Salvador Ventura is Full Prof. at the Dep. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and leader of the Protein Folding and Conformational Diseases group at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB), Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He has been director of the IBB in 2017-20. He has authored > 250 peer-reviewed research and review papers, > 20 book chapters and 14 patents. He got his Ph. D. in Biology at the UAB in 1998 and worked as postdoctoral fellow (1999-2002) at EMBL-Heidelberg. He has been researcher at Harvard Medical School (USA) and Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) among other centres. He rejoined UAB as a Ramon y Cajal researcher in 2003. Dr. Ventura received the UAB 2008 Excellence Research Award, the Bruker Prize "Manuel Rico" 2020 from the Spanish Biophysical Society, the 2009, 2015 and 2020 ICREA-Academia Awards in Life Sciences and Medicine, the UAB 2022 Transference award and the 2022 Narcis Monturiol Medal. He is co-founder of Eureka NanoBioEngineering. 

Research interests

Our lab takes a multidisciplinary approach to studying protein misfolding, and aggregation, with a special focus on their molecular and structural aspects. In addition to defining the principles that govern these processes, we pursue to understand how their deregulation leads to the onset of human diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders. To this aim we integrate state-of-the-art techniques in computational biology, structural biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics. By leveraging our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of protein misfolding and aggregation, we strive to develop innovative therapeutics to target these pathologies. Our expertise in this area also allows us to design and produce novel self-assembled materials for nanotechnology applications, including biosensors, biocatalysts, multivalent binders and vaccine platforms. 

Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to the development of innovative technologies and molecules that improve human health.

Keywords

Protein misfolding, Protein Aggregation, Amyloid, Protein Design, Protein Self-Assembly, Prions, Conformational Disorders