The Fundació La Marató de TV3 has announced the 34 research projects on diabetes and obesity that will receive the funds raised in La Marató 2015. Among the 57 award-winning researchers are Francesc Posas, UPF vice-rector for Science Policy and Faculty Affairs of and, together with Eulàlia de Nadal, leader of the research group on Cell Signaling of the DCEXS; Cristina López-Rodríguez, leader of the research group on NFAT5 Proteins and Immune Response together with José Aramburu, and Elena Martín, postdoctoral researcher at the Neuropharmacology Laboratory.

The awards ceremony took place on 3 November at the Academy of Medical and Health Sciences of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. The director general for Research and Innovation of the Catalan Health Department, Antoni Andreu; the general secretary of the Academy of Medical and Health Sciences of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Xavier de Balanzó, and the vice-president of the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation and president of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Núria Llorach, took part at the event, conducted by journalists Ana Boadas and Toni Cruanyes.

Research projects for both treatment and prevention

Diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes, are a serious health problem for the developed societies. In the Catalan population, one in four people suffers from one. Nowadays, diabetes medication helps millions of patients around the world, but its long-term efficacy is limited and its side effects are important. 

Scientists in charge of the studies funded by La Marató will dedicate the next three years to gaining knowledge of the causes, treatments, prevention and care of diabetes and obesity. The results of these projects will have a direct impact on the quality and life expectancy of the people affected.

Together with Rubén Díaz, from Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, and Gorka Orive, from the University of the Basque Country, Francesc Posas, Eulàlia de Nadal and Javier Macía lead the project “Encapsulated synthetic cellular circuits to restore glycemic control in type 1 diabetes”.  Using synthetic biology, the researchers seek to develop a cellular device capable of detecting different levels of glucose and secreting insulin or glucagon to regulate blood glucose concentration.

In addition, the project “Selective inhibition of inflammatory macrophages of obese adipose tissue for the treatment of type 2 diabetes associated with obesity”, coordinated at UPF by Cristina López-Rodríguez (DCEXS-UPF), in which José Aramburu (DCEXS) also participates, and led by Ángel Luis Corbi of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), will analyse the connections between immune cells that give rise to type 2 diabetes, a disease in which the inflammatory factor plays a major role.

Finally, La Marató will also finance the “Study of New Molecular Targets in Preclinical Models of Obesity”, focusing on the role that the brain reward system plays in the development of obesity led by researchers Elena Martín (DCEXS), Mara Dierssen of the Barcelona Center for Genomic Regulation, and Emmanuelle Valjent, of the Institute of Functional Genomics in Montpellier. The main goal of this project is to evaluate the impact of the excessive consumption of tasty and high calorie food on the modifications of the activity of specific neurons, the medium spiny neurons expressing type 2 (DRD2) dopamine receptors of the estriatopalidal circuit, in order to characterize the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the alterations related to obesity. The Neuropharmacology Laboratory is coordinating the project, which has the important participation of Miquel Martín, as co-investigator, and Rafael Maldonado.

The Fundació La Marató de TV3 was created in 1996 by the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation with the mission of fostering and promoting biomedical research of excellence, as well as raising social awareness about the diseases dealt with in the television programme La Marató de TV3, by means of campaigns involving the public and also through publicity and educational events.

Image 1: All the awarded people by the Fundació La Marató de TV3 - La Marató de TV3 2016

Image 2 (from left to right): Eulàlia de Nadal, Gorka Orive an Rubén Díaz

Image 3 (from left to right): José Aramburu, Cristina López-Rodríguez and Ángel Luis Corbi

Image 4 (from left to right): Aurelijus Burokas, Virginia Mela Ribas, Sami Kummer, Laura Domingo Rodríguez, Mara Dierssen, Elena Martín García, Rafael Maldonado and Miguel Martín