University of Valencia logo Logo Scientific Technological Offer Logo del portal

Ageing and Social Stress Research Group: Pharmacological and Behavioural Mechanisms of Protection - ENVEST

The main research topics in our group focus on evaluating different intervention strategies that can act as protective against changes induced by both social stress and ageing as well as the role of new technologies in mental and cognitive health. In animal models, our studies are based on the environmental enrichment paradigm of providing high social, physical and mental activity. In human subjects, our interest is focused on the evaluation of lifestyle factors that can help to reduce the effects of chronic stress and promote cognitive reserve, thereby counteracting or delaying the cognitive decline associated with ageing and Alzheimer's disease. We are also interested in assessing the impact of new technologies on mental health and on the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive decline associated with ageing and chronic and neurodegenerative diseases. The ultimate goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that favour more active ageing and the prevention of cognitive decline.

Educational Transitions, Resistance, Gender Relationships, Exclusions and Health Research Group - TERRES

The research group TIERRAS (Educational Transitions, Resistance, Gender Relationships, Exclusions and Health) seeks to create and transfer knowledge, interdisciplinary, from a critical and inclusive epistemological position, which directs the gaze towards different cracks that in knowledge societies are revealed as relevant to understand and transform the social world. The lines of research in which we are seeking to jointly explore in greater depth are:

  • Study of pedagogical practice. Analysis of the processes of distribution and construction of legitimate knowledge in the pedagogical device. Pedagogical modes of delivery. Sociology of pedagogy.
  • Pedagogical identity in specific contexts: description and analysis of the social production of identity in the processes of educational and professional transition.
  • Bodies, genders and sexualities: representation and sexual practices. Social construction of health and illness.
  • Audiovisual co-education, gender, semiotics and cultural studies. Critical analysis of audiovisual culture and its co-educational dimension. Meaning and codification of gender in audiovisual discourses. Media interpellation: processes of identification and subjectivation.
  • Study of the processes of precariousness in social contexts discursively dominated by the knowledge economy.
  • Social politics analysis.

Regarding the training and research capacity of the group, the members participate in the third cycle training courses of:

  • Master’s Degree in Gender and Equality Policies.
  • Master’s Degree in Social and Educational Action.
  • Master’s Degree in Psychopedagogy.
  • Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Teacher Training.

We also participate in the Doctoral Programme in Education of the UV and in the Doctoral Programme of the Institute for the Study of Women.

Human-Robot Interaction Group - HRI

The HRI group focuses its research on the development of intelligent systems and algorithms for human-robot interaction in the fields of mobile, industrial and collaborative robotics.

The main objective is to learn the fundamental principles for carrying out tasks of different natures (driving vehicles, manipulating objects, surface treatment, etc.), predict human intentions in situations where there is shared control and provide personalised assistance capable of adapting to the changing conditions of the environment and of the human operator, regulating the level of autonomy of the intelligent assistance system.

It is worth highlighting the lines of research in assisted teleoperation using optical and audiovisual feedback (HAV feedback), advanced driver assistance systems (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, ADAS) in vehicles and intelligent transport systems (ITS), as well as active cooperation and shared control between a human operator and a robotic system in industrial applications.

Multiscale Computational Simulation Laboratory Research Group - COMMLAB

The group's activities are divided along the following main lines: 

  • Simulation of cardiac eletrophysiology.
  • Simulation of fluid dynamics. 
  • Automatic learning models: where we work with reinforcement learning techniques, as well as with classifiers of different types oriented towards the development of systems to aid the medical act (SAAM for its Spanish acronym meaning Sistemas de ayuda al acto médico).

Broadly speaking, the group's activities are divided, on the one hand, into research oriented towards biomedical simulation (electrophysiology and fluids) and, on the other, research into automatic learning models (classical + deep learning) capable of handling large volumes of data, thus offering very useful applications for the medical sector based on the multiple simulation results derived from classical techniques and acquired in different projects. 

Paediatric Solid Tumour Translational Research Group - ResPediaTu
  • Genetic analysis in solid tumours in children. At European level, we participate in the establishment of a uniform nomenclature, a standard operating procedure and quality validation studies, essential to obtain and maintain a high quality of the results of fluorescent in situ hybridisation, single nucleotide polymorphism and sequencing (FISH, SNPs and NGS) used for therapeutic stratification in neuroblastoma. 
  • Identification of new genetic factors and digital microscopic analysis with prognostic value in low prevalence tumours (rare tumours). 
  • Obtaining and characterising cell lines derived from fresh tumours of neuroblastic and skeletogenic tumours in children. 
  • Establishment and characterisation of in vivo models (2D and 3D) of neuroblastic tumours. 
  • Marker expression studies in paediatric solid tumours and colorectal carcinoma. 
  • Digital pathology studies of the tumour microenvironment.
Prediction and Optimisation under Uncertainty Dynamic Stochastic Models and Applications Research Group - PROMEDyA

Our research group works on prediction and optimisation techniques. Prediction of future observations and optimisation in order to build automatic decision support tools in an uncertain environment. This has already led to interesting results, especially in the fields of medicine and public health, but also in industry and finance. Consequently, our purpose is twofold: to deepen the study of prediction models that can incorporate temporal and/or spatial relationships, as well as covariates, and to continue advancing in the development of methodologies that incorporate uncertainty in optimisation, which will allow us to build new tools to support decision-making in different areas of planning and management. In particular, we will investigate the analysis of scenarios with the presence of uncertainty for which there is information given by a series of historical data, for which we will use time series models, and those in which in addition to the temporal relationship there is a neighbourhood relationship between contemporaneous observations, for which we will use spatio-temporal models. Previous work have considered prediction models based on dynamic state-space models with innovations, and have advanced theoretically in the incorporation of multistationarity, covariates and autocorrelated errors, with the aim that they can be used in the automatic prediction of banks of time series. Recently, we have introduced fuzzy time series methods to obtain as a prediction a fuzzy number that can be incorporated into optimisation models using fuzzy logic to incorporate uncertainty. Our aim is to extend the field of application of these methodologies by means of simulation-optimisation models that make it possible to analyse the quality of the solutions and the optimisation of the objectives. We are also working on compositional time series, which allow us to contextualise mixed models for multivariate longitudinal compositional data in a microbiome setting. 

Recently, we have been working on the combination of forecasts, using weighted averages of forecasts obtained with different methods, with the aim of designing a decision support system that allows the adjustment of weights and the optimal selection of prediction models to obtain more reliable forecasts. The study of the geographical and temporal variability of health phenomena is currently very popular in the world of epidemiology. Numerous risk smoothing models that simultaneously incorporate the spatial dependence of risks between nearby regions and the temporal dependence of risks for each of the regions have been proposed in recent years. Classical models have been designed for retrospective analysis of incidence time series and therefore do not address fundamental issues from the point of view of planning preventive and control actions such as predicting the onset of outbreaks, predicting epidemic peaks and ending epidemics. We want to analyse some problems related to the prediction of the spread of epidemics, focusing simultaneously on the spatial and temporal components of the problem. Along the same lines, simultaneous incorporation of temporal and spatial components in the models studied, we are working on various scenarios: Bayesian hierarchical model extension, recently proposed by members of our team, which allows estimating risks and detecting clusters simultaneously where it is considered that the spatial dependence between relative risks does not necessarily conform to neighbourhood criteria; spatio-temporal extension of Bayesian stochastic compartment models; proposal of a spatio-temporal model for the treatment of epidemiological data in the compositional scenario, and proposal of a spatio-temporal model for the analysis of associations between environmental exposures and health. All these prediction results will be used in the construction of decision support systems based on optimisation models under uncertainty for different domains. Among them, in addition to the areas mentioned above, we will work on financial management problems, in particular the problem of portfolio selection. The portfolio selection problem is about determining an optimal portfolio that satisfies the decision-maker's preferences, in terms of risk and return on investment. We have introduced the approximation of portfolio performance by credibility distributions and alternative measures of investment risk. We will address the portfolio selection problem by introducing a loss function that can be visualised by the investor as a measure of his preferences and develop evolutionary multi-objective optimisation strategies to determine efficient portfolios for different investor risk profiles.

Research Group on Advanced Research and Technological Expansion in Computer Graphics - ARTEC

The ARTEC group focuses its research tasks in the field of computer graphics. Within this area is focused on interactive 3D graphics, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Civil Simulation. In addition, the group works in related areas such as ubiquitous computing or intelligent environments. The group performs both basic and applied research tasks. In this sense, the group has applied simulation systems to training and research in human factors, emphasizing especially in driving simulators. This line of work has led to the development of hardware systems for immersive 3D projection supports, as well as motion platforms for the generation of gravitational-inertial keys with the development of mechanical actuators.

Research Group on Applied Psychophysics - GAP

The group works on clinical and technological applications of the Physics of Vision (psychophysical physiological optics and mathematical models of visual processing), without neglecting basic research in this field. The three main working lines are:

  1. Basic research in vision: Obtaining information on the structure and function of the visual system from psychophysical experiments. Modelling of visual processes.
  2. Applications to clinical psychophysics, with two different working lines:
    • Development of psychophysical tests for detection, screening or classification of vision problems: Evaluation of existing devices. Analysis of respectability, sensitivity, specificity in normal and pathological populations. Study of measurement distortion factors. Analysis of concordance between devices.
    • Technological applications of Vision Sciences: Characterisation of image capture and display devices. Development of specific colourimetric characterisation methods (point-to-point methods). Applications of image display devices as generators of visual stimuli in clinical psychophysical tests. Applications of image capture devices as colorimeters. Applications of colour measurement in green chemistry, for estimation of chemical parameters correlated with the colour of samples. Characterisation of optical elements. Development of protocols for measuring optical quality in vitro. Measurement of optical and visual quality of intraocular lenses.
  3. Clinical applications for the improvement of visual function in patients. Basic studies and development of applications, especially aimed at amblyopia (lazy eye), to determine which stimuli would favour concordance with the dominant eye.
Research Group on Bayesian Statistics - VABAR

The objective of our group is the methodological and applied research of Bayesian Statistics, especially in scenarios of epidemiological and environmental type. Our work is fundamentally based on three axes:

  1. Hierarchical models in studies with correlated data.
  2. Model selection.
  3. Computational simulation models.

All of them are somewhat mixed in nature, methodological and applied, and in the compatibility and interrelation of many of their knowledge and objectives.

The first thematic block is the most extensive and is dedicated to research on models with correlated data associated with structures of a spatial-temporal, longitudinal, survival or non-survival type, and of blood kinship. Methodological research in disease mapping has a long tradition in our team, currently with unbalanced multivariate and spatial-temporal objectives. This block also contains new research proposals dedicated to joint models with longitudinal and survival data, methodology on species distribution, spatial-temporal surveillance of diseases and regression methods for scattered genetic data from genetically isolated populations with known family trees, which will undoubtedly lead us to Big Data.

In the area dedicated to the selection of models, marginal, conditioned, and combined measures are studied to quantify the contribution of a potential set of covariates in the explanation of a response of interest, and two new lines have been initiated, with a more applied orientation, which link the subject of variable selection with longitudinal and survival models and related data through structures of consanguinity.

Finally, in the block of computational models, the group continues with a line of action dedicated to the calibration of multivariate computational models and the implementation of the results obtained in a computer application and in a new application dedicated to uncertainty modelling in compartmental models.

Research Group on Cardiac Electrophysiology - GRELCA

GRELCA is a multidisciplinary research group located in the Departments of Medicine and Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Valencia, led by Dr. Luis Such Belenguer, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Physiology, Dr. Francisco Javier Chorro Gascó, Head of the Cardiology Department of the Hospital Clínico Universitario and Professor of the Department of Medicine of the aforementioned University, who has extensive experience in the field of experimental cardiac electrophysiology. It is directed by Dr. Antonio Alberola Aguilar, Professor of the Department of Physiology at the University of Valencia.

It includes researchers from the Research Institute of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia (INCLIVA) and from the departments of Medicine, Physiology, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Electronic Engineering. The group also has collaborating laboratories at the ITACA institute, which belongs to the Polytechnic City of Innovation, a science park of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, where close scientific collaboration with specialists in technical areas (Telecommunications Engineers, Electronic Engineers, specialists in digital signal processing and analysis, etc.) is materialised for the development of cardiac electrical activity mapping systems and the experimental equipment necessary for the evolution of the discipline, which has been in existence for more than 20 years.

The complementary nature of the researchers in the group provides the framework from which to approach the study of the mechanisms involved in the onset, perpetuation and cessation of cardiac rhythm disorders, especially fibrillatory processes, with the aim of developing analysis procedures, diagnostic techniques and therapeutic alternatives in relation to arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Our research has been directed especially towards the study of the mechanisms that regulate fibrillatory processes, both atrial and ventricular, using cartographic and spectral techniques.

We are particularly interested in the analysis of proarrhythmogenic electrophysiological changes induced by ventricular mechanical stretch and the identification of pharmacological agents that counteract these effects, the study of myocardial protection derived from regular physical exercise and the analysis of the electrophysiological changes produced during ischaemic processes. Two new lines of research have recently been initiated: the implementation of a chronic infarction model to study the relationship between the characteristics of ischaemia-reperfusion injury and the inducibility and maintenance of malignant ventricular arrhythmias, and the development of an animal model of metabolic syndrome to study the impact of the combination of the different manifestations of the disease on cardiac electrical remodelling and its potential arrhythmogenic mechanisms.

Research Group on Corpus Linguistics: developments and applications - CORPLING

Corpus linguistics (CL), with its decidedly empirical approach to language research, has greatly enriched previous paradigms to the point of becoming an obligatory methodological reference in the current landscape of linguistic studies. 

We are interested in highlighting two strands, one dealing with developments in corpus linguistics and the other focusing on its applications. Like other empirical research within linguistics, LC research straddles the humanities and the social sciences, on the basis of computational linguistics. From the humanities it takes its primary interest in the study of language in its multiple aspects, from the social sciences it has taken a large part of its methodology based on quantification (mathematics, statistics, etc.), and from computer science, the development of increasingly sophisticated analytical tools. In this respect, the methodologies used in LC, far from being static, continue to evolve and incorporate important developments, whether through the creation of increasingly sophisticated software packages in ad hoc corpus research, the creation of specific portals, or the creation of tools focused on a variety of research tasks.

Research on LC developments is related to qualitative analysis methods, to textual annotation and to the use of quantitative analysis. In addition, some recent computer science developments, such as so-called sentiment analysis or opinion mining, have turned their interest to the analysis of large amounts of data on the web (big data).

In terms of applications, corpus linguistics has no limits, its great strength being the investigation of large databases that the analyst cannot manipulate effectively through manual analysis. LC is now being applied to any area of linguistic research, be it digital genres of any kind or non-digital genres. In the case of non-digital genres, the solution necessarily involves digitisation, since LC necessarily operates on digitised texts. However, although LC is the fundamental methodology for many researchers, it does not dispense with qualitative or manual analysis, and in its scientific production it is articulated in synergies with other approaches. It is very difficult today to conceive of a dictionary or a grammar without corpus research. But beyond lexicography and phraseology, which have grown hand in hand with the corpus, we find applications in all types of linguistic analysis, whether pragmatic or discursive, including, more recently, stylistic analysis. Not forgetting applications to the acquisition and teaching of second languages, or research into specialised languages. Nor should we forget the invaluable contribution of LC to translatology, given that the corpus is a fundamental tool for translators. There are real networks of researchers working on specific aspects. 

However, returning to the starting point, we are interested in focusing our research on those aspects that evaluate the strength of proposals based on techniques developed within corpus linguistics in research on different fronts.

Research Group on Dental Pathology and Therapeutics - GIPTD

Our group develops its research activity in the following areas:

  1. Dental pathology: epidemiological and clinical studies.
  2. Public health and primary care dentistry.
  3. Tooth whitening.
  4. Endodontics: biomaterials and techniques.
  5. Restorative dentistry: materials and techniques.
Research Group on Differentiable Function Spaces and Algebras of Differentiable Functions - ESALDI

The generic field of work is complex analysis in finite and infinite dimension. In a complex variable Dirichelt series. In several variables Borh radii. In infinite dimension linear theory, multilinear theory, local theory and geometry of Banach spaces, ideals of polynomial spaces and the study of algebras and Banach spaces of differentiable functions and their transformations.

Research Group on Digestive and Inflammatory Pharmacology Unit - UFDI

At the beginning, our group was dedicated to the study and characterisation of gastrointestinal disorders related to acid production and motility, becoming an international reference group in this field due to the large number of high-level publications in the area of basic or experimental pharmacology.

New applications for the study of drug effects, such as genetics or molecular biology, have led to a broadening of the topics to be studied.

The most important characteristic of our group from a research point of view is the desire for our different lines of research to be focused on the study of physiological and pathological processes with a broad clinical impact. That is why our lines of research address diseases of particular relevance in today's society: Crohn's disease, NSAID gastroenteropathy, AIDS, diabetes and obesity. Since its foundation in 2007, our group has been part of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red: Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBERehd), whose function is to promote research of excellence at both clinical and basic levels. In addition, we have been recognised by the Valencian Government as a group of excellence within the PROMETEO 2010 call.

Our group has published more than 200 articles and reviews in international journals including, among others, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, PNAS, Circulation, Immunity, Circulation Research, British Journal of Pharmacology and Trends in Pharmacological Sciences.

Research Group on Digital Design and Processing - GPDD

The Digital Design and Processing Group of the Universitat de València focuses its research on digital signal processing and the application of digital processing techniques in fields such as Biomedical Engineering, industrial systems and hardware architectures for the implementation of real-time algorithms.

Research Group on Environmental Effects - EFME

The research group was founded by Prof. Estanislao Silla in the Department of Physical Chemistry of the University of Valencia at the beginning of the 90's. The scientific work of the group has been always focused on the theoretical description of chemical processes in condensed phases: solutions and biological environments. The group is currently leaded by Iñaki Tuñón.

The work of the group includes both methodological development and applications. Among the most prominent methodological contributions of our group we find the GEPOL program (a program to calculate molecular surfaces and volumes and that is currently used in many implementations of continuum models) and contributions to the improvement of QM/MM hybrid descriptions of enzymatic processes. Applications range from solubility to chemical reactivity and also computer-aided rational design of new biological catalysts and inhibitors.

Research Group on Extracellular Matrix Proteins. Implications for Cell Adhesion - ProMaEx

Our group studies how cells attach to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and its implications. Cell-ECM adhesions modulate mechanical signals and control growth factor signalling, determining cell survival, differentiation, migration and extravasation. ECMs are organised into fibrillar lattices of varying complexity to which cells attach via specialised membrane receptors, such as integrins, that act as a link to the cytoskeleton. Among the proteins and proteoglycans that make up ECMs, the fibronectin (FN) protein is particularly interesting as it offers multiple cell adhesion motifs and its polymerisation is the initial step for the organisation of the rest of the components of many ECMs, mainly those that promote embryonic development and those transient matrices that allow tissue regeneration and tumour development.

FN is secreted as a soluble dimer and its polymerisation depends on the cell, as only if it binds to integrins and these are activated and stimulate the contractility of the cytoskeleton does it exert traction on the FN allowing it to unfold and self-polymerise. Fibronectin fibres are undergoing continuous remodelling and disruption of this process can lead to fibrosis, arthritis and defects in development and angiogenesis.

In our group, we have generated and analysed different strains of fibronectin-expressing knock-in and conditional knock-in mice with mutations in residues potentially critical for cell adhesion. We are interested in which adhesions are really limiting and how each adhesion influences cell behaviour and ECM secretion, structure, maintenance or stiffness; factors that ultimately determine tissue formation and regeneration. We are using these mice to find out how essential proteins or sequences involved in adhesion are in vivo and to define pathologies caused by their deficiency. Regions of the FN that we consider crucial to its function:

  1. the RGD motif of the FNIII10 module is the main integrin-binding sequence. FN-RGD adhesion is very complex: it has been said to be the only one that allows the formation of FN polymers; it links two distinct families of integrins:
    1. the first consisting of Alpha5Beta1 and AlphaIIbBeta3 (exclusive to platelets);
    2. Alphav-containing dimers, with different, but in many tissues complementary, functions. It has been described that in the first group, adhesion is enhanced, under conditions of increased stress, by the binding of an amino acid sequence, called the synergistic site, which is located in the FNIII9 module.
  2. the heparin II region (modules FNIII12-14) which on the one hand binds Syndecan-4, another cellular receptor, and on the other hand binds numerous growth factors involved in angiogenesis and cell proliferation, such as the FGF family, the TGFBeta family and the PDGF family. This region has been hypothesised to allow signalling by growth factors in a cooperative manner with RGD adhesion. This region is of particular interest in the area of tissue regeneration.
Research Group on Food and Environmental Safety - SAMA

Deteriorating environmental conditions, mainly caused by human activities, are a major health risk. Pollution, environmental degradation, deforestation and biodiversity loss are not only affecting ecosystems and climate, but also have serious consequences on the production of safe and quality food and on the population.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the safety of the food we consume and the environment where we live in has become a top priority for consumers and public authorities alike. The Research Group on Food and Environmental Safety (SAMA-UV) is dedicated to research in environmental and food sciences and provides state-of-the-art technology and analytical services for the determination of contaminants and natural compounds, focusing its activities in the areas of environmental health, food quality and safety as well as risk assessment and human exposure studies. The pollutants with which the research group works and for which it has advanced analytical methodology include both regulated and emerging pollutants and their degradation products (ex. pesticides, drugs of abuse, human and veterinarian medicines, perfluorinated compounds, flame retardants, etc…).

The results of this activity has enabled the research group to interact and collaborate with other national and European teams researching similar topics through the attendance and paper presentation at numerous international meetings and conferences and articles in scientific journals. As a whole, the research activity carried out has generated 15 book chapters and more than 180 publications in international CSI journals with a high impact rate such as Analytical Chemistry, TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Chromatography, Analytica Chimica Acta, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Food Chemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, etc.

The group’s research is mainly funded through research projects within the framework of grants for R&D projects at both regional and national level, and also within the framework of various integrated actions with the cooperation of other research groups in the European Union. The group also has collaborations and agreements with companies in the food and environmental sector.

Research Group on Food&Health Living-Lab - Food&HealthLabLL

The research activity will focus on the following lines of research:

  1. Development and implementation of Food Quality and Safety.
  2. Elucidation, research and study of extracts and/or bioactive compounds of food origin.
  3. Development of new food products.
  4. Basic and applied research through the development and study of clinical trials in the field of pathologies associated with nutrition.
  5. Development of new tools based on information and communication technologies (ICT) for use in food education at teaching and care level.
  6. Anthropometric and nutritional assessment and ergogenic aids in sport.

 

Research Group on Formulation, Technologycal Assessment and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Drugs and Cosmetics - EVALUAMECO

The characterisation of drug release, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion processes has a major impact on medicine design and provides rational criteria for selecting the most appropriate dosage form, route and method of administration. These aspects are particularly important for drugs with bioavailability problems and/or high pharmacokinetic variability.

The research group is dedicated to pre-formulation studies of medicine (and cosmetics), characterisation of drug release and/or absorption processes from the medicine containing them and evaluation of the pharmacokinetic profile after its administration to the organism.

Research Group on High Performance and Intelligent Systems - HiPIS

The team works in four main related and simultaneously complementary research lines: 
- Pattern Recognition Techniques, Computer Vision and its applications for different problems, mainly content-based image search, distance learning and emotion detection from video sequences.
- Processing of different types of signals, particularly audio and video ones. Group works in this research line include capture, analysis and synthesis of acoustic signals, as well as analysis of video signals, all acting in coordination with the Computer Vision line.
- Design of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) with affective capacities. Part of the results obtained from the first and second line of work are used to detect emotions from videos filmed with low-cost hardware by applying techniques specific to the fields of Signal Processing and Computer Vision.
- High-performance and high-availability computer systems offering a fundamental tool for all the previously mentioned fields (pattern recognition, intelligent systems and signal processing) by providing the necessary power in real time whenever required from application areas or in case of high system availability requirements. In this regard, the latest trends focus on distributed systems, the handling of Big Data and the so-called “cloud computing”:  three fundamental aspects in the context of group investigation.

Research Group on Human Movement Analysis - HuMAG

This research group is interested in the analysis of human movement related to motor control and physical activity from a health perspective. Therefore, its interest is focused both on the dynamic, kinematic and electromyographic analysis during the performance of activities such as static balance and gait and the analysis of the amount of physical activity (voluntary movement) performed by people and the relationship of this with their health. On the other hand, the group also conducts research in other areas related to physical exercise, applying advanced data analysis techniques (e.g. neural networks, text mining, data mining). During the last 5 years the research group has published around 40 articles indexed in JCR, of which we highlight the following 5 for their importance in the opinion of the members of the group:

  • González, L.-M., García-Massó, X., Pardo-Ibañez, A., Peset, F., & Devís-Devís, J. (2018). An author keyword analysis for mapping Sport Sciences. PLOS ONE, 13(8), e0201435. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201435
  • García-Massó, X., Ye-Lin, Y., Garcia-Casado, J., Querol, F., & Gonzalez, L.-M. (2019). Assessment of haemophilic arthropathy through balance analysis: A promising tool. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 22(4), 418-425. https://doi.org/10.1080/10255842.2018.1561877
  • González, L.-M., Devís-Devís, J., Pellicer-Chenoll, M., Pans, M., Pardo-Ibañez, A., García-Massó, X., Peset, F., Garzón-Farinós, F., & Pérez-Samaniego, V. (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on Sport in Twitter: A Quantitative and Qualitative Content Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4554. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094554
  • Maitre, J., Noé, F., González, L.-M., García-Massó, X., & Paillard, T. (2021). The tightening parameters of the vibratory devices modify their disturbing postural effects. Journal of Biomechanics, 126, 110624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110624
  • Pellicer-Chenoll, M., Pans, M., Seifert, R., López-Cañada, E., García-Massó, X., Devís-Devís, J., & González, L.-M. (2021). Gender differences in bicycle sharing system usage in the city of Valencia. Sustainable Cities and Society, 65, 102556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102556
Research Group on Imaging and Photonics - ImaFoton

Imaging Sciences represent a renewed research field in all its aspects, while also being a development for Physics that’s currently characterised by a frenetic scientific and innovative activity. Nowadays, the term “image” doesn’t only refer to optical imaging and its multiple techniques for analysis, rebuild and visualisation, but also to artificial, computer and three-dimensional vision, medical imaging and algorithms for image processing, among many other areas. In the last two decades, Imaging Science researches achieved a lot. There are multiple new microscopy procedures allowing to go over the classic resolution limit. The computer industry is particularly interested in the astonishing results of computer imaging techniques. The progress in obtaining images through turbid media allows to achieve good resolution for images involving, for example, deep tissue layers in living beings or the cosmos through telescopes located on the earth’s surface. The new non-invasive imaging modalities for in-vivo biologic material and the tools for the transfer of said knowledge and procedures to the study, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. The entangled photons sources in quantum photonics allow to achieve high-quality images with low-level lighting. It’s also necessary to include many other areas in full development, such as adaptive optics, nuclear medicine imaging, photonic tweezers (which are offering new paths for the individual study of cells), new generations of spatial light modulators, etc.

On the other hand, the radiation associated with femtosecond laser systems present a series of singular properties: very short duration, high peak power, high spectral width and structured spectral coherence. The combination between Diffractive and Pulse Optics enabled the design of new technological applications for the micro and nanostructuring of surfaces, the in-volume processing of transparent samples such as glass or polymers, the fluorescence multiphoton stimulation in microscopy systems and the generation of other non-lineal effects in matter, such as filamentation.

Research Group on Innovative Diagnostic and Therapeutical Developments in Solid Tumors - InDeST

For almost a decade now, there has been a significant increase in studies related to digestive tract cancer and its treatment, as shown by the different clinical guidelines disseminated at European and global level. For this reason, the development of new drugs and their testing in clinical trials is one of our main lines of research. We also focus on the study and identification of new prognostic and predictive biomarkers of response through the use of liquid biopsy with special interest in the analysis of circulating free tumour DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumour cells (CTC) for the characterisation of minimal residual disease. We also studied the prognostic and predictive value of using an artificial intelligence-based radiomic model in this group of patients. Finally, the use of organoid models generated from the patient's own tumour cells (or normal tissue) for molecular characterisation of the disease and drug testing is another of our priorities.

Research Group on Integrated Laboratory of Intelligent Systems and Traffic Information Technology - LISITT

The LISITT group was set up in 1989 with the aim of filling the existing gap in Spain in the area of telematics applications in the field of traffic and transport. Its initial activities were focused on the execution of international research and development projects within the European ESPRIT and DRIVE programmes of the 2nd Framework Programme of the European Union. 

Since its origins, LISITT has specialised in the study and development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), covering technological, organisational and strategic aspects. LISITT has been carrying out projects for more than 20 years for national traffic and transport administrations, including the Directorate General of Traffic, the Ministry of Public Works and its regional counterparts in the Basque and Catalan Governments. LISITT is currently a multidisciplinary group (Physics, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Mathematics, Geography) that brings together more than 60 professionals, all of them university graduates, including civil servants, contracted teachers and its own research staff, and has established itself as a reference group in consultancy on telematics applied to transport, in the development of ITS systems, and strategic consultancy on management issues and the development of traffic systems. 

The work carried out since its origins has consolidated LISITT as a Spanish reference group in consultancy on telematics applied to transport, in the development of ITS systems, and strategic consultancy on management, development and maintenance of traffic systems for administrations, as reflected by the fact that LISITT has been participating for more than 10 years as expert advisors representing the Directorate-General for Traffic in different national and international standardisation committees and in European working groups on ITS systems, including the World Committee for Standardisation in ITS systems ISO/TC204, the European Committee for Standardisation of ITS systems CEN/TC278 and the Spanish Committee for Telematics applied to transport and road traffic AEN/CTN 159. The role played by LISITT in the creation, assistance and monitoring of the Euro-regional SERTI project (1995 - 2006), the Euro-regional ARTS project (1997 - 2006) and the European EasyWay project (2007-2013) should also be highlighted. 

Apart from these consultancy activities in the standardisation groups in the field of ITS systems, LISITT's most important projects are grouped around the following topics:

  • Consultancy to traffic administrations on coordination and organisation of international traffic control and management projects.
  • Technical assistance to public administrations in traffic management and information systems.
  • Study, development and maintenance of traffic information systems for public traffic administrations.
  • Coordination and execution of R&D&I projects, both from the European Union and national calls for proposals.
  • Analysis, design, construction and development of information systems for private companies.
  • Computer security, data protection and privacy.
Research Group on Intelligent Data Analysis Laboratory - IDAL

The main purpose of IDAL is the study and application of intelligent methods of data analysis for pattern recognition, with applications that struggle with prediction, classification or trend determination.

Its members apply classic statistical methods and automatic learning techniques to large databases: statistical hypothesis testing, linear models, feature selection and extraction, neural networks, clustering algorithms, decision trees, support vector machines, probabilistic graphical models, manifold visualization, fuzzy logic, reinforcement learning, etc.

The ultimate goal of the application of these methods is to generate mathematical models which enable the optimization of processes and resources, as well as to reach the optimal decision making stage. A clear example of this is the area of health, where IDAL has developed clinical decision support application based on data analysis. These applications make it possible to improve the patient’s quality of life (establishing optimal clinical guidelines) while reducing healthcare costs.

Complementing this knowledge, the group has extensive experience in signal processing (spectral analysis, digital filter, adaptive process, etc.) due to their work of over 10 years in biosignal processing (mainly ECG and EEG). With all this background, IDAL is able to analyse a wide range of data and signals. This fact is backed up by the large number of both private and public contracts it has developed in different areas of knowledge. Furthermore, most of the practical work carried out has been displayed in important scientific publications with high impact parameters and in a large number of communications to international congresses within the area of data analysis.

Among the developed applications, (outside the health area already mentioned) are the following, i.a: web recommendations, models for optimal incentive management to gain customer loyalty, measurement-based shoe recommendations, and other data analysis consultancy works. In addition to its practical work IDAL, it develops new data analysis algorithms improving the performance of the existing ones. This research work is also reflected in a wide dissemination in the form of different publications in journals of impact and in congresses of data analysis relevant to the scientific community.

Research Group on Medical Physics - GIFIME

The research group on Medical Physics develops its activity in the application of imaging techniques and physical applications to the medical and sports fields. In particular, it focuses on: the applicability of Infrared Thermography to the diagnosis and monitoring of pathologies that involve variations in surface body temperature and the study of sporting activity, assessing muscular activity and muscle overload due to overexertion; the determination of topographic maps of the body using structured light for the assessment of asymmetries that enable the diagnosis and monitoring of spinal pathologies; the use of laser speckle techniques for the study of the evolution of cell cultures and deformations in bodies subjected to dynamic and light stress, etc.

Research Group on Membrane Biophysics - MemBioPhys

Self-assembly of amphipathic molecules with lipid and polypeptide characteristics, natural or synthetic. Characterisation of membrane structures of biological, biomedical and biotechnological interest, with special interest in pore, fusion and fission structures. Light-induced molecular changes in membranes, natural or synthetic. Design, implementation and applications of molecular switches in membranes.

Research Group on Membrane Proteins - MemProt Lab

The purposes of our projects are to explore the mechanistic principles of membrane protein insertion, folding and assembly into lipid membranes and to investigate the factors that determine membrane protein stability. Our interest focuses on protein/protein-interactions relevant for maintaining tertiary and quaternary structure and function of integral membrane protein complexes. More specifically, we investigate the role of membrane-spanning domains, i.e. of transmembrane segments. The study is performed through an exhaustive investigation of glycophorin A as a model dimeric membrane protein, and from the knowledge of this system we try to understand the structure and function of the pulmonary surfactant SP-C protein, an extremely hydrophobic membrane protein.

On the other hand, we are interested in the cell-to-cell transport of plant virus. This transport process is mediated by specialized viral movement proteins, which in same cases are membrane proteins, that drive the viral genome to the cellular membrane in order to be transported into neighbouring uninfected host cells through the plasmodesmal channel. We are currently investigating the targeting and the insertion mechanisms of these viral membrane proteins into the biological membranes.

Research Group on Miniaturisation and Complete Analytic Methods - MINTOTA

Since its creation in 1988, our research group has introduced new concepts of calibration, exactitude and quality of analytic results, multiresidue analysis, solid phase extraction, conventional, multidimensional and capillary liquid chromatography, nanochromatography and on-site analytic devices. In the developed analytic systems, the sample, separation and detection manipulation are integrated in a single tool.

The research expects to meet the current demand for fast, cost-effective and clean analytic procedures. Strategies implementing new nanomaterials are currently being developed. Both instrumental and analytic objectives are being pursued (type of necessary information, sample characteristics, present type of analytes and concentration, detection-originating species, chirality). The resolution of several analytic problems was addressed in different research areas, mainly for environment, health, diet, drug addiction and industry. This work was developed in the framework of various research projects financed by public bodies and it could count on the contribution of researchers from other universities and research centres.

The carried out work was reflected on publications included in magazines of international renown, in congresses, theses and both undergraduate and master’s degree final projects. It also enabled the establishment of activities centred in the transmission of knowledge with companies, public bodies and research centres.

Research Group on Molecular Therapies - TERAMOL

The Research Group on Molecular Therapies is made up of basic and clinical researchers from the Universitat de València, the La Fe University Hospital, the University Clinical Hospital of Valencia, the University Hospital of the Ribera, the National Cancer Research Centre and the Prince Felipe Research Centre.

The multidisciplinary composition of this group, which includes experts in molecular biology, bioinformatics and computational biology, medical oncology, surgery, pathology and new high-throughput technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics), allows the molecular complexity inherent to human diseases and the search for new therapies from an integrative and translational perspective. This approach is being applied in the different lines of research developed by the group, such as the identification of new biomarkers and molecular targets for the treatment of lung cancer, the physiopathology of pulmonary fibrosis, or the prevention and therapy of hypoxic-ischaemic neuropathies.

Research Group on Naturally-occurring Anti-inflammatory Agents - NAPRODIN

Research and study of the activity of products of natural origin, mainly plant-based, in in vivo experimental models of dermatitis and intestinal inflammation. Study of the mechanism of action in different in vitro models. Measurement of inflammatory mediators in cell cultures.

Research Group on Networks and Virtual Environments - GREV

The Networks and Virtual Environments (GREV) group focuses its research on distributed systems interconnection networks, distributed virtual environments and the development of scalable multi-agent systems. These three types of systems are transversal to different types of applications, but we have mainly applied them to areas as diverse as archaeology, urban mobility, online videogames, computational genetics and social sciences.

Since its foundation, the GREV has been conducting its research integrated and in permanent collaboration with the Consolideer ACCA team, composed by research groups from four Spanish universities (the GREV and groups from the UPV, UCLM and UMU). Over the past few years, the group has initiated interdisciplinary collaborations with research groups in the fields of Computational Genomics and Social Sciences.

Research Group on Obsessions and Compulsions Research and Treatment - I'TOC

The group has been active since 1999 in following fields: 

  1. Heterogeneity of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), we have worked on defining the number and structure of the content dimensions that characterise obsessive intrusive thoughts and clinical obsessions, analysing the cognitive and metacognitive features that differentiate these dimensions, as well as their implications for the diagnosis and treatment of the OCD. 
  2. Cognitive models of the OCD. We are working on analysing the validity of different cognitive explanatory proposals for obsessive-compulsive disorder. 
  3. Transdiagnosis.- We are working on finding out which variables or factors operate transdiagnostically in the various dimensions and/or subtypes of OCD and in other disorders of the emotional spectrum. Specifically, we focus on the comparative study of unpleasant mental intrusions (IMD) with obsessive, dysmorphic, hypochondriacal, eating, and relational contents, and their respective functional consequences (i.e., appraisals, emotional impact, interference, and neutralisation/control strategies).
  4.  Transculturality.- We are working on the cross-cultural validity of the explanatory cognitive model of the OCD, and we are currently examining the above-mentioned IMDs in different cultural and religious contexts (in connection with other research groups in Canada, Italy, Argentina, Iran, Israel, and Turkey). 
  5. O-C Spectrum.- We are working on examining the comparative validity (in psychopathological terms) of the various current approaches to O-C spectrum disorders, specifically, those derived from the DSM-5, those proposed by the WHO (ICD-11), and those proposed by cognitive psychological research (e.g., approaches to the dysphoria vs. euphoria and harm avoidance/compulsivity vs. impulsivity/NJREs continuum).   Specifically, we focus on the study of the OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, hypochondriasis and anorexia nervosa (psychopathology, diagnosis and treatment).
  6. Treatment.- We have worked on testing a cognitive treatment programme (TCE), derived from cognitive theories of the OCD and specifically designed for this disorder. We have compared its efficacy with that of Exposure with Response Prevention; we have analysed the efficiency in the application of the treatment and compared the application in individual and group format; as well as according to the type of obsessions and compulsions. In recent years we are developing, exploring and testing virtual reality procedures that can support conventional treatments.
  7. Family relationships.- We are examining whether dysfunctional beliefs, held by parents about unpleasant mental intrusions of obsessive, hypochondriacal, and dysmorphic content, have any impact/influence on those of their children. 
  8. Stigma: We have sought to combat the stigma associated with mental illness in general, and O-C spectrum disorders in particular, by disseminating current knowledge and the possibilities for effective treatment and recovery from these disorders. 

We have worked on all these lines thanks, among other things, to the funding obtained in national (BSO2002-02330; SEJ2006/03893-PSIC; PSI2009-10957; PSI2010-18340; PSI2013-44733-R) and regional (GVAE2007-011; AE/07/022; SMI 6-2008; SMI 3/2008; PROMETEO 2013/066) competitive calls. We have published more than 50 articles in high-impact scientific journals, and made more than 100 presentations at national and international conferences with a selection committee.

Thirteen PhDs related to the objectives of the group and directed by the group leader have been defended, 5 of which obtained the extraordinary award in their respective calls.

Research Group on Optoelectronic Image Processing - GPOEI

The group researches and develops several fields of optical and digital image processing. The activity includes considerable academic research (supported by a high number of publications in high impact journals) as well as applied research (with transfer in the form of patents, licensed patents and contracts with companies in development and consultancy work). 

Generally speaking, the research activity is based on Fourier optics techniques, which are applied from image processing to conventional imaging and holography. 

The main areas of activity are the following: 

  • SUPER-RESOLUTION: Multiple techniques have been proposed for resolution enhancement in optical systems. Under certain conditions, the limits imposed by diffraction or sensors can be overcome. These techniques have application in microscopy, typically diffraction limited, and in all areas where imaging is performed, such as infrared imaging, where the resolution limit is usually the pixel size of the sensor. 
  • PHASE IMAGE AND 3-D IMAGE: This field exploits the ability to perform wavefront capture by holographic methods to obtain phase measurements of objects, mainly in microscopy. The techniques are analogous to those required for 3-D capture in metrology. In this area, the activity is academic and consultancy in systems for the capture and analysis of three-dimensional objects. 
  • REMOTE MEASUREMENT OF VIBRATIONS BY MEANS OF SPECKLE: Using the self-interference produced when coherent light strikes a diffusing surface, techniques are employed that allow the detection of nanometre-amplitude motion of the objects under analysis. This allows vibrations and sound to be measured over long distances (up to hundreds of metres) with simple and robust systems. This activity has led to several patents and their commercialisation. Its use can range from sound measurement to mechanical vibration analysis and includes the developing field of non-contact biomedical parameter monitoring.
  • LENS-FREE MICROSCOPY: The possibility of wavefront recording has as a potential application the realisation of microscopy techniques in which no objectives are used for imaging. Various techniques are developed, using a variety of light sources for the inspection of microscopic samples. 
  • LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS: Both theoretical and experimental studies of the operation of liquid crystal displays are carried out. These displays allow beam shaping, polarisation control and polarimetric imaging.
  • ADVANCED TECHNIQUES IN OPTOMETRY AND OPHTHALMOLOGY: The aim of this activity is to design and propose systems to improve measurements, images and techniques in optometric and ophthalmological practice.
Research Group on Oral Surgery, Implantology and Oral Rehabilitation - CIRUBUCA

The research activity of the CIRUBUCA research group focuses on innovation, development and scientific analysis of: 

  • Implants in buttresses and rehabilitation of patients with large maxillary atrophies. 
  • Zygomatic, palatalised, frontomaxillary and pterygoid implants.
  • Direct and indirect sinus floor elevation.
  • Bone grafts in maxillary sinus floor elevation.
  • Bone grafting in atrophic maxillae and placement of membranes.
  • Implant maintenance and peri-implantitis.
Research Group on Pharmacology of Inflammation - GINFAR

For several years we have been researching the mechanisms involved in inflammatory processes. Our activity has focused on a number of aspects such as the study of the mediators that determine the progression of joint injury, the possible protective mechanisms and the main signalling pathways involved, in order to increase knowledge of the pathogenesis of inflammatory-based diseases and find new therapeutic targets. To this end, we conducted in vivo and in vitro studies. We use different animal models of acute inflammation (rat and mouse air pouch, carrageenan oedema, skin inflammation, bowel inflammation) and chronic inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis models (adjuvant arthritis, collagen arthritis, serum transfer arthritis from K/BxN transgenic mice). Models of osteoarthritis due to ageing have been developed: such as spontaneous osteoarthritis in STR/ort mice, following the temporal evolution of the disease, with biochemical studies of biomarkers in serum and joint tissues, radiological studies, histological studies, etc. All these findings have made it possible to relate the appearance and progression of the injuries to the age of the animal and to propose various mechanisms that may regulate these processes. Animal models of osteoarthritis/osteoporosis in rats (ACLT+ovariectomy) and arthritis/osteoporosis in mice (CIA+ovariectomy) have also been developed.

We conducted studies on cartilage explants, chondrocytes in normoxia and hypoxia, synoviocytes and osteoblasts from osteoarthritic patients to determine gene and protein expression of factors that may be related to disease progression. We have determined the consequences of over-expression (sometimes by transfection with adenovirus) or inhibition (sometimes by gene silencing with siRNA) of these factors on cellular metabolism, synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix components, production of cytokines, chemokines, growth and cell differentiation factors, eicosanoids, reactive species, etc. Signalling and transcription pathways related to these factors have also been studied.

 One of our lines focuses on cellular senescence and the effects of ageing in different systems, in vivo and in vitro approaches.

We are studying the anti-inflammatory and protective properties of mesenchymal stem cells within in vitro and in vivo models as a source of new therapeutic strategies in inflammatory diseases and joint diseases. In particular, we focus on the properties of extracellular vesicles as potential therapeutic agents, biomarkers and cell communication factors.

 We also used culture systems from healthy fibroblasts and keratinocytes and from psoriatic patients to determine the inflammatory mediators and mechanisms involved. In vitro studies have also been conducted in models of human microendothelial cells, fibroblasts and keratinocytes, focusing on adenosine as a target that may lead to new therapeutic strategies for wound healing in highly susceptible population groups such as diabetics, the obese and the elderly.

Research Group on Photochemistry Reactivity - GRFQ

Research area: Photochemistry Design, synthesis and study of the photophysical and photochemical behaviour of molecular and supramolecular materials.

  • The group has studied the photophysical and photochemical behaviour of organic chromophores and bichromophores, inter- and intra-molecular energy and electron transfer processes induced by light, as well as the application of chromophores as photocatalysts in transformations of organic compounds. Nanoparticles Design, synthesis and application of photoactive nanosystems 
  • Since 2008, the group's research has focused mainly on semiconductor and metallic nanoparticles. Thus, nanoparticles dispersible in aqueous and organic media have been prepared, their optical properties and photostability have been studied, as well as the modification of their shape and size in processes induced by light in the presence or absence of a photocatalyst. The nanoparticles initially used were CdSe, CdSe/ZnS semiconductors and gold nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have been and are being used, after their specific functionalisation, as chemical sensors and to prepare fluorescent gels. 
  • In recent years, the group has synthesised and is synthesising other nanoparticles of interest for biomedical applications. These so-called "up-conversion" nanoparticles are of interest for bioimaging, photodynamic therapy, controlled drug release, etc. Their most outstanding feature is related to their ability to absorb light in the IR (high penetration in tissues) and emit in the visible. In vitro studies with nanoparticles of this type, suitably functionalised for their intended purpose, are being carried out in collaboration with Prof. Verdugo of the University of Valencia. 
  • In addition, we have recently prepared perovskite nanoparticles that allow us to obtain colloidal solutions of these nanoparticles. These semiconductor materials are of interest, among other applications, for obtaining electroluminescent devices. The application studies for devices are being carried out in collaboration with Dr. Henk Bolink of ICMol, UV.Fields of application: The molecular and nanohybrid materials developed by the group have applications such as photocatalysts, sensors, solar filters, optical devices, drug detection, etc.
     
Research Group on Physiotherapy Technology and Recovering - FTR

Application of work and recovery techniques for musculoskeletal injuries through the use of scientific methodology and modern and up-to-date technological and statistical management. This group includes experts from the fields of physiotherapy, physical education, electronic engineering, physicists and public health experts. Tendon and muscle behaviour will be studied by means of anthropometric assessment, blood and genetic studies, ultrasound scanning and dynamometry by statistical analysis of neural networks and organised maps.

Research Group on Physiotherapy in Movement. Research Group on Multi-specialty - PTinMOTION

Today, a more sustainable health system is being pursued in which the individual takes an active role in his or her health care, while adopting healthier lifestyles that prevent secondary pathologies and co-morbidities.

In this sense, this group considers, as a research activity, to determine ways of promoting health from Physiotherapy, taking into account the perspective of continuous change to which society is subjected on a daily basis. Specifically, this research group is characterised by its multi-speciality in the field of Physiotherapy, with the advantage that this entails in bringing together various new specialities in this area of health.

This group' s research activity aims, from the perspective of various physiotherapy specialities, to address different areas of assessment and intervention in healthy people (health promotion), in health problems of various kinds (chronic pain, haemophilia, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory and musculoskeletal pathology, women's health) in different population groups, as well as in aspects related to professional ethics and health in physiotherapy.

Research Group on Psychological Development, Health and Society - PSDEHESO

The study of human development and its optimisation is a challenge not only for personal health but also for public health worldwide. The most current approach in health psychology is not focused on illness but on health behaviours, assessment and early detection, intervention in everyday life contexts, approaches centred on the family and the context, lifestyles, etc., and their effects on the overall health status of the person.

In this sense our group frames its objectives in the WHO (1948) definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or disability. Challenges include, for example, early intervention in developmental disorders, developmental optimisation throughout the life cycle, as well as assessment and intervention in other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (such as cognitive impairment, frailty syndrome, etc.), changing lifestyles, improving quality of life, fostering positive and meaningful social and family interaction in development and health, etc.

Our research activity has focused on the influence of social, family and cultural factors on positive and pathological human development, as well as their evaluation and intervention. We have carried out numerous basic and applied research projects, being therefore an example of a multidisciplinary group with interaction between basic and clinical researchers and with a profile of publications and funded projects that respond to this criterion.

Research Group on Radiophysics and Nuclear Instrumentation in Medicine - IRIMED

The proposed Research Group is created to carry out research, development and innovation activities in the field of Medical Physics, Radiotherapy Oncology and Nuclear Instrumentation in Medicine, and whose main lines to be developed are the following:

  • Clinical and physical dosimetry.
  • In vivo dosimetry.
  • Clinical applications in Brachytherapy and external beam Radiotherapy.
  • Development of Monte Carlo techniques for clinical applications.
  • Instrumentation for detection and dosimetry with ionising radiation.
  • Design of applicators for use in radiation oncology.
  • Study and design of solutions in the field of proton therapy.

The research activity of the members of this group can therefore be divided into a number of sections:

  1. The Radiation Detector Technology Laboratory develops its research activity in all technological aspects related to the reading, conditioning, processing and transmission of data from both ionising and non-ionising radiation detectors. These include the development of discrete and integrated front-end electronics for the conditioning of signals from photomultipliers and photodiodes, the design and implementation of systems for the acquisition and processing of digital data from radiation detectors and the transmission of data in both electrical and optical media. The application of these developments focuses on experiments in experimental nuclear physics, particle physics and medical physics, as well as on the technology transfer of those useful in the industrial sector.
  2. Algoritmos de cálculo de avance de dosis basados en modelos. At present, thanks to a research agreement signed between La Fe Hospital, the University of Valencia and the company Nucletron-Elekta, La Fe has the ACE system integrated into the Oncentra Brachy planner at the facilities of the Radiation Oncology service. This system, a pioneer in Spain, represents one of Nucletron-Elekta's main commitments in the field of high-rate brachytherapy dosimetry. Furthermore, Professors Facundo Ballester and Javier Vijande are members of the joint AAPM-ESTRO-ABG working group in charge of the study and characterisation of these systems, so the synergy between the clinical work carried out at La Fe with the use and development of this system and the theoretical study carried out by the UV professors will allow for a long-term study aimed at replacing the current dosimetric formalisms.
  3. Characterisation of electronic brachytherapy systems. As an example of electronic brachytherapy systems, it is important to mention the Esteya system, which is the result of a collaboration between La Fe Hospital, the UV and the company Nucletron-Elekta. A full characterisation is currently being developed using Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Other electronic brachytherapy systems, such as Intrabeam systems, are also being studied by this research group.
  4. Study of new algorithms for the treatment of prostate tumour lesions using permanent brachytherapy implants. A dosimetric correction system is currently being developed at the UV with the aim of being implemented within a real planner. 
  5. Development of planning systems based on Monte Carlo codes. A major effort is currently underway in the field of UV computing to develop Monte Carlo codes that can be implemented within a planning system. 
  6. Renewal of TSR-398. Under IAEA mandate, the UV is to carry out the Monte Carlo simulation and the corresponding clinical measurements of several ionisation chambers under different radiation beams.
Research Group on Reproductive Medicine - MIR

Infertility or the inability to conceive a child is a medical condition recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that causes severe health problems to affected women as well as serious epidemiological and sociological repercussions to society. The calculations show that it's a pathology affecting 15% of all worldwide couples and its incidence rate keeps increasing; it affects 10% of couples wishing to have their first baby and 10 to 25% of those wanting to have a second one. Articles 25 and 26 of the European Parliament's report on Europe's demographic future (2007/2156 (INI)) highlight the necessity to consider infertility a sensitive and important matter.

The goal of our activity is to promote and start new research lines allowing to make progress in the field of reproductive medicine by improving assisted reproductive treatments, decreasing its adverse effects and establishing new techniques for diagnosis and fertility preservation.

 

Research Group on Social Neuroscience - NEUROSOC

The “Social Neuroscience” research unit is focused on the scientific study of different social issues from a biopsychosocial perspective, considering the humanistic approach to understand human behaviour. The work being carried out is mainly focused on the study of cooperation and empathy, violence and social stress.

Neurocriminology aims to apply the methodology and techniques of neuroscience in order to understand, predict, treat and even prevent violence and criminality. Neurocriminological knowledge could be used in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of violence, as well as in the estimation of the probability of recidivism. While this is not free of ethical-legal issues, neuroscience is becoming an important influence on the understanding and study of violent and criminal behaviour. In this context, positive neurocriminology focuses on positive processes such as empathy, altruism, positive emotions and prosocial behaviour, among others. This knowledge derived from the research lines implemented could be used in the development of crime prevention and intervention programmes.

Cooperation is a typically human behaviour focused on social relationships, which can be defined as an adaptive strategy consisting of acting jointly with one another, increasing the probability of achieving a common purpose. Such cooperative behaviour is the result of cognitive and emotional processes related to constructs such as altruism and empathy.

Therefore, the most relevant application of this research is the use of the results obtained in the promotion of prosocial behaviour and the prevention and treatment of antisocial behaviour. However, there is still little research, under controlled laboratory conditions, that has analysed the psychobiological changes that occur when cooperating. One particular situation where cooperation, altruism and empathy occur is surrogacy, in which many women freely choose to participate in order to help others who are unable to be pregnant with their child. They expose their bodies and endanger their health to help others achieve their dream of parenthood. There are few comparable examples, perhaps a similar situation is when a living person donates an organ to someone they do not know. One of the most satisfying parts of the process for these women is the sight of the parents' faces as they hold their own baby in their arms at the moment of birth. Studying how these people’s brains work, the neurobiological mechanisms and the psychological aspects that lead them to be able to do something so wonderful for other people can help us to a large extent to be a more caring society, with greater moral development and, in short, more empathetic and less violent.

All of the above gives this research line a special neuroscientific relevance, since its main objective is to analyse the changes in activation, emotionality and stress induced by cooperation, as well as by other modulating factors such as gender and the result obtained in it. The results we are obtaining could be extrapolated to educational, work, political and any other social context in which interpersonal relationships are established.

Knowledge of the psychobiological mechanisms of cooperation would provide us with relevant information to advance in the development of a more cooperative and empathetic social model. In recent years, mindfulness has established itself as a very useful intervention strategy in the healthcare setting, as it has a beneficial influence on the health of different populations. In addition, some research has indicated that mindfulness-based interventions positively influence empathy in university students and healthcare professionals. These results are promising for the introduction of mindfulness in the training of psychologists. However, the studies conducted so far have only included self-report measures to assess empathy, which does not allow us to affirm that these interventions are really useful, since the increase in the subjective perception of the participants does not ensure an improvement in their empathic ability. In this regard, further research that includes situational assessment of empathy is needed, including performance measures and biological markers such as oxytocin, a hormone that has been linked to empathy and bonding. People with alcohol and/or drug dependence problems present neuropsychological and psychophysiological deficits that lead to alterations in emotional, cognitive and behavioural regulation. As a result, they tend to behave impulsively, without considering future consequences, whether negative or positive, and fail to use the information available in the environment to foresee the consequences of their actions and inhibit their behaviour. These impulsive behaviours in men convicted of violence against women in intimate partner violence (so-called batterers) have been directly related to violent behaviour, with this association being modulated, in a high percentage of cases, by the consumption of alcohol and/or other substances of abuse. However, other types of abusers often use a premeditated or proactive type of violence that has been consistently linked to psychopathy and is often also associated with alcohol and/or other drug use. These studies provide additional information on gender-based violence by allowing us to concretely describe its neurocriminological profile and to delimit the role of alcohol and/or drug use in the propensity to violence. It also makes it possible to analyse the effectiveness of the treatments on the neuropsychological and psychophysiological variables analysed. The results of this work are being applied nationally and even internationally, and could be extended to a multitude of people in similar situations. The fact that it includes physiological parameters together with psychological indicators makes it very valuable. The increase in life expectancy, together with advances in current health systems, are some of the most relevant factors in explaining the phenomenon of dependency in our country. This fact, together with the social change resulting from the progressive incorporation of women into the workplace, is detrimental to the traditional family-based care system, where the family caregiver was solely responsible for the care of the sick person. However, the informal caregiver continues to represent the main care resource for dependent people, in most cases embodied in women. Prolonged caregiving is a chronic stressor that has serious consequences for the caregiver’s health, directly affecting their quality of life. Our studies are aimed at the analysis of specific variables of particular conditions, with the aim of creating explanatory models of the caregiving situation. The search for happiness is universal and as ancient as humanity, which has pursued it incessantly since its origins. This desire to be happy is so important that some countries have now begun to measure their development in terms of Happiness Index per capita. Moreover, in recent decades the science of Psychology has gone from studying only mental disorders and their treatment to deciphering how to achieve an optimal functioning of the mind that allows us to live happily. This latter science is called Positive Psychology. Research is currently being carried out into the origins of happiness and the pleasant feelings that accompany it: contentment, hope, optimism and joy. Thanks to the great advance in knowledge about the brain, we know that happiness is not a state that is reached by chance, but is the result of the activity of brain circuits designed by evolution to produce this state of well-being.

Happiness is therefore a product of the brain, which can be studied scientifically like any other function of the human mind. Knowledge on what activates these circuits allows us to act, voluntarily, to our benefit. We know that the brain is constantly changing throughout life, which is called neuroplasticity, no matter how old we are or what experiences we have had. Thus, by managing our thoughts and actions, we can bring about those brain changes that make us feel happy. This knowledge, based on the latest research in Neuroscience and Psychology on the neuroplasticity of the brain, enable us to restructure our brain in order to control our emotions and enjoy greater well-being and happiness. Scientific research shows that happiness is very beneficial, since it enhances the resources and tools that allow us to cope with the ups and downs that occur naturally throughout life. It also improves intellectual capacity and motivation, enhances creativity and increases interest in the world, cooperation and empathy, and is also very beneficial for health.

Research Group on Sport Biomechanics and Physical Activity - GIBD

GIBD (Sports Biomechanics Research Group) is conceptualised as a research team within the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (Universitat de València), whose core work is developed in the field of biomechanics applied to physical activity and sport. Its research activity can be seen through different contributions in scientific publications (JCR), communications and papers at conferences of national and international relevance, as well as contributions to book chapters and even the group’s own manuals on applied sports biomechanics.

The main lines of research, materialised through contracts and projects in public calls and/or research contracts, are developed in three main areas:

  1. Sports material and equipment: plantar supports, compressive fabrics, and other textile clothing materials. 
  2. Biomechanical analysis, especially in running, walking and cycling.
  3. Assessment and application of sport biomechanics and evaluation of physiological variables.

The research activity developed is possible thanks to the knowledge and application of specific instrumentation in the area of sports biomechanics, with GIBD being at the forefront and expert in the application of accelerometry, thermography, dynamometry, presurometry techniques, as well as the evaluation and analysis of the perception of comfort and fatigue during physical/sports activity. In particular, a large part of this research is based on the analysis and evaluation of products related to physical activity and sport (material and equipment).

Since 2012 GIBD is located in the biomechanics laboratory of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (Blasco Ibáñez Campus, Valencia), and since 2018 we also develop our research in the Biomechanics Laboratory of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (Ontinyent Campus - Universitat de València).

Social and Health Information and Research Unit Research Group - UISYS

Our research activity will consist of the development of the following lines of research:

  • Research related to information systems and documentation. It includes the design, development and evaluation of scientific information systems, such as databases, interoperable digital libraries and websites that enable access to information and knowledge, as well as the development of value-added products that support informed decision making.
  • Analysis of the sharing of raw research data in the various areas of knowledge. It includes research related to raw data and its sharing in science.
  • Scientific activity indicators. It includes research related to the evaluation of scientific activity and the provision of adequate information to improve public research policies.
  • Social and health sciences. It includes research on health and wellbeing issues, such as sport or addictive behaviours, form a social, biological or psychological perspective.
Sport and Physical Performance Unit - UIRFIDE

The UIRFIDE research group has been working since 1995 in the 3 main classic lines that make up the world of physical and sporting performance. Sport and Physical Activity Management, where research is carried out and specific interventions are proposed on problems such as those related to the quality of sports services or event management (from small local events to large international events).
Sports Performance, where again research is carried out and interventions are proposed related to the needs of athletes with a view to improving their performance, whatever their starting level and their stage of development.
And finally, on the world of Physical Activity and Health, focusing especially on those populations with greater adaptation needs in physical and sporting practice, such as older adults or people with disabilities.