opportunity to work together on this potentially groundbreaking project,” Genin said. “And we're very grateful to the Human Frontiers Science Program for sharing our vision of using innovative, cross-disciplinary science to explore a potential new pathway for how cells communicate.”

The HumanIC network brings together leading academic teams from across Europe with partners from the hospital and healthcare HVAC industry. The aim is to train early-career engineers and scientists to take a new approach to human-centred indoor climate in healthcare environments.

What is a human-centred indoor climate?

Human-centred indoor climate is defined as the micro-environment surrounding and in close proximity to a human body. The concept focuses on human beings and their surrounding environment, which should be understood as a specific micro-environment, rather than the "physical vicinity" of a human body. 

The human-centred indoor climate of hospitals plays a key role in the safe and effective delivery of healthcare. Operating theatres, isolation rooms, treatment rooms and laboratories allow increasingly sophisticated treatments to be administered safely to patients, while wards, consulting rooms and waiting rooms provide essential facilities for patient interaction, comfort and well-being during recovery.

Healthcare associated infections (HAI)

It is estimated that more than 4 million patients acquire a healthcare associated infection (HAI) in the European Union each year. On any given day, some 80,000 patients suffer at least one HAI, i.e. one in every 18 patients in European hospitals.

The global antimicrobial resistance crisis means that HAIs pose an increasing cost and mortality risk. The hospital environment is responsible for 20% of all HAIs, and there is clear evidence that building design and human activities contribute to the transmission of infectious diseases.

Improving the indoor environment of a hospital building can reduce the costs associated with airborne diseases by 9% to 20%. Ventilation and indoor air are of particular concern, and numerous studies show that airflow controls the spread and exposure to airborne pathogens.

The work carried out at UC3M focuses on the experimental study and development of reduced models for complex flows in hospital environments. The fluid field will be studied using advanced experimental techniques such as laser velocimetry. From the field measurements, a simplified airflow model will be identified that will allow the development of algorithms for real-time flow estimation in operating theatres.

The impact of pandemics and climate change

The WHO acknowledged that during the Covid-19 pandemic many hospitals were working over capacity, with patients recovering in rooms that were never designed for them. Added to this, climate change is increasing health demands (future pandemics, heat-related diseases and infections; surgical site infection and mortality), challenging hospitals to maintain comfortable, human-centred thermal indoor climate conditions and, at the same time, driving hospitals to reduce energy consumption.

The HumanIC consortium considers human interactions with indoor environments and how this affects the transient dispersion of contaminants (particularly in protected microenvironments at risk, such as surgery) as a central prerequisite for the safe operation of these facilities. In particular, it is central to eliminating or minimising threats from airborne pathogens while ensuring good thermal comfort. HumanIC will generate new knowledge on the physical transmission processes and interactions between pollutants and airflow, and apply this knowledge to optimise the design of technical solutions and develop novel methods for visualising and controlling the human-centred indoor climate in hospital environments.

The HumanIC project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie programme (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01, project no. 101119726). The project partners are the following:  Warsaw University of Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Aalto University, St. Olavs Hospital, University of Coimbra - Polo II, 天美传媒, Fundación Para la Investigación Biomédica Hospital Gregorio Marañón, University of Leeds, Granlund Oy, Halton Oy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, ActiveTek Medica, REHVA, Drees & Sommer SE, Avidicare AB and Industry.

Eva Nogales es profesora distinguida de Bioquímica, Biofísica y Biología Estructural en el Departamento de Biología Molecular y Celular de la Universidad de California en Berkeley (EEUU), además de investigadora del Instituto Médico Howard Hughes. El año pasado recibió el Premio Shaw 2023 en Ciencias de la Vida (un “Premio Nobel Oriental”) por sus contribuciones a la biología estructural de la transcripción de genes (uno de los procesos fundamentales de la vida), convirtiéndose en la primera científica española que recibe este galardón.

‘This patent arises from the problems with existing techniques for aligning the facets (the individual specular elements) of heliostats, as they are either time-consuming or inaccurate,’ explain the authors of the patent. ‘The procedure and system for aligning the facets of a heliostat in a solar field offers an accurate technique that allows for simpler and faster assembly and maintenance in the solar plant compared to other methods,’ they point out.

UC3M also received a special mention in the category of Best Patent by a young inventor (under 40 years of age) for the patent ‘’ (P202030210), by Roberto Fernández, Asier Marcos and Jorge Ripoll, from the University's Bioengineering Department. This invention in the field of microscopy describes a device designed to obtain useful information for the characterisation of rough tissue samples and three procedures to determine different parameters with it, such as the degree of anisotropy of the sample, its roughness frequency and amplitude, and the local average velocity of movement.

"The patented device makes it possible to determine changes in tissue structure indicative of inflammation and tumors using optical technology. This facilitates the early detection of various abnormalities, even before they show visible signs, says the developers.‘This technology can be implemented as a module in endoscopes (in vivo diagnostic tests) and microscopes (in vitro diagnostic tests), demonstrating its diagnostic efficacy in oesophageal or colon cancer,’ they add. 

This is the third edition of the ‘Awards for the Best Inventions Protected by Industrial Property Rights’, which have established themselves as a benchmark for the General State Administration's support for innovation and its protection by means of industrial property rights. The purpose of these awards is to distinguish the protection of research results through patents and utility models granted during the year 2022.

The protection of research results at the University is carried out through its Servicio de apoyo al Emprendimiento y la Innovación (Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support Service), located in the Centro de Innovación en Emprendimiento e Inteligencia Artificial (C3N-IA; Centre for Innovation in Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence), at the Parque Científico UC3M (UC3M Science Park).