During his speech, Dr. Gross commented some of his recent works on intracellular transport models (PNAS, 2011) or the role of caveolin in the regulation of mitochondrial cholesterol and diseases (Traffic, 2011). The last one is collaboration with IDIBAPS investigators from Dr. Albert Pol’s and Dr. José Carlos Fernandez-Checa’s teams. Recent works conclude that caveolin 1 could be related with the development of diseases mediated by the mitochondria. It includes liver diseases such as fatty liver or estatohepatitis, but also neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Huntington's disease and antibacterial response.
His research combines genetic and biochemical manipulations with biophysical techniques (laser-tweezers, single-particle tracking and analysis, and computer modeling) to study cargo transport in vivo. His primary goal is to understand the extent to which the activity of different molecular motors is coordinated, and the detailed physical changes in motor activity that result in alteration of net cargo transport.