Research areas

Main research lines of our group are:

• Molecular mechanisms and epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance.
  • Transferable beta-lactamase mediated resistance, particularly Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBL) and carbapenemases in Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Meticillin Resistant Staphilococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile.
  • Chromosomal resistance: mechanisms, regulation, dynamics and factors determining resitance development. Detection and evaluation of new therapeutic targets to fight resistance mechanism, specially those mediated by chromosomally encoded AmpC beta-lactamase. Virulence-Resistance relationships.
  • New antibiotic development and testing, in collaboration with Pharmaceutical Industry.
• Immunity and Infection.
  • Pathogen-host interactions, using Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa models.
• Chronic Bacterial Infections.
  • Chronic bacterial infection epidemiology in Cystic Fibrosis, Bronchiectasis and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) pacients.
  • Pathogenesis of chronic bacterial infections.
  • Bacterial adaptation mechanisms, persistence determinants of chronic infections. Hypermutation mechanisms in adaptation to chronic infections and antibiotic resistance development.
  • Therapeutic strategies development to fight chronic pulmonary infections, including biofilms and in vivo models.