Metabolic diseases of pediatric origin
Research Program
Where we are
SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital
Related websites
SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital We are a multidisciplinary group of physicians, nutritionists, biologists and biochemists. This allows us to carry out both basic and patient-centred translational research. Our main focus of interest are the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of metabolic diseases of paediatric origin.
Over the last five years, and in close collaboration with the Endocrinology Unit of the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital, we have created a solid structure of clinical research with the aim of facilitating the conduct of translational projects. We also avail of these clinical research projects as the basis for the training of the Unit's clinical staff and ultimately in the completion of their doctoral theses.
We have been recognised by the Government of Catalonia as a consolidated research group (SGR 845) since 2017.
Research lines
- Role of the composition of breast milk in the risk of childhood obesity (Principal investigator: Carles Lerín).
- Clinical research in childhood obesity (Principal investigator: Carles Lerín).
- Animal childhood obesity models (Principal investigator: Josep Jiménez).
- New treatments for type 1 diabetes (Principal investigator: Josep Jiménez)
Scientific objectives
- To study the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of childhood obesity and diabetes.
- To identify new early biomarkers of risk of obesity and associated metabolic diseases.
- To design new strategies for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.
Area/Field of expertise
Our research focuses on gaining a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms linking nutrition and growth during the very early stages of life with the subsequent development of childhood obesity and metabolic diseases in adulthood. This paradigm is known as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). To accomplish this, we have a highly multidisciplinary group of physicians, nutritionists, biologists, biochemists and laboratory technicians. Together we carry out eminently translational research characterised by:
- The development and characterisation of experimental (mouse) models that closely recapitulate human pathophysiology.
- The conduct of clinical trials to develop new preventive and treatment strategies.
This research is bidirectional in that it enables the transfer of questions arising in clinical practice to experimental models and, vice versa, the transfer of the knowledge acquired in the laboratory to clinical studies.
For the past five years, we have been working on "omic" techniques to gain a further understanding of these processes and to identify early biomarkers. More specifically, we are conducting (i) targeted and non-targeted metabolomics in breast milk of women with and without obesity, and (ii) analyses of the metabolome, epigenome and, more recently, metagenome in a clinical cohort of prepubertal children with obesity.
We are currently evaluating the physiological role of these biomarkers through in vitro and in vivo animal cell models. Our aim is to better understand their possible involvement in the pathophysiology associated with metabolic diseases and then propose new nutritional-therapeutic interventions for the treatment of childhood obesity and associated metabolic disorders.
Group members
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Jefe de Grupo Senior
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Investigador
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Jefe de Grupo Senior
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Investigador
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Investigador colaborador
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Investigador
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Investigador post-doc
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Investigador
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Investigador pre-doc
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Investigador
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Investigador pre-doc
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Ayudante de investigación
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Ana Lopez Bataller
Ayudante de investigación
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Ayudante de investigación
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Investigador
Last Publications
- Palacios-Marin I, Serra D, Jimenez-Chillaron JC, LAURA HERRERO RODRÍGUEZ and Todorcevic M Adipose Tissue Dynamics: Cellular and Lipid Turnover in Health and Disease. Nutrients . 15(18): .
- Díaz-Silva M, Mestres-Arenas A, Lerin C, Cereijo R, López-Bermejo A, de Zegher F, Villarroya-Gombau F and Ibañez-Toda L Circulating progranulin in human infants: relation to prenatal growth and early postnatal nutrition PEDIATRIC RESEARCH . 94(3): 1189-1194.
- López Siguero JP, Ramon-Krauel M, Pérez López G, Buiza Fernández MV, Assaf Balut C and Fernández-Aranda F Attitudes, Behaviors, and Barriers among Adolescents Living with Obesity, Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals in Spain: ACTION Teens Survey Study Nutrients . 15(13): .
Projects
- Project name:
- Efecto de una pauta de alimentación de bajo contenido en hidratos de carbono en adolescentes con diabetes tipo 1
- Leader
- Serafin Murillo Garcia
- Funding entities:
- Fundació Privada per a la Recerca i la Docència Sant Joan de Déu - FSJD, Sociedad Española de Diabetes
- Code
- PCP00346
- Starting - finishing date:
- 2023 - 2025
- Project name:
- Role of microbial metabolites in regulating hypothalamic pathways involved in feeding behavior
- Leader
- Carles Lerin Martinez
- Funding entities:
- Foundation for Prader-Willi Research
- Code
- PFE00116
- Starting - finishing date:
- 2023 - 2024
- Project name:
- SGR 2022-2024_Malaties metabòliques d'origen pediàtric
- Leader
- Carles Lerin Martinez
- Funding entities:
- Agaur - Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca
- Code
- 2021 SGR 00661
- Starting - finishing date:
- 2022 - 2025
Theses
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Child behavior, feeding practices and health in the context of obesity
- Author
- Juton, Charlotte Martine
- Institution
- UNIVERSIDAD DE BARCELONA
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Papel de la microbiota intestinal en el tratamiento del síndrome de Prader-Willi
- Author
- Amat Bou, Montserrat
- Institution
- UNIVERSIDAD DE BARCELONA
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Estudi de l'oncostatina M i de la termogènesi del teixit adipós marró, abans i després de la cirurgia bariàtrica
- Author
- Piquer García, Irene
- Institution
- UNIVERSIDAD DE BARCELONA
News
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IRSJD researchers have discovered an intergenerational inheritance mechanism in mouse models of childhood obesity
A study led by Dr. Josep Jiménez-Chillaron, a researcher at the Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu and the University of Barcelona, suggests that hepatic steatosis could be intergenerationally inherited through paternal germ line microRNAs. Hepatic steatosis is a condition that is associated with childhood obesity. The results of this study have been published in the scientific journal Nutrients.
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Human milk from women infected and vaccinated for coronavirus has antibodies against COVID-19
Human milk from infected women and vaccinated for coronavirus has antibodies against COVID-19, according to two published studies in the medRxiv repository and launched by the scientific consortium MilkCorona,
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Supplementing the maternal diet with betaine during lactation may reduce the risk of childhood obesity
Decreased levels of betaine in breast milk are associated with accelerated growth in babies during the first few months of life, a risk factor for childhood obesity. Study led by a research team from the Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu and SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital, published in the scientific journal Science Translational Medicine.
More activities
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Defensa tesi doctoral: Charlotte Juton
Auditori Plaza (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona) and online