Alex Gella

Àlex Gella completed his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry (2001) at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2006) from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) with emphasis in the development of immunoassays for clinical chemistry diagnosis.

After his PhD, he stayed as Associate Professor at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC) in the Faculty of Medicine (2007-2013). His research was focused on the identification of novel targets and biomarkers for Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Disorders. In 2013, Àlex stayed as Visiting Professor at the Weill Cornell Medical College (New York, USA) to investigate the gene expression profile in animal models of the mitochondrial disorder, Friedreich's Ataxia. Afterwards, he joined Dr. Quintana’s team at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute (Seattle, USA) to study neuronal populations susceptible to Mitochondrial Disease.

Together with Dr. Quintana’s Lab, he returned to UAB in 2015 as Postdoctoral Researcher in the Mitochondrial Neuropathology Research Group at the Institut de Neurociències (INc-UAB)

1- Identifying the molecular changes in susceptible neuronal populations.

2- Establishing the functional connectome of the vestibular nucleus.

3- Identifying new therapeutic targets to mitochondrial encephalopathy.

4- Exploring new biomarkers related with mitochondrial neuropathology.

See all Alejandro Gella publications at PubMed.

 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Segura M, Pedreño C, Obiols J, Taurines R, Pàmias M, Grünblatt E, Gella A. Neurotrophin blood-based gene expression and social cognition analysis in patients with autism spectrum disorder. Neurogenetics. 2015 Apr;16(2):123-31.
• Lamarca A, Gella A, Martiañez T, Segura M, Figueiro-Silva J, Grijota-Martinez C, Trullas R, Casals N. Uridine 5'-triphosphate promotes in vitro Schwannoma cell migration through matrix metalloproteinase-2 activation. PLoS One. 2014 Jun 6;9(6):e98998.
• Bolea I, Gella A, Monjas L, Pérez C, Rodríguez-Franco MI, Marco-Contelles J, Samadi A, Unzeta M. Multipotent, permeable drug ASS234 inhibits Aβ aggregation, possesses antioxidant properties and protects from Aβ-induced apoptosis in vitro. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2013 Oct;10(8):797-808.
• Martiáñez T, Lamarca A, Casals N, Gella A. N-cadherin expression is regulated by UTP in schwannoma cells.Purinergic Signal. 2013 Jun;9(2):259-70.
• Bolea I, Gella A, Unzeta M. Propargylamine-derived multitarget-directed ligands: fighting Alzheimer's disease with monoamine oxidase inhibitors.J Neural Transm. 2013 Jun;120(6):893-902.
• Martiáñez T, Carrascal M, Lamarca A, Segura M, Durany N, Masgrau R, Abian J, Gella A.UTP affects the Schwannoma cell line proteome through P2Y receptors leading to cytoskeletal reorganisation.Proteomics. 2012 Jan;12(1):145-56.
• Klementieva O, Benseny-Cases N, Gella A, Appelhans D, Voit B, Cladera J.Dense shell glycodendrimers as potential nontoxic anti-amyloidogenic agents in Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid-dendrimer aggregates morphology and cell toxicity.Biomacromolecules. 2011 Nov 14;12(11):3903-9.
• Gella A, Segura M, Durany N, Pfuhlmann B, Stöber G, Gawlik M.Is Ankyrin a genetic risk factor for psychiatric phenotypes?BMC Psychiatry. 2011 Jun 24;11:103
• Valente T, Gella A, Fernàndez-Busquets X, Unzeta M, Durany N.Immunohistochemical analysis of human brain suggests pathological synergism of Alzheimer's disease and diabetes mellitus.Neurobiol Dis. 2010 Jan;37(1):67-76.
• Gella A, Durany N. Oxidative stress in Alzheimer disease.Cell Adh Migr. 2009 Jan-Mar;3(1):88-93.