TEAM

Sira Defaus Fornaguera

Dr. Sira Defaus obtained her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Barcelona (UB) in 2014 under the supervision of Profs. David Andreu and Ricardo Gutiérrez-Gallego, focusing on glycobiology and biomolecular interactions with an emphasis on protein–carbohydrate recognition mechanisms. She then carried out postdoctoral research on peptide chemistry with Prof. David Craik at the Institute for Molecular Biosciences (IMB, Queensland, Australia) and with Prof. David Andreu at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB). During this period, she also joined Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) as a lecturer in chemistry. In 2025, she was appointed Associate Professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Within the field of medicinal chemistry, her research focuses on the development of synthetic peptide-based therapeutics, including vaccines and novel pharmaceuticals for biomedical applications.

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Selected publications

  1. Gallo, M.; Defaus, S.; Andreu, D. Disrupting GPCR Complexes with Smart Drug-like Peptides.Pharmaceutics 2022, 14, 161. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14010161
  2. Gallo, M.; Moreno, E.; Defaus, S.; Ortega-Alvaro, A.; Gonzalez, A.; Robledo, P.; Cavaco, M.; Neves, V.; Castanho, M.A.R.B.; Casadó, V.; Pardo, L.; Maldonado, R.; Andreu, D. Orally active peptide vector allows using cannabis to fight pain while avoiding side effects. Med. Chem. 2021, 64, 6937. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00484
  3. Badia-Villanueva, M.; Defaus, S.; Foj, R.; Andreu, D.; Oliva, B.; Sierra, A.; Fernandez-Fuentes, N. Evaluation of Computationally Designed Peptides against TWEAK, a Cytokine of the Tumour Necrosis Factor Ligand Family. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 1066. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22031066
  4. Forner, M.; Defaus, S.; Andreu, D. Peptide-Based Multiepitopic Vaccine Platforms via Click Reactions. Org. Chem. 2020, 85, 1626. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.9b02798
  5. Defaus, S.; Forner, M.; Cañas-Arranz, R.; de León, P.; Bustos, M.J.; Rodríguez-Pulido, M.; Blanco, E.; Sobrino, F.; Andreu, D. Designing Functionally Versatile, Highly Immunogenic Peptide-Based Multiepitopic Vaccines against Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus.Vaccines 2020, 8, 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8030406
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