Waiting for more info about my research in Barcelona? Let's go!
In this week's issue I will focus on the place where I'm currently doing my research project: at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB).
The door of my lab
IRB Barcelona is a research institution engaged in basic and applied biomedical science, with an special emphasis in promoting multidisciplinary research of excellence at the interface between biology, chemistry and medicine, that aims to improve quality of life by applying advances in this field. The center was founded by the Government of Catalonia, the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Barcelona Science Park (Parc Científic de Barcelona) in October 2005.
The entrance to the Science Park I take everyday
From the previous paragraph you can foresee that the IRB Barcelona is within the complex of the Parc Científic of the UB. The whole research complex was built by the UB in 1997, being the first scientific park of Spain. Since then it has grown exponentially, being consolidated now, with more than 85.500m2 (43.537m2 exclusively for laboratories!) and 70 companies working there as one of the biggest in Europe.
*It is important to address that if you are planning to come to the UB as a KI exchange student, it is worth to check where you lectures are, since the "Campus Farmàcia/Biologia" is very close to the Parc Cientific UB! Otherwise you may have to take the metro to reach your classroom from here.*
The center is close to the University of Barcelona and to the Nou Camp (Barça's stadium) too!
Finally, I will give some information about my research group! The group is made up of five Spanish (all of them from Barcelona, except me), one Argentinian and two Italian. Therefore we have imposed the Mediterranean lifestyle...! Just joking! But I have to say that it is a very friendly group and I feel very lucky to work with them all. With regard to my research topic, it is about the unknown effect of an enzyme named ADAT2/3 (adenosine deaminase acting on tRNA) on the whole cell. It is well known that this enzyme deaminates A to I in the position of the tRNA anticodon, but several questions are unresolved so far: how does this affect cell translation? did it have a selection effect? do the organisms use always this modification or it depends on the cellular state?...The group belongs to the Molecular Medicine department of the IRB Barcelona, and it has a special focus on the gene translation studies.
PS: As I'm writing this there is a big storm upon me! That is scaring!
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