The Spanish Stroke Genetics Consortium
Meet the Team
Neurovascular Pharmacogenomic and Genetics
The Stroke pharmacogenomics and genetics research group (STROKEMICS) is a research group located at the Sant Pau Institute of Research (IIB) and Sant Pau Hospital. The aims of the group are to understand the biological mechanisms of stroke and other neurological diseases. We use Wide Omics techniques such as genetics (GWAS), epigenetics (EWAS), proteomics (PWAS) and transcriptomics (TWAS) to study stroke risk and stroke outcome in order to find potential new treatments that could be used in the clinical practice. We are also interested in Gut Microbiome, integromics analysis, monogenic rare diseases associated with stroke or dementia such as CADASIL, CARASIL, Moya Moya, among others.
The group is the co-founder and currently coordinates the GENESTROKE consortium. They also participate in several international consortia, being members of the executive and scientific committees.Currently, it is actively collaborating in the International Stroke Genetics Consortium, CADISP consortium, Host COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative.
NEUVAS
The Neurovascular Research Group of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute is a group with a high translational vocation focused on research into cerebrovascular disease. It is part of the "Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona" (PRBB) and has been part of the "Heracles Network", later the "Cardiovascular Research Network" (RIC) and the "INVICTUS-PLUS Network". Much of its research is linked to the BASICMAR registry, which contains exhaustive data on all stroke patients treated at the Hospital del Mar since 2005 (currently with more than 11,000 patients). It has an extensive serum bank and genotype library associated with 9,500 samples.
The NEUVAS group has a long history of collaborations. The group has participated from the beginning (2007) in the "International Stroke Genetics Consortium (ISGC)", and co-led the creation of the GENESTROKE, promoting relevant international studies in the field of genetics associated with stroke prognosis (DIOS Project), and also participating in international studies on genetics and stroke (MEGA-Stroke and GIGA-Stroke).
The team currently has several active and highly productive lines, especially in the field of genetics (GWAS) and epigenetics (EWAS, microRNAs and biological age) of stroke.
IdISPa
The Neurobiología del Institut d’Invesitgació Sanitària de Palma (IdISPa) is amultidisplinar group consisting of clinical and basic researchers, led by Dr. Cristofol Vives-Bauza.
The main objective of the group is to decode the molecular mechanisms involved in ischemic region recovery, for the purpose to identify prognostic markers of functional recovery, and new therapies sensitive to pharmacological intervention. After stroke, different physiological processes are activated to repair the damaged area: in one hand, it is necessary revascularization, to provide oxygen and trophic factors, angiogenesis, in the other hand, the neurogenesi, neuritogenesis and synaptogenesis activation, in order to recover the damaged in neural tissue with new cells, neural projections and neuronal interaction. In the IdISPa Neurobiology group, we are studying molecular mechanisms that regulate these processes. This group have samples of selected patients from Vascular Neurology Hospital Universitari Son Espases (HUSE).
Stroke Outcome Gene Lab
The Stroke Outcome Gene Lab, lead by Dr Raquel Rabionet, is interested in the identification and validation of genetic factors involved in modulating the processes initiated after stroke occurs. This group, part of the Human Molecular Genetics Group of the University of Barcelona, has expertise in genetic analysis, common and rare variants association studies, and functional validation of variants in cellular models and organoids.
Their current research focuses on the validation of two candidate genes identified by rare variant association studies.
As part of the Genestroke consortium, they collaborate closely with the Hospital de Sant Pau and Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, and with the group of Dr. Vives-Bauza in Mallorca.