My lab experience at ICREC lab at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute, Badalona, Spain – Velia Padulo

I had the opportunity to carry out my 2nd lab rotation at the Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration (ICREC) lab at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.

PI of the laboratory: Prof. Antoni Bayés-Genís, MD, PhD

Tutor: Carolina Gálvez-Montón, PhD

Funded by Fondazione Vollaro

The lab develops novel biotherapies against myocardial infarction, cell therapy, cardiac tissue engineering, adipose graft transposition, and extracellular vesicles with newer lines in cardiac organoids, non-invasive stent monitoring, electrophysiology, pharmacological treatments of heart failure and their mechanisms, CAR immunotherapy, and cardiometabolism.

This rotation deepened my interest in preclinical research in cardiology. I personally followed three main projects:

*   Cardiac organoids for cell therapy in a preclinical model of myocardial infarction, Maria Kalil Filló’s PhD project
*   New decellularized and re-endothelialized human vascular graft produced through tissue engineering for use in arterial bypass (VasCraft), Georgina Iraola Picornell’s PhD project
*   Study of the cardiac mechanisms of survodutide in an obese and hypertensive mouse model (HFpEF), Gemma Ferrer Curriu’s project

What I valued most was seeing how closely the hospital and the lab are interconnected: translational research in action. Alongside the bench work, I had the chance to follow Georgina’s VasCraft study at the Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia (CMCiB), where I attended the surgical sessions on the porcine model for vascular graft implantation.

I would like to sincerely thank the Virgilio Program and Fondazione Vollaro for making this experience possible, and Prof. Antoni Bayés-Genís, Dr. Carolina Gálvez-Montón, and the whole ICREC team for their guidance and warm welcome.