On 17 November, at the University of Valencia, biochemist and biophysicist Jesús Pérez Gil will give a lecture on the molecular mechanisms that enable the lungs to function properly, and on new strategies for diagnosing and treating respiratory diseases based on pulmonary surfactant. This is the final talk in the series organised to mark the tenth anniversary of the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio, CSIC-UV).

The lecture, entitled ‘Molecular and Biophysical Mechanisms at the Respiratory Air-liquid Interface’, will take place in the Charles Darwin Lecture Theatre on the Burjassot-Paterna campus. It is scheduled for 12.30 pm. Admission is free and places are limited. The event is organised jointly by I2SysBio, the Faculty of Biological Sciences and the UV’s Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit.

In this talk, Pérez Gil will address one of the processes essential to life: the exchange of oxygen in the lungs. The talk will focus on the role of pulmonary surfactant, a complex system composed of lipids and proteins that lines the alveoli and prevents them from collapsing during breathing. As well as facilitating the entry of oxygen into the body, this system acts as a first line of defence against microorganisms and other potentially harmful particles present in the air we breathe.

The researcher will explain the molecular and biophysical mechanisms that enable this natural barrier to function, as well as the experimental techniques that have helped us understand its role in health and disease. He will also provide an overview of the new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies based on pulmonary surfactant that are being developed to combat various respiratory conditions.

Jesús Pérez Gil is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Complutense University of Madrid and leads the BIOPHYS-Hub research group.

10 years of research at I2SysBio

I2SysBio was founded through an agreement between the University of Valencia (UV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), which signed the founding agreement on 8 March 2016. It has 150 members, including research, technical and administrative staff, and conducts research in three main areas: systems biotechnology, pathogen systems biology, and theoretical and computational systems biology.