Publications
Top publications
1: Galán-Ganga M, Rodríguez-Navarro I, Zaballa S, Ramón-Lainez A, Gómez-Rivada N, Peters C, Fernández-Irigoyen J, Santamaría E, Rabadán MÁ, Alberch J, Rodríguez MJ, Del Toro D, Giralt A. Targeted neuronal reprogramming rescues memory and neural synchrony in Alzheimer's disease. Mol Biomed. 2026 Jun
2: Galán-Ganga M, Guisado-Corcoll A, Sancho-Balsells A, Herrero-Lorenzo M, Ballasch I, Patterer L, Alberch J, Arranz B, Giralt A, Martí E. Hippocampal small RNAs from patients with schizophrenia induce specific cognitive and neural phenotypes in mice. Cell Death Discov. 2026 May 25.
3: Giralt A, Mendes T, Montalban E, Cifuentes-Diaz C, Galán-Ganga M, Chouchana M, de Pins B, Longueville S, Carrel D, Girault JA. Glutamate-induced nuclear translocation of PYK2 in hippocampal neurons, interaction with MBD2, and role in cell death in a model of epilepsy. Cell Death Dis. 2026 Apr 22;17(1):535.
4: Borràs-Pernas S, Sancho-Balsells A, Patterer L, Wang M, Del Toro D, Alberch J, Schibano D, Espel J, Heybeck M, Scheidel B, Giralt A. Low-dose cannabidiol treatment prevents chronic stress-induced phenotypes and is associated with multiple synaptic changes across various brain regions. Neuropharmacology. 2025 Oct 1;277:110526.
5: Ballasch I, López-Molina L, Galán-Ganga M, Sancho-Balsells A, Rodríguez-Navarro I, Borràs-Pernas S, Rabadan MA, Chen W, Pastó-Pellicer C, Flotta F, Maoyu W, Fernández-Irigoyen J, Santamaría E, Aguilar R, Dobaño C, Egri N, Hernandez C, Alfonso M, Juan M, Alberch J, Del Toro D, Arranz B, Canals JM, Giralt A. Alterations of the IKZF1-IKZF2 tandem in immune cells of schizophrenia patients regulate associated phenotypes. J Neuroinflammation. 2024 Dec 18;21(1):326.
6: Shen YR, Zaballa S, Bech X, Sancho-Balsells A, Rodríguez-Navarro I, Cifuentes-Díaz C, Seyit-Bremer G, Chun SH, Straub T, Abante J, Merino-Valverde I, Richart L, Gupta V, Li HY, Ballasch I, Alcázar N, Alberch J, Canals JM, Abad M, Serrano M, Klein R, Giralt A, Del Toro D. Expansion of the neocortex and protection from neurodegeneration by in vivo transient reprogramming. Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Dec 5;31(12):1741-1759.e8.
7: López-Molina L, Sancho-Balsells A, Al-Massadi O, Montalban E, Alberch J, Arranz B, Girault JA, Giralt A. Hippocampal Pyk2 regulates specific social skills: Implications for schizophrenia. Neurobiol Dis. 2024 May;194:106487.
8: Sancho-Balsells A, Borràs-Pernas S, Flotta F, Chen W, Del Toro D, Rodríguez MJ, Alberch J, Blivet G, Touchon J, Xifró X, Giralt A. Brain-gut photobiomodulation restores cognitive alterations in chronically stressed mice through the regulation of Sirt1 and neuroinflammation. J Affect Disord. 2024 Jun 1;354:574-588.
9: Ballasch I, García-García E, Vila C, Pérez-González A, Sancho-Balsells A, ernández J, Soto D, Puigdellívol M, Gasull X, Alberch J, Rodríguez MJ, Canals JM, Giralt A. Ikzf1 as a novel regulator of microglial homeostasis in inflammation and neurodegeneration. Brain Behav Immun. 2023 Mar;109:144-161.
10: Rodríguez-Urgellés E, Rodríguez-Navarro I, Ballasch I, Del Toro D, Del Castillo I, Brito V, Alberch J, Giralt A. Postnatal Foxp2 regulates early psychiatric-like phenotypes and associated molecular alterations in the R6/1 transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 Oct 15;173:105854.
11: Brito V, Montalban E, Sancho-Balsells A, Pupak A, Flotta F, Masana M, Ginés S, Alberch J, Martin C, Girault JA, Giralt A. Hippocampal <i>Egr1</i>-Dependent Neuronal Ensembles Negatively Regulate Motor Learning. J Neurosci. 2022 Jul 6;42(27):5346-5360.
12: Fernández-García S, Sancho-Balsells A, Longueville S, Hervé D, Gruart A, Delgado-García JM, Alberch J, Giralt A. Astrocytic BDNF and TrkB regulate severity and neuronal activity in mouse models of temporal lobe epilepsy. Cell Death Dis. 2020 Jun 1;11(6):411.
13: de Pins B, Cifuentes-Díaz C, Farah AT, López-Molina L, Montalban E, Sancho-Balsells A, López A, Ginés S, Delgado-García JM, Alberch J, Gruart A, Girault JA, Giralt A. Conditional BDNF Delivery from Astrocytes Rescues Memory Deficits, Spine Density, and Synaptic Properties in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer Disease. J Neurosci. 2019 Mar 27;39(13):2441-2458.
Teaching
-Human macroscopic organography (Bachelor's degree) - Medical school- Universitat de Barcelona. 2018-present
-Neurobiology. Fisiopatologia de les Malalties del Sistema Nerviós (Bachelor's degree) - Medical school- Universitat de Barcelona. 2018-present
-Neurobiology of Behavior. Faculty of Psychology. Universitat de Barcelona. 2025-present.
-Basic techniques in neurosciences (University Master's Degree) - Neurosciences- Universitat de Barcelona. 2020
-Mentoring Master and PhD students. 2018-present