Director of research team

• Brunet, Joan

Research support unit

Clinical trials co-ordination

• Martín Castillo, Begoña

Data manager

• Martin Castillo, Nuria

Qualified in nursing: experienced in clinical trials

• Cruañas, Patricia
• Flaquer, Sílvia
• Robles, Miguel Angel
• Manzanero, Gemma

Clinical Researchers

• Graña, Begoña
• Rubió, Jordi

Laboratory researchers

• Menendez Menendez, Javier R
• Puig Miquel, Teresa
• Porta Balanya, Rut
• Vazquez Martín, Alejandro

Laboratory scholars

• Oliveras Ferrarós, Cristina
• Oliveras, Glòria (Technician)

Lines of research

Our research is concentrated on two fundamental lines: basic labaoratory research and clinical research.

Laboratory research

In 2003 a research unit dealing with the transference of scientific knowledge was set up at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), the main aim of which was to encourage  and co-ordinate all the lines of research in oncology that the director of the Nutrition-and-Oncogenes line of research had previously been carrying out at the 12-of-October Hospital in Madrid.

Cell cultures

- Development and maintenance of different tumour cell lines in breast cancer.   

- Cell proliferation trials by means of colorimeter techniques (MTT). 

- Cell migration trials.
    
- Cytotoxicity trials on different phamaceuticals, either individually or in combination with the isobologramic method or Berenbaum test.

 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
     
  - Calculation of protein total by means of sprectrophotometer.
      
 -Tests on the enzymatic activity of various proteins, either alone or in the  presence of specific inhibitors

- Determination of HER2 and EGFR by means of ELISA tests.

- Analysis of the expression of different proteins implicated in the tumour waf1/cip1processes ( p21, p33,  bcl-2, bax, topoisomerase etc) by means of Western-Blot techniques.

                    
           Clinical research

The Oncological medical service is carrying out 40 clinical trials (informationupdated in December 2005), institutional: multicentre, national and international,co-operative groups, selected according to design and scientific value, withchemotherapy and new cell-targeting drugs, as well as combinations of these  
and other types of therapy.