Gemma Fabriàs

Research Professor

IQAC

Department

Biological Chemistry

Research group

Chemical ecology of pest insects

Contact

Email

gemma.fabrias@iqac.csic.es

Extension

437676

Profiles

ORCID

0000-0001-7162-3772

Gemma Fabriàs

Research Professor

Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy (1980), Master’s thesis (1981), and PhD in Pharmacy (1985; FPU fellowship) from the University of Barcelona. Postdoctoral stay (Fulbright fellowship) at NYSAES-Cornell University (Geneva, NY, USA) (08/1989-09/1991). CSIC Tenured Scientist since 1986 and Research Professor since 2010. Co-director of the Research Unit on BioActive Molecules. Her research focuses on the development and validation of chemical tools and their application to advance the knowledge of lipid-mediated biological processes. Special attention is given to the identification of therapeutic targets and their modulation through new chemical entities and strategies (including proximity-based pharmacology), discovered via rational design or library screening, for subsequent application in therapy and diagnostics. Indicators: 13 doctoral theses supervised (5 in the last 10 years); 166 publications in JCR-indexed journals (60 in 2014-2024); 13 patents (4 in 2014-2024); 55 competitive projects (coordinator or PI in 17 national projects, 2 bilateral projects, and 4 foundation projects) and 7 contracts with companies (PI in 4). G. Fabriàs was Director of IQAC (01/2017-06/2021), Director of CID (05/2018-09/2020), and a member of the CSIC Scientific Advisory Board (06/2018-12/2022).

This project investigates how the CERT protein contributes to chemotherapy resistance in aggressive breast cancer, including interactions with cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and explores whether reducing CERT can improve the response to treatment. To achieve this, the researchers have developed new PROTAC-based molecules that directly degrade CERT via the proteasome, with the aim of enhancing cancer cell death and validating CERT as a therapeutic target.