{"id":107542,"date":"2025-11-24T13:08:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcb.ub.edu\/ibec-receives-funding-from-the-la-caixa-foundation-for-the-study-of-new-treatments-for-spinal-cord-injuries\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T13:08:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:08:24","slug":"ibec-receives-funding-from-the-la-caixa-foundation-for-the-study-of-new-treatments-for-spinal-cord-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcb.ub.edu\/en\/ibec-receives-funding-from-the-la-caixa-foundation-for-the-study-of-new-treatments-for-spinal-cord-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"IBEC receives funding from the \u2018la Caixa\u2019 Foundation for the study of new treatments for spinal cord injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC<\/a>), located in the Barcelona Science Park, will lead one of the 34 research projects selected in the latest Health Research 2025 call by the \u201cla Caixa\u201d Foundation, which will allocate a total of 26 million euros to biomedical research of excellence. The aim of this call is to identify and promote promising initiatives with scientific excellence and potential value and social impact, whether in basic, clinical, or translational research.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, Dr. Zaida \u00c1lvarez Pinto<\/strong>, principal investigator of the Biomaterials for Neural Regeneration group at IBEC<\/a>, will lead a project focused on the development of a new testing platform for spinal cord injury treatments.<\/p>\n

Entitled \u2018Human Vascularized Spinal Cord Organoid Device for Drug Discovery after traumatic injury\u2019, the project will be coordinated by IBEC and will also involve the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL<\/a>), led by J. Alberto Ortega<\/strong>; the University of Barcelona (UB<\/a>), led by Elena S\u00e1nchez<\/strong>; the National Hospital for Paraplegics Foundation for Research and Integration<\/a>, led by Antonio Oliviero<\/strong>; and the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation (FLM<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u2018This project is particularly significant for me and my team, as it enables us to implement an idea that we have been developing for years: the necessity of creating highly representative human models to improve our understanding of spinal cord injuries and develop more effective therapies. It is an extraordinary opportunity to integrate technology, human biology, and years of knowledge in neural regeneration into a single platform with real potential for clinical impact.”, explains Zaida \u00c1lvarez.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new platform for testing treatments for spinal cord injuries<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Spinal cord injuries affect hundreds of thousands of people every year, often causing permanent paralysis and lifelong physical and emotional problems. Despite decades of research, effective treatments remain elusive, largely because current models do not accurately reflect human biology. This project aims to address this issue by creating a new, human-based model for studying spinal cord injuries and testing potential treatments.<\/p>\n

The researchers involved in the project are developing miniature human spinal cords (organoids), which are grown from stem cells and combined with vascular organoids in order to better mimic real tissue. These organoids are placed in a specially designed, 3D-printed device that uses a computer-controlled force system to simulate injuries. This design enables accurate and repeatable studies of how spinal cord injuries occur and how they manifest in tissue.<\/p>\n

The project will also test two commercially available drugs, riluzole and minocycline, which will be delivered directly to injured tissue using advanced nanoparticles. These drugs have shown promise in animal studies and human clinical trials, and the new platform will help determine their efficacy in conditions similar to those experienced by humans. The ultimate goal is to create a reliable, animal-free drug testing system that can accelerate the development of treatments for spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Link to the news: <\/strong>IBEC website [+]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), located in the Barcelona Science Park, will lead one of the 34 research projects selected in the latest Health Research 2025 call by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":107535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[231],"class_list":["post-107542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ibec-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIBEC receives funding from the \u2018la Caixa\u2019 Foundation for the study of new treatments for spinal cord injuries - Parc Cient\u00edfic de Barcelona<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zaida \u00c1lvarez Pinto will lead a project for the development of a testing platform for spinal cord injury treatments.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcb.ub.edu\/libec-rep-financament-de-la-fundacio-la-caixa-per-a-lestudi-de-nous-tractaments-per-les-lesions-medullars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IBEC receives funding from the \u2018la Caixa\u2019 Foundation for the study of new treatments for spinal cord injuries - 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