Chirality is a property related to the three-dimensional shape of molecules. Chiral molecules can exist in two forms (enantiomers) that are mirror images of each other. This subtle difference has tremendously important implications in chemistry, as two enantiomers can exhibit completely different or even opposite biological or pharmacological properties. Similarly, the mechanical, magnetic or electrical properties of many materials can vary completely depending on whether they are made up of a single enantiomer or mixtures of enantiomers.

As a consequence of all this, there is a real need at both laboratory and industrial level for synthetic procedures that allow chiral compounds to be obtained selectively in a defined enantiomeric form. Among the different methodologies available for this purpose, those using chiral catalysts are the most suitable, as they allow minimising the consumption of chiral starting materials and reducing waste production, contributing to more efficient, more economical and more environmentally friendly chemical processes.

In this context, the asymmetric catalysis group investigates the development of new chiral catalysts based on both metal complexes and organocatalysts and their application in various enantioselective C-C bond formation reactions aimed at the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched chiral organic compounds of pharmacological interest. These reactions include functionalisation reactions of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds (Friedel-Crafts reactions), carbanion addition reactions (aldol reactions, Henry reactions), addition reactions of organometallic reagents (alkylation and alkynylation) or cycloaddition reactions (Diels-Alder reactions, 1,3-dipolar addition) etc.

We have recently incorporated the use of photoredox catalysis in C-C bond formation reactions.

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.

The research group conducts its research activity in different lines of work: 

• Childhood and environment line

Cohort study in collaboration with other research centres (INMA project) to share methodologies and knowledge on the effects of the environment on children's health, to describe the level of exposure and pollution during gestation and early childhood, to assess the role of the most common environmental pollutants and dietary protective factors on foetal growth and neuro-endocrine-immune development in order to develop environmental health indicators. 

• Air pollution and health line 

Study of the relationship between air pollution and health effects, developing multi-centre studies. Studies are also carried out to evaluate the impact of pollution on the health of the population.

• Weather and climate line

Evaluation of the relationship between climatic factors and meteorological variables, especially ambient temperature and health, as well as public health measures that can minimise the impact of foreseeable future climate changes.

• Line of evaluation of the health impact of various environmental risks 

Through the measurement of the degree of exposure to risks, the development of biological markers and the relationship between these factors and the incidence of various pathologies. This impact is evaluated from different perspectives, ranging from environmental pollution (through biomarkers of exposure) to climate change (heat and cold waves), as well as the impact of certain technologies affecting the environment (mobile telephony, power lines, etc.).

Our research group analyses, from different points of view, parasite-host relationships in intestinal parasitosis and their implications in the clinical and epidemiology of these parasitosis. Several approaches are used in order to develop strategies to design control tools for these parasitosis. On the one hand, phenotypic alterations are studied, with emphasis on the differential regulation of proteins and post-translational modifications that a host species induces in intestinal parasites and their relationship with the establishment of a chronic infection or the natural expulsion of the parasite. Likewise, we also analyse the alterations that these parasites induce in the host intestine at the immunological and proteomic level in order to establish the factors that determine their capacity to eliminate the parasite and generate resistance to infection or, on the contrary, those that determine the establishment of chronic infections. 

For these studies, our research group uses intestinal helminths as experimental models, mainly the Digeneid Trematode Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) due to its great facility to infect different species of laboratory animals with a different course of infection in each of them. On the other hand, our group also analyses, from an epidemiological point of view, the current situation of different intestinal parasitosis both locally and internationally. The aim of this work is the diagnostic and epidemiological study of intestinal parasitosis in different areas of the world, with emphasis on populations living in poverty and/or social exclusion. Different types of diagnostic techniques are used, including etiological, immunological and molecular methods. The collection of these data can be useful and their correlation with socio-economic and hygienic variables can be very useful for the issuing of recommendations aimed at designing programmes for the control, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of specific conditions by the health authorities in the region.

1. Basic research on zoonotic pathogens of interest in aquaculture. Model bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, fish and human pathogen.

• Aim: To understand the mechanisms of V. vulnificus-host interaction at functional and molecular level using eel and mouse as model animals to predict virulence for fish and humans, respectively. 
• Methods: classical microbiology; molecular microbiology and genetics; classical and molecular immunology; tissue culture and cell lines; genomics, transcriptomics; microarrays; manipulation of laboratory animals.

2. Research applied to aquaculture-related companies.

• Aim: to develop:
  • diagnostic methods for infectious fish diseases.
  • molecular methods for pathogen detection.
  • vaccines and vaccination and immunostimulation procedures.

The research group "Immunology of fungal infections" has focused its research over the last fifteen years on the study of the host immune response to Candida albicans. The group has a multidisciplinary background, both in Microbiology and Immunology, so it has an ideal profile to study the interactions between pathogenic fungi and cells of the immune system both in vitro and in vivo. Although the research conducted is primarily basic in nature, it has clear applied potential in the development of new immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of fungal infections.

C. albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that, depending on the underlying host defect, is capable of causing a variety of infections ranging from superficial mucocutaneous candidiasis to severe invasive candidiasis. The frequency and severity of the latter has increased considerably in recent decades, due to the increase in the at-risk population that is immunocompromised or weakened by various causes.

Resistance to candidiasis requires the coordinated action of innate and acquired immune defences. Mature cells of the innate immune system use different PRRs (pattern recognition receptors) to directly recognise MAMPs (molecular patterns associated with micro-organisms), so that with a limited number of these receptors they can recognise a wide range of pathogens. The most important families of PRRs in C. albicans recognition are Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and C-type lectins (CLRs, such as dectin-1). In this context, our group demonstrated that the TLR2 receptor is involved in the recognition of C. albicans, both yeast and hyphae, inducing cytokine and chemokine secretion through a pathway dependent on the adaptor molecule MyD88 and that such recognition is critical for protection against invasive candidiasis in a mouse model of infection. 

In 2006 it was described that haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), from which all immune system cells are derived, express functional TLRs, and that signalling via TLRs in haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) triggers their entry into the cell cycle and their differentiation into the myeloid lineage. This discovery opened new perspectives on pathogen-host interactions, as these receptors could be involved in modulating haematopoiesis in response to micro-organisms during infection. At that time our group decided to study the involvement of PRRs in the interaction of C. albicans with HSPCs and its consequences for the resolution of the infection. Working along these lines, we have shown that C. albicans induces the proliferation of HSPCs and their differentiation towards the myeloid lineage, both in vitro and in vivo. This response requires signalling via TLR2 and dectin-1, and results in functional macrophages that are able to internalise and destroy yeast, as well as secrete inflammatory cytokines. These results indicate that pathogens can be directly recognised by HSPCs through PRRs, thereby promoting the replenishment capacity of the innate immune system during infection. These receptors may therefore be at least partly responsible for the emergency myelopoiesis that occurs during most infections, including invasive candidiasis.

On the other hand, numerous recent studies have challenged the dogma that immunological memory is an exclusive feature of specific immunity, as cells of innate immunity can exhibit some "memory" and respond differently to a second encounter with the same or another microbial stimulus. For example, exposure of monocytes and macrophages to C. albicans increases their response to a second encounter (trained, dectin-1-dependent immunity), while TLR4 or TLR2 ligands confer a reduced inflammatory response to macrophages (tolerance).

In parallel to the studies on the memory of innate immunity, our group set itself the new goal of studying the function of phagocytes formed after HSPCs contact with microbial ligands. Using in vitro and in vivo models, we have shown that stimulation of PRRs in HSPCs affects the functional phenotype of the macrophages they subsequently generate. Therefore, our results show that this new concept of "memory" of innate immunity can be applied not only to mature myeloid cells, but also to HSPCs, which contributes to increase the durability of innate memory over time.

Based on these results, and those of other authors in the same line, an active role is now assigned to HSPCs in the fight against infection. The hypothesis we are currently working on is that HSPCs can directly detect microorganisms and contribute to protection against infection by different mechanisms, including their ability to differentiate into myeloid cells with an enhanced phenotype to confront the pathogen and initiate the immune response.

The results already obtained open up new perspectives, which may be of great interest at the intersection between Immunology, Microbiology and Haematology. The existence of new mechanisms in the host-pathogen interaction, and their consequences in modulating the immune response during infection, may represent a new target for intervention against serious infections by enhancing the immune response. In addition, modulation of haematopoiesis by microorganisms could reveal new strategies for the treatment of diseases with alterations in myeloid cell production, such as myeloid leukaemias.