Àngels López

Three of IBEC’s women researchers have been successful in BIST’s recent ‘To the Mothers of Science’ call.

Postdocs Silvia Pujals from Nanoscopy for Nanomedicine and Marija Vukovanovic from Bacterial Infections: Antimicrobial Therapies each won a grant and coaching sessions, and senior researcher Marina Giannotti from Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches won coaching sessions.

‘To the Mothers of Science’ is a new initiative from the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) that aims to support women scientists who have the ambition and potential to reach a leading position in research while fulfilling maternity responsibilities at the same time. This first call bestowed 12 grants distributed among the seven BIST centres, plus coaching alone for seven finalists.

Nearly fifty undergraduate and master students attended today’s reSearch4Talent at IBEC, the fourth time we’ve opened our doors to young scholars interested in a career in science.

Held in the Dolors Aleu room of the Barcelona Science Park, the event started with a welcome and presentation about the institute from IBEC’s director, Josep Samitier, followed by specific information about applications and admissions from Ciara Boter of the HR department.

Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies PhD student Jesús Ordoño will spend six months at Michigan State University with a Daniel Bravo scholarship.

He’s one of just three winners in the 2018 call by the Fundació Privada Daniel Bravo Andreu, which aims to to stimulate high impact biomedical research in Catalonia by awarding a monthly stipend plus travel expenses for researcher to stay in some of the most prestigious centers in the world.

Jesús will work at Michigan State University’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering on a project entitled “Elucidation of the mechanisms and signaling pathways of lactate on cardiac regeneration”.

To round off its first Faster Future fundraising campaign, IBEC is organizing an exclusive European film première of “I’ll Push You”, the inspiring story of Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray, the first people to complete the Camino de Santiago in a wheelchair.

Over the past 20 years, a progressive neuromuscular disease has slowly taken away Justin’s ability to use his arms and legs. He requires daily assistance in every aspect of life such as eating, bathing and getting dressed. In the spring of 2012, Justin asked his best friend Patrick if he would help him complete the Camino de Santiago, the 500-mile pilgrimage trail in Northern Spain. Patrick’s response was simple and direct: “I’ll push you.”