1967 M.D. University of Göttingen (Germany).
1970 Ph.D. Biochemistry (“Habilitation”), University of Marburg (Germany).
1970-1973 Associated Scientist, Cancer Research Institut Columbia University, Nueva York (USA).
1973-1978 Assistant Professor, Physiological Chemistry Institute, University of Marburg (Germany).
1978-1987 Associate Professor, Physiological Chemistry Institute, University of Marburg (Germany).
1987- Full Professor, Institut für Molekularbiologie und Tumorforschung (IMT), University of Marburg (Germany).
1993-2000 Director of the Institut für Molekularbiologie und Tumorforschung (IMT), University of Marburg (Germany).
1999 Visiting Professor, Dept. of Life and Health Sciences, Univeristy Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona (Spain).
2001-2021 Senior Scientist and Group Leader of the Chromatin and Gene Expression Group, within the Gene Regulation, Stem Cells and Cancer Programme, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona (Spain).
2001-2011 Coordinator of the Gene Regulation Programme, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona (Spain).
2001-June 2011 Director of the Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona (Spain).
2022 Emeritus Group Leader, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona (Spain).
 

News

Researchers chart gene expression in endometrial cancer (08/03/2022)
A new study in eLife by researchers at Argentina’s CONICET, together with specialists including Miguel Beato from CRG, describe hormone-dependent gene expression in endometrial cancer and differentiate this in comparison to breast cancer.

Miguel Beato awarded the prestigious Rei Jaume I Award (20/10/2020)
Miguel Beato, founder of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and director of the research institute since its creation in 2000 till 2011, has been awarded the Rei Jaume I Prize for Medical Research 2019.

New funding for MIT-CRG collaborative research on metakaryons announced (23/04/2020)
CRG researchers are amongst one of twelve projects selected for the third round of the MIT-Spain ”la Caixa” Foundation seed fund, a joint initiative with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to promote disruptive research.

Ready, set, go for crossing the barrier! (08/01/2019)
Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), have discovered a new mechanism controlling the expression of a set of genes important for cell proliferation and tumour progression.

Two CRG projects have been awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants (10/09/2018)
IMPACCT and MycoVAP projects both will receive ERC PoC grants to explore potential clinical applications of their recent results on breast cancer and pneumonia respectively. CRG group leaders Miguel Beato and Luis Serrano have both been awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants, worth €150,000 each. These grants are aimed at bridging the gap between pioneering basic research and the challenges during the early phases of its commercialisation.

A key mechanism of cell differentiation unveiled (23/03/2018)
Asymmetric cell division is the process by which a cell divides into two cells that are different from each other. This type of division generates diversity in cell populations and is essential for the development of multicellular organisms, such as plants and animals. Manuel Mendoza's team at the Centre for Genomic Reguation (CRG) and currently at the IGBMC in Strasbourg (CNRS/Inserm/Unistra), together with Miguel Beato at the CRG, discovered a new mechanism for regulating cell fate during this division in cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Genome architecture’s surprising role in cell fate decisions (15/01/2018)
New study led by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain, shows unexpected and crucial role of genome architecture in determining cell fate.

Miguel Beato and Roni Wright awarded by the Catalan Society of Biology (12/07/2017)
Miguel Beato was given the SCB Prize in recognition of his career and Roni Wright was given the SCB Prize in the category of best scientific article.

The importance of keeping silent... in breast cancer cells (07/07/2016)
Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation describe a repression mechanism active in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells for the first time.

A new energy source within the cells (02/06/2016)
Scientists at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain, find evidence of a new energy source within cell nucleus. Their results, which are published in Science, shed light on how in exceptional situations cells can reprogram gene expression and point at a new player for targeted cancer medicine.

Summary

Using steroid hormone action in breast cancer cells as a model, the group explores how eukaryotic cells respond to external cues; specifically, how signals are transduced to the nucleus and modulate chromatin structure and gene expression. Previously, we found that gene regulation by progestins involves the communication of membrane-attached and nuclear progesterone receptor (PR) associated with ERK and MSK1 kinases and involves two consecutive cycles of chromatin remodelling: a very rapid displacement of histone H1 mediated by NURF, ASCOM/MLL2, CDK2, PARP1 and KDM5, followed by a slower displacement of histones H2A/H2B mediated by PCAF and BAF. The Mb topological chromatin domains (TADs) conserved in the human genome behave as units of hormone response that undergo structural changes in response to hormone. Unexpectedly we found that the ATP required for the associated chromatin remodelling is generated in the nucleus from ADP-Ribose and PPi by the enzyme NUDIX5. Our final aim is to integrate the signalling network with the changes in the topological organization of chromatin and the transcriptional response to generate a multidimensional network that will reveal the logic of the hormonal control of cell proliferation.

ERC Synergy Project - Dynamics of Genome Architecture in Stable and Transient Changes in Gene Expression

Chromosomes and genes are non-randomly positioned in the cell nucleus and the vision of a dynamic and complex organization of the nucleus is replacing the classical view of genomes as linear sequences. (+more info)

Funding acknowledgements

• We acknowledge the financial contribution of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the development of the project “Chromatin dynamics in gene regulation by steroid hormones" (ref. BMC2003-02902).
• The project "Analysis of the global hormone regulatory network, ATP and Phase Transitions in cancer and normal cells" (PID2019-110384GB-C21 / AEI / 10.13039/501100011033) has received funding from the National Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI), from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
• The project "Novel compounds targeting cancer stem cells: Targeted treatment for Breast and Ovarian Cancer" ("Noves composicions dirigides a les cèl·lules mare del càncer: tractament dirigit al càncer de mama i d'ovari") (ref. 2019PROD00115) received funding from the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (Catalan Agency of University and Research Grants Management) and the Secretariat of Universities and Research, Department of Business and Knowledge, of the Government of Catalonia. This project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, in the framework of the Catalonia's ERDF Operative Programe 2014-2020, with a grant amounting to 96,225 €.