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VI CiMUS Annual Workshop

 

Next December, CiMUS will hold its sixth Annual Workshop. This Workshop will take place on December 17 and 18 to continue promoting interaction and collaboration among the Center's researchers and fostering interdisciplinary research in areas related to biomedical sciences.

CiMUS researchers will be able to present their scientific work at the Center either through oral communications or posters, during this two-day in-person scientific event, according to the following schedule:

  • December 17: odd-numbered poster session and keynote speaker 1 conference
  • December 18: even-numbered poster session, oral presentations, and keynote speaker 2 conference

For further info, see the program.

In this edition, the program will include two KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Dr Luis Liz Marzán & Dr Guadalupe Sabio.

Conference 1: Dr Luis M. Liz-Marzán: "Biosensing and Bioimaging in 3D Cancer Models"

CIC biomaGUNE; Ikerbasque; CIBER-BBN; Cinbio, University of Vigo 

Wed. 17/12 at 18:30 pm

Abstract: This presentation will introduce 3D printed breast cancer cell models featuring surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) biosensing and imaging. The models incorporate plasmonic nanoparticles and SERS tags, for sensing and imaging, respectively. We demonstrate adaptability and modularity in supporting breast cancer spheroids, thereby enabling spatial and temporal monitoring of tumor evolution.

Bio: Luis M. Liz-Marzán is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), where he served as the Scientific Director (2012 – 2021). He additionally holds a part-time Chair in Physical Chemistry at the University of Vigo and is a Group Leader at the Biomedical Networking Center for Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN). His research field of interest is the colloidal synthesis, characterization, assembly and biomedical applications of plasmonic nanomaterials. His recent activity revolves around the application of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for biosensing and the development of chiral plasmonic nanomaterials.

He has supervised over 40 PhD students and over 60 postdocs. Among other grants and industrial projects, he is recipient of 2 ERC Advanced Grants, 2 ERC Proof-of-Concept Grants and currently an ERC Synergy Grant. Among other awards, he received the Humboldt, Research Award, National Award in Chemistry, Jaume I Prize, Lilly Award on Preclinical Biomedical Research, and ACS National Award in Nanochemistry. He is a member of the Academies of Sciences of Spain, Galicia and Granada, European Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea, as well as foreign member of Academies in the USA, Italy, and Belgium. He is Executive Editor of ACS Nano, Reviewing Editor of Science, and board member of various other journals.
 

Conference 2: Dr Guadalupe Sabio: "From beats to metabolism"

CNIO

Thur. 18/12 at 17:15 pm

Abstract: The heart is not only a pump — it is a key metabolic and endocrine organ that communicates with the rest of the body. Its ability to switch between fuels is essential to keep cardiac and whole-body metabolism balanced. We now know that the heart talks to adipose tissue, liver and muscle, and that metabolic stress alters this crosstalk. These disruptions contribute to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even ageing-related and cancer-associated metabolic changes. Understanding these mechanisms will be essential to design new strategies to protect metabolic and cardiovascular health.

Bio: Dr. Guadalupe Sabio is Head of the Group for Organ Interaction in Metabolic Diseases at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid. She graduated in Veterinary Sciences from the University of Extremadura, where she completed her thesis, receiving the Award for the Best University Thesis (2001). She obtained her doctorate from the British Medical Research Council in Dundee and the University of Extremadura under the supervision of Dr. Ana Cuenda, in Philip Cohen’s department, where she discovered various substrates of p38γ and p38δ. This work was published in Biochemical Journal (2004) and EMBO Journal (2005), and earned her the Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis at the University of Extremadura (2005).

After completing her PhD, she moved to UMASS (Worcester, MA, USA) to study the in vivo function of MAPKs with Dr. Roger Davis. There she made important contributions to understanding the role of JNK1 in different tissues and its implications in diabetes, reflected in several first-author publications. In Science (2008), she described the interaction between adipose JNK1 and the liver. Additional results from her work at UMASS were published in Cell Metabolism (2009), Molecular and Cellular Biology (2010), Genes & Development (2010), and Trends in Biochemical Sciences (2010). She also contributed to studies published in Science (2008), International Journal of Biological Sciences (2009), Journal of Immunology (2011), Blood (2011), Cell (2009), and Cell Metabolism (2014).

She later established her independent research group at the CNIC, supported by an ERC Starting Grant. Her work focuses on the role of stress kinases in metabolic diseases and cancer, particularly their involvement in liver metabolism and tumor development, with results published in Journal of Clinical Investigation, EMBO Journal, Nature, PNAS, and eLife. She has also investigated the contribution of these kinases to adipose tissue metabolism and its endocrine function, with publications in Nature Communications, PLOS Biology, and Journal of Experimental Medicine. More recently, she has focused on the role of SAPKs in maintaining cardiac metabolism and function, with studies published in Nature Communications and PLOS Biology. Her current research aims to understand tissue–tissue communication during homeostasis and disease, with a particular emphasis on stress responses, circadian rhythm regulation, and mitochondrial metabolic control.

Dr. Sabio has received numerous awards, including the L’Oréal–UNESCO Spain Award (2010), the Princess of Girona Foundation Prize in Science (2012), and the Estrella de Madrid Award (2014). She was also honored by the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM) in 2016 and was named an EMBO Young Investigator in 2017. She received the AstraZeneca Young Researcher Award (2018), the Jesús Serra Foundation Award (2018), the Young Investigator Award of the European Society for Clinical Investigation (2020), the Banco Sabadell Award and the Antoni Esteve Prize (2021). In 2022, she was awarded the Medals of Extremadura and of the Province of Badajoz, as well as the Young Researcher Award of the University of Alcalá. In 2023, she received the Carmen and Severo Ochoa Award in Molecular Biology, the “Juan Florencio Macías Núñez” Award for Scientific Career, and the FIIPERVA Foundation Chair.

The language of the Workshop is English for all communication.

All participants must register through the following link, sending their abstracts* according to the following deadlines:

*Only for PhD students and early postdocs whose PhD defence is from 2023 onwards can present abstracts

  • Deadline for abstract submission: November 14, 2025. Extended to November 20, 2025
  • Notification of acceptance: November 28, 2025
  • Registration deadline: December 5, 2025

The specifications that must be taken into account for participation are detailed below:

Posters will have a maximum dimension of A0, a portrait (vertical) layout.

A reference number for your poster will be sent by email. The poster should be printed and displayed on the available boards during the workshop.

Printing and cost management will be the responsibility of the presenter and/or the research group.

For further info or doubts, please contact the Organizing Committee at cimus.workshop [at] usc.es (cimus[dot]workshop[at]usc[dot]es)