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Institutional news

Iproteos, IBEC and VHIR to develop an innovative therapy against solid tumors

The biotechnology company Iproteos, IBEC and the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) are set to develop an innovative treatment to slow down, stop and even reverse the growth of solid tumors, which represent more than 90% of cancer cases.

It’s a family of peptidomimetic drugs based on a totally new anti-tumor action mechanism, the result of several years of research by Pere Roca-Cusachs’ group at IBEC.

The Translational Research Group on Cancer in Children and Teenagers at VHIR will evaluate candidate drugs, developed with Iproteos’ IPROTech technology, in pediatric tumours in vitro and in vivo.

IBEC’s CRISPR and organ regeneration project wins Fira Recerca en Directe 2019 vote

This year an IBEC project has won the Fira Recerca en Directe 2019’s public poll for most popular project, with 26.94% of the votes.

“CRISPR and the regeneration of organs” is one 11 activities which will take place at the research fair on 6th -14th March 2019 in CosmoCaixa.
This annual festival of science, organised by Parc Cientic of Barcelona in collaboration with Obra Social “la Caixa”, is a chance for research groups and universities to bring the latest in research to the attention of the public and school-age visitors with exciting demonstration stands and activities.

Nano experts in town for nanoBio&Med2018

The nanoBio&Med2018 International Conference opened today with IBEC Director Josep Samitier chairing the first round of talks, in which group leader Samuel Sanchez is the first speaker.

Other IBEC speakers and participants throughout the three-day event will include Rafael Mestre, Anna Lagunas, Silvia Pujals, Xavier Arqué and Samuel Ojosnegros, as well as UCL’s Giuseppe Battaglia, who will join the institute soon.

Taking place at the PCB, the IBEC-supported event – now in its fourth year – presents the most recent international developments in the fields of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine and will provide a platform for multidisciplinary communication, new cooperations and projects to participants from both science and industry.

SOMMa partners gather for third 100xCiencia meeting

Today Spain’s Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence – including IBEC – and the María de Maeztu Units of Excellence are at the CNIO in Madrid for 100xCiencia.3, the annual event of the SOMMa alliance.

This year’s 100xCiencia is devoted to ‘Bringing Science and Society’, and IBEC is participating with a poster about its outreach activities.

As well as representatives from the research centres and units, the event is being attended by politicians, journalists and civic figures to debate about the different aspects of how and why science is important for society.

Five IBEC researchers awarded “la Caixa” grants at ceremony

IBEC researchers were in the limelight today at the awards ceremony for the “la Caixa” fellowships and grants for research and innovation calls.

Anna Labernadie and Irene Marco, postdocs in the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics and Biosensors for bioengineering groups respectively, won fellowships under the first Junior Leader “la Caixa” call, which helps excellent researchers of any nationality who wish to continue their research career in Spanish or Portuguese territory. Anna was one of 10 postdocs to win a ‘Retaining’ grant for candidates who are already residing in the countries, and Irene was awarded one of 20 ‘Incoming’ positions for those coming from elsewhere.

IBEC projects awarded Marato 2017 funding

Projects led by IBEC group leader Xavier Fernandez-Busquets and Associated Researcher Antonio Juarez have received funds from 2017’s La Marató de TV3 fundraising campaign.

These and 34 other winning projects were announced at an awards ceremony tonight at the Academia de Ciencias Médicas de Cataluña y Baleares in Barcelona of the 2017 edition of the telethon, which was dedicated to infectious diseases.

La Marató de TV3, together with Catalunya Ràdio, broadcasts its annual telethon to raise funds for scientific research into various diseases with a different theme each year. The 2017 edition of La Marató ran from December 17th until March 31st and raised €9,758,075 for the 36 projects and 55 teams awarded.

Leading international photopharmacology figures to meet for symposium in Vic

Ben Feringa (left), Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner in 2016, will be one of the speakers at the second International Symposium on Photopharmacology (ISPP2018) on 1st-2nd November.

Co-organised by IBEC, UVic-UCC and IQAC-CISC, the symposium will take place in the Torre dels Frares building at the UVic and will be attended by more than 120 people, the vast majority of whom will be coming from countries other than Spain.

Introducing a drug into the human body that remains inactive inside it and only acts when, where and how we tell it to will be possible within a few years with the application of photopharmacology, a new branch of science that uses light to control the activity of medication.

Presenting IBEC’s 3D bioprinting capabilities at the third IN(3D)USTRY event

Last week IBEC attended the third edition of “IN(3D)USTRY: From Needs to Solutions”, the international meeting devoted to 3D printing.

The institute had a stand in the exhibition area, where Head of Technology Transfer Xavier Rubies and Technology Transfer manager Xavier Puñet welcomed visitors interested in finding out more about IBEC’s 3D bioprinting capabilities.

The Generalitat de Catalunya’s Minister of Enterprise and Knowledge, Àngels Chacón (right), was interested to hear about IBEC’s medical solutions using 3D bioprinting for bone, cartilage, skin, diagnostic, cardiology and muscle.

IBEC wraps up its first year of ‘Bojos per la ciència’

On Friday 19th October, an event to round off the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera’s ‘Bojos per la ciència’ (‘Crazy for Science’) initiative took place at IBEC.

This year was the first year that IBEC took part in the ‘Bojos’ initiative, with a course devoted to bioengineering. 25 students have been coming to IBEC on eighteen Saturdays between January and October to attend in theoretical and practical sessions about the main areas of research in bioengineering applied to health: controlled drug release, biomaterials, regenerative therapies and the medicine of the future, among other topics. In addition, the students participated in complementary workshops where they looked at ethical questions and scientific communication, as well as getting hands-on experience of the research laboratory environment.

First IBEC PhD retreat a great success

Last week IBEC’s PhD students headed off to Mas Colltort in Sant Feliu de Pallarols for the first ever IBEC PhD retreat.

The two-day sojourn in the country was a chance for more than 50 of IBEC’s students to hear talks by various speakers, give flash presentations about their career paths, and get to know one another.