The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) announced today the projects funded through the seed phase of the BIST Ignite programme to accelerate multidisciplinary research. The BIST Ignite Program has awarded five research projects from within the BIST Community for their multidisciplinarity and high level of scientific excellence. The winners will have eight months to develop their projects, at which point they will be eligible to apply for the second phase of the 2017 Ignite Program.

The awarded projects are: 

• PHASE-CHROM (“Role of phase separation in gene regulation and chromatin architecture”), led by Juan Andrés Torreno of ICFO and Catalina Romero of CRG.
• SOLHYCAT (“Carbon Materials as Charge Transfer Platforms to Convert Sunlight into Fuel with a Nanocrystal-Molecular Catalyst hybrid”), led by Antoni Llobet of ICIQ and Víctor F. Puntes of ICN2.
• 2DNanoHeat (“Nanoscale Heat Transport in 2D layered materials”), led by Klaas-Jan Tielrooij of ICFO and Marianna Sledzinska of ICN2.
• ENGUT (“Engineered models of intestinal epithelial tissue: assessing in vivo-like functional properties”), led by Elena Martínez of IBEC, and Emilio Gualda of ICFO.
• Q-SPET (“Quantum-controlled Single Protein Electron Transport”), led by Pau Gorostiza of IBEC and Niek F. van Hulst of ICFO.

Discovering previously unknown aspects of cell structure 

CRG will participate in the Phase-Chrom (“Role of phase separation in gene regulation and chromatin architecture” project, led by CRG researcher Catalina Romero and Juan Andrés Torreno at ICFO. 

Phase-Chrom brings together the disciplines of molecular and cellular biology and theoretical biophysics to research the existence and functions of organelles that form inside cells and are believed to regulate many of their functions. These organelles are concentrations of molecules without a membrane around them and they behave like drops of liquid. They are so ephemeral (lasting only the milliseconds necessary to perform their function) that observing and studying them is a great scientific challenge. 

The project will focus on analysing the formation of these organelles induced in the nucleus of breast cancer cells and the role they play in regulating ATP synthesis, the organisation of chromatin, and gene expression in cancer cells. 

Researchers will use advanced spectroscopy and nanoscopy techniques, as well as analysis with cryogenic fluorescence tomography (CFT) and cryogenic x-ray tomography, which will be done at the Alba-CELLS Synchrotron. 

More about the BIST Ignite Program

The goals of the BIST Ignite Program are to promote the initiation of new collaborations among the BIST researchers, facilitating the exchange of knowledge among different scientific fields and exploring new approaches to address complex questions. The projects must be aimed at exploring new questions and technological challenges through novel multidisciplinary approaches, exchanging knowledge across disciplines, exposing researchers to multidisciplinary environments, and providing new insights to push the collaboration further. The funds awarded to the projects in the first edition of the BIST Ignite Program totaled 300,000€.