Interfibio Research group - URV

🎓 Congratulations, Dr. Shaira Jane Acosta! 👏

We are very happy to celebrate that Shaira Jane Acosta, researcher at the Interfibio Research Group, successfully defended her PhD thesis on October 1 at ETSEQ – Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Her thesis, supervised by Ciara O’Sullivan and Vasoula Skouridou, focused on the development of aptamers targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis secreted proteins.

A fantastic milestone after years of research and dedication. Congratulations, Shaira, and all the best for this new chapter! 🎉🔬

It was a pleasure to welcome Prof. Shinsuke FUJIWARA from Kwansei Gakuin University to our research group over the past few days.

His visit was a great opportunity to discuss our ongoing collaboration, exchange ideas, and explore possibilities for future joint work.

And, of course, we also took the opportunity to show him some of Tarragona’s impressive Roman heritage and the Castells ('human towers'). A perfect combination of science and culture!

Thank you for the visit, Shinsuke! We look forward to continuing our collaboration.

🎓 Preparing for the big day!

Today, during our Interfibio Group Meeting, Shaira Acosta presented a practice run of her upcoming PhD thesis defence.

At Interfibio, we believe these rehearsal sessions are an important part of preparing for a thesis defence. They give PhD students the opportunity to practise their presentation and receive questions, comments and constructive feedback from the group, helping them communicate their research clearly, make it accessible to the audience, and highlight the most relevant achievements of their work.

Great job, Shaira — almost there! 👏🎓

Congratulations to Afraa Razouk, PhD student at the Interfibio Research Group, for winning the 1st Prize in the Poster Session at the Transfronterera Meeting 2026 held last week in Perpignan!

Afraa presented her research on the development of an electrochemical platform for the detection of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), aimed at advancing rapid genetic analysis and personalised medicine.

This is a well-deserved recognition!

Interfibio research goes to Japan!

Our PhD student Ulises Díaz is currently at the Osaka Institute of Public Health in Japan, demonstrating a lateral flow assay for the rapid detection of tetrodotoxin (TTX), one of the world's most potent marine toxins, commonly found in pufferfish.

The test was developed by Ulises in collaboration with Dr. Mònica Campàs (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologies Agrolimentàries - IRTA) and provides a fast, portable and easy-to-use solution for toxin detection. In the future, it is also expected to be adapted for biological samples such as blood and urine, opening new possibilities for point-of-care diagnostics.

We're proud to see our research making an international impact and helping bring innovative diagnostic tools closer to real-world applications.

Well done, Ulises, and enjoy this fantastic experience in Japan!

Last Friday was a special day for the Interfibio team as we said goodbye to Giuseppe Lamberti, who has completed his six-month research stay with us.

During our group meeting, Giuseppe shared the results of his work on EAB sensor development and the different polymer coatings he explored to improve sensor performance. Thank you for all your dedication and contributions over the past months!

To wrap up the day, we enjoyed our traditional summer lunch together—a great opportunity to relax, welcome the summer, and spend some quality time outside the lab before the holidays. ☀️🍽️

Thank you, Giuseppe! We wish you all the best for the future and hope our paths cross again! 👏🔬

We’re hiring!
We are looking for a Research Technician to join the project “Multiplexed Smart Patch for Female Hormone Monitoring.”

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development and optimisation of aptamers and next-generation biosensing technologies for women's health.

📍 Location: Tarragona, Spain
🧪 Research line: Development of aptamers against specific biomarkers
📅 Initial duration: 12 months (full-time position)
🗓️ Expected start date: Mid-September 2026
⏳ Application deadline: 20 July 2026

We are looking for candidates with:
✔️ A degree in Biology, Biotechnology or Microbiology
✔️ At least 2 years of research laboratory experience
✔️ Experience with aptamers and techniques such as BLI, SPR or MST
If you are passionate about biosensors, translational research and developing innovative solutions for healthcare, we would love to hear from you!

📩 Apply here: https://www.fundacio.urv.cat/ca/fundacio/borsa-treball/2026/ 👉 Ref.C-2026/030
Please share this opportunity with your network!

Another inspiring Friday at Interfibio!

During our weekly group meeting, Ulises Díaz presented his work on "Characterization of the interaction of tetrodotoxin (TTX) aptamers with TTX and its analogues using fibre optic surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR)", sharing exciting advances in biosensing research.

We also had the pleasure of hearing X**a García Fernández, who recently joind our group as laboratory technician. She introduced herself and gave us a brief overview of her professional journey before joining the group.

And, of course, no Interfibio meeting would be complete without celebrating our June birthdays together!

🚀 Three minutes. One idea. A big challenge.

Yesterday, our PhD student Afraa Razouk participated in Falling Walls Lab Barcelona, where she presented her research on a portable device for the early detection of genetic markers linked to cardiovascular disease.

It was a great opportunity to share her work, exchange ideas with researchers and innovators, and receive valuable feedback from experts.

Congratulations, Afraa, on representing Interfibio and bringing innovative healthcare solutions one step closer to patients! 👏💙

Today during our group meeting, we enjoyed the final presentation of Martina Tolós, a Bachelor's student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, who has spent the last four months working in our laboratory on her Final Degree Project focused on developing a rapid test for Dengue antibody detection.

It was a great opportunity to learn about her work, her achievements, and the skills she has developed during her research stay with us. Congratulations, Martina, on all your hard work, and we wish you every success in your future career! 👏

And since great science deserves a celebration, we also took the opportunity to celebrate the birthdays of several members of the group 🎂🎉.

Research, learning, teamwork, and cake—a perfect combination!