Àngels López

Last week IBEC attended the 3rd general assembly of the Health Tech Cluster, an alliance of industry, research centres and other bodies working in the health technologies sector in Catalonia.

Established in 2015 with the support of the Catalan government, the HT Cluster counts IBEC and most of hospitals, as the Hospital Clinic among its research and clinical partners. They’re joined by businesses such as Avinent, Vecmedical and Sibel to contribute to the Cluster’s aim of promoting and developing innovative solutions via public-private partnerships to improve the quality of life for patients.

IBEC is to be part of a multi-million euro 3D printing infrastructure in Catalonia that was presented at a press conference today at La Pedrera.

The Global 3D Printing Hub, which will receive up to 28 million euros from the Generalitat by 2020, will aim to consolidate Catalonia as a world leader in 3D printing, one of the key technologies in industry 4.0.

During the last two days IBEC has been taking part in 10alamenos9, the second Festival of Nanoscience, at CosmoCaixa museum in Barcelona.

Funded by FECYT, the festival is taking place simultaneously in Barcelona, Saragossa, Bellaterra, San Sebastian and Madrid, and aims to highlight the importance and impact of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
IBEC’s contribution to the programme of exhibitions, workshops, seminars and contests included a Nano Workshop in collaboration with Il·lustraciència, talks by Gabriel Gomila and Samuel Sánchez, and a workshop on drug delivery.

One of IBEC’s mentees under the BATX2LAB programme was a prize winner last Wednesday at the initiative’s annual ceremony to award the best research projects.

In BATX2LAB, organised by the PCB and CatalunyaCaixa, researchers working in the science park are assigned as tutors to secondary school pupils who are starting their A-level/Baccalaureate research projects. It enables participating students to carry out their research in a ‘real’ lab environment and with the support of an experienced scientist.

An image from Xavier Fernandez-Busquets’ Nanomalaria joint unit has been selected as Image of the Month for April 2017 for the Pinacoteca de la Ciencia, a competition run by the Spanish Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM).

The cryo-transmission electron microscope image of liposomes being assayed for the encapsulation of drugs targeted to red blood cells infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum was a result of Xavier’s ongoing collaboration with artist Marc Cirera.

SEBBM’s Pinacoteca de la Ciencia, sponsored by Eppendorf, showcases the best photos sent by the society’s partners month by month.