Since 2002 at the IRB Barcelona working in the Mechanisms of Disease Programme as GL of the Structural Characterization of Macromolecular Assemblies group. Past positions: 1998- 2002, Staff Scientist at the EMBL (Structural Biology) Heidelberg, Germany 1993-1998 Post Doctoral position at the EMBL (Structural Biology) Heidelberg, Germany in the group of Prof. Dr. H. Oschkinat 1993-PhD Degree: PhD in Organic Chemistry, Salamanca University (Spain), supervised by Prof. M. Grande Research Fields: Structural Biology, NMR, X-ray crystallography, Computational Biology, Signaling Current Research: Structural determination of protein complexes involved in splicing, transcription and signaling. Protein folding and stability. Relapse prediction of endometrial cancers using artificial intelligence.
Research interests
We aim to generate fundamental knowledge and develop innovative tools for treating diseases characterized by dysregulated TGF-β signaling, to elucidate the mechanisms that link cell signaling to gene expression, and how dysregulation of these processes contributes to human diseases. Within this theme, there is a wide range of sub-topics that are of interest to us. A significant portion of our work is dedicated to investigate TGF-β signaling, SMAD transcription factors and their associated cofactors, and their role in gene expression and chromatin remodeling. We aim to understand how alterations in SMAD signaling, such as those observed in cancers and rare diseases like Myhre syndrome, drive disease progression. In collaboration with oncological gynecologists at the Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona, and other nearby hospitals, we are also studying the risk of recurrence and metastasis in gynecological cancer patient at the Hospital Sant Pau in Bacelona to develop novel diagnostic tools.
Selected publications
- Hamidreza Ghafouri, et al,2024, 'PED in 2024: improving the community deposition of structural ensembles for intrinsically disordered proteins', Nucleic Acids Research, Vol 52, Issue D1, 5 January, Pag D536–D544.
- Condeminas M & Macias MJ 2024, 'Overcoming challenges in structural biology with integrative approaches and nanobody-derived technologies', Current opinion in structural biology, 84 - - - - 102764.
- Martin-Malpartida P, Torner C, Martinez A & Macias MJ 2024, 'TPPU_DSF: A Web Application to Calculate Thermodynamic Parameters Using DSF Data', Journal of molecular biology, 436 - 17 - 168519.
- Fernández-Carneado J, et al, 2024, 'First Generic Teriparatide: Structural and Biological Sameness to Its Reference Medicinal Product', Pharmaceutics, 16 - 4 -537.
- Lee JH, et al, 2024 'TGF-R and RAS jointly unmask primed enhancers to drive metastasis', Cell, 187 - 22.
- Learte-Aymamí S, et al, 2024 'De Novo Engineering of Pd-Metalloproteins and Their Use as Intracellular Catalysts', JACS Au, 4 - 7 - 2630–2639.
Selected research activities
Since 2020- Member of the Advisory Committee of the NMR Centre (UK), coordinated by The Francis Crick Institute
Outreach activities Visits to our lab organized by La Marató de TV3 2022-24, by the IRB, and in events such as IRB Open Days. With patient associations (Myhre syndrome). Public Media: Interview in RTVE radio
Participation in the "Structural biology in XXI" course for secondary school teachers organized by the Seminari Permanent de Ciencies Naturals. External evaluator for the ARISE program (2021-25), EMBL.