Profile

Research interests

Joan is interested in understanding intra- and inter-bio-molecular interactions, exploring the relationship between structural, geometrical, and dynamical aspects of protein loops, particularly flexible parts of polypeptide chains. His background covers protein structure prediction, direct and inverse protein folding problems, network analysis, prediction of protein coarse movements (flexibility), and protein structure-activity relationships. He applied machine learning-based methods to predict protein-protein interactions from collections of protein loop geometries. He delved into the interpretation of protein-lipid interactions, also based on protein loop geometries. He explored the relationship between dynamics and structure with enzyme activity on the task of transplanting loops from one enzyme to another, transferring desired enzymatic properties to the process. Recently, Joan also explored the inter-relationship between protein dynamics and aggregation. He also developed a range of bioinformatics tools to predict protein properties: interactions, binding affinities, disease involvement, loop transplant efficiency, and protein aggregation. Joan coordinates the development of web tools at the Loschmidt Laboratories.

Education

2013 Ph.D., Structural Bioinformatics, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
2006 M. Phil., Experimental and Health Sciences (Bioinformatics), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
2003 M. Sc., Human Biology (Biology), Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

Research stays

2005 Division of Pathway Medicine, University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, UK)
2006 Division of Pathway Medicine, University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, UK)
2012 Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick (Coventry, UK)

Teaching

Structural Bioinformatics. Demonstration at the dry lab. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. (2006-2009)
Structural Biology and Bioinformatics. Lecturer. Masaryk University (2021-present)
Hands-on computational enzyme design course. Demonstrator. Loschmidt Laboratories, Masaryk University (2020-present)

Scientific output

47 research publications
2 patent applications
>1250 citations
H-index 18

Links

Linkedln
ResearchGate
ORCID