We have ongoing collaborations with Dr. J. Massagué at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY, with Dr. Hartmut Oschkinat, at the FMB Berlin, and with Dr. Jordi Benach, Alba synchrotron in Barcelona. These collaborations are aimed at obtaining the first structural characterization of SMAD transcription factors bound to cofactors and to DNA, to provide a first understanding of how these molecular machines work and to pave the basis for the design of small molecular inhibitors specifically targeted towards SMAD tumour-derived forms.

The IRB Barcelona provides an ideal scenario for collaborations with other research groups in the institution, as we have with Dr. Antoni Riera, PI of the asymmetric synthesis unit in the Chemistry department, working in the design and structural and functional characterization of somatostatin analogues. We also belong to the research-consolidated group: 2009 SGR 0090 coordinated by him to which we contribute with the analysis of complex peptide structures.

We also have collaborations with nearby institutions and researches, as with the ICREA researcher Dr. J. Valcarcel, PI in the Centre de Regulació Genomica CRG, with Dr. Enrique Pedroso, (Faculty of Chemistry, Universitat de Barcelona) and with Dr. Encarna Martínez-Salas (Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa) in Madrid. These collaborations are supported by a CONSOLIDER grant (RNAREG Consortium) and are aimed at the study of post-transcriptional regulation and its role in tumour biology from an interdisciplinary point of view.