MTORres Group

MTORres Group
Name	MTORres Group
Formation	2000s
Type	Research laboratory
Location	Barcelona, Spain
Leader title	Principal Investigator
Leader name	Dr. Joan Torres
Affiliations	University of Barcelona; Catalan Institute of Oncology

MTORres Group is a biomedical research laboratory based in Barcelona that studies signaling pathways, translational oncology, and metabolic regulation. The group integrates molecular biology, structural biology, pharmacology, and systems biology approaches to investigate kinase signaling and therapeutic resistance. Its work links basic science with clinical oncology, collaborating with hospitals, universities, and biotechnology companies across Europe and North America.

History

Founded in the early 2000s at the University of Barcelona within a translational oncology program, the group grew from a small laboratory into a multidisciplinary team. Early collaborations included projects with the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the Spanish National Research Council, and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, expanding ties to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the European Cancer Organisation. Key milestones featured joint grants with the European Research Council and partnerships with the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, leading to patient-oriented studies and clinical trial links with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

Research Focus and Contributions

The group concentrates on serine/threonine kinase signaling, metabolic control, and mechanisms of drug resistance. Core topics intersect with research on the mTOR pathway, PI3K/AKT pathway, AMPK, and cross-talk with receptor tyrosine kinases such as EGFR, HER2, and MET. Contributions include elucidation of pathway adaptations relevant to targeted therapies used in breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer clinical contexts. The lab employs techniques from X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and single-cell RNA sequencing to map signaling complexes and post-translational modifications. Translational outputs link to biomarker development used in trials overseen by entities like the National Cancer Institute and the European Medicines Agency.

Key Personnel and Collaborators

Led by Dr. Joan Torres, the team includes postdoctoral fellows, PhD candidates, and technical staff drawn from institutions such as the Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, and the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia. Scientific advisory interactions have involved collaborators from the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, the Friedrich Miescher Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. Clinical collaborations tie to oncologists at the Institut Gustave Roussy, Royal Marsden Hospital, and the Moffitt Cancer Center, while translational partners include biotech firms in the BioValley and multinational pharmaceutical companies like Roche, Novartis, and Pfizer.

Facilities and Resources

Laboratory infrastructure encompasses cell culture suites, high-resolution microscopy cores, and proteomics platforms connected to regional facilities such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the National Centre for Genomic Analysis. Structural biology capabilities integrate access to synchrotron sources at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and cryo-EM facilities tied to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Clinical sample processing pipelines coordinate with biobanks at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and data-sharing platforms conforming to standards from the European Genome-phenome Archive and the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding streams combine competitive grants from the European Research Council, the Horizon 2020 program, national agencies like the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and charitable sources such as the European Cancer Leagues and the Spanish Association Against Cancer. Industry-sponsored projects have been established with biotechnology companies and multinational pharmaceutical firms including AstraZeneca and Merck & Co. Consortium-level partnerships include networks supported by the Biomedical Research Networking Center and pan-European initiatives coordinated with the European Molecular Biology Organization.

Notable Publications and Impact

Publications from the group have appeared in journals such as Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, The Lancet Oncology, and EMBO Journal. Their studies on adaptive signaling in targeted therapy resistance have been cited in clinical guidelines and informed biomarker strategies in trials led by cooperative groups like the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The group’s structural and proteomic datasets have been deposited in repositories such as the Protein Data Bank and cited by consortia including the International Cancer Genome Consortium and the Human Cell Atlas.

Category:Research laboratories Category:Cancer research organizations Category:Institutions in Barcelona