The 
I am ICREA research professor (the
Catalan Institute for research and Advanced Studies). I work at
Universitat Pompeu Fabra , where
I lead the CSL. I am also
External
Professor of the Santa Fe Institute and
member of the Council of the European Complex Systems Society.
I completed degrees in both Physics and Biology at the University of
Barcelona and received my PhD in Physics in the Universitat
Politecnica de Catalunya. I currently teach courses of mathematics and systems
biology in a new degree of Bioengineering at UPF.
One of my main research
interests is understanding the possible presence of universal patterns
of organization in complex systems, from prebiotic replicators to
evolved artificial objects. Key questions are how robust structures
develop, how information is incorporated into these structures and how
computation emerges. I am also interested in how to determine what are
the contributions of selection, chance and self-organization to the
evolution of complexity. Part of these studies
are funded by
a James
McDonnell Foundation Award. Our web lab facilities and synthetic biology research
is funded by the Marcelino Botin Foundation
I am a member of the editorial board of PLOS ONE and
FRONTIERS
Biological computation
Cells compute in ways that are different from those performed by computers. Using a novel approach to biocomputation, we are exploring the problem of how to build complex computations using engineered cells.
Synthetic protocells
We are working towards the creation of an artificial cell able to replicate. This work involves theoretical frameworks to understand the potential scenarios where replicating protocells would be possible (see Center for Living Technology>).
Evolution of viruses
Viruses define the edge of living life forms and behave computationally as "software", using the host cell machinery to replicate. We are studying different scenarios for the evolution of complexity in viruses and their potential for new synthetic biology scenarios.
Information and communication
Information in distributed systems, from bacterial biofilms to collectives of ants or robots, is processed in ways that depart from some conventional metaphors in computation theory. Using theory and synthetic biology techniques we expect to approach this problems under new perspectives.
Evolution and cancer
Cancer cells result from the breaking of cooperation within tissues. Miscommunication and selection replace homeostasis and lead to tumor growth. I am interested in undertanding the role played by genetic instability and information loss.
