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IBEC researchers take to the stage at second BIST conference

Today more than 300 researchers are meeting at CosmoCaixa to debate the latest scientific advances in cutting-edge fields at the yearly conference of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).

The gathering, promoted by the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation – which currently holds the vice-presidency of the BIST Board of Trustees – kicked off with a keynote speech by US scientist Barry C. Barish, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics, entitled ‘Gravitational Waves: From Einstein to a New Science’.

Joining forces with FEDER to collaborate on solutions for rare diseases

IBEC has signed a collaboration agreement with the Federación Española de Enfermedades Raras (FEDER), a non-profit organization that represents the three million people suffering from rare diseases throughout the country.

Rare diseases are those that affect fewer than 5 out of every 10,000 inhabitants. According to the WHO, there are about 7,000 such diseases affecting 7% of the world’s population, so altogether they affect a huge number of people – and they can appear at any stage of life. The agreement with IBEC will connect the institute with patients’ associations to develop projects together that have a direct application according to the needs of sufferers.

IBEC B·Debate looks at “Adding life to years”

Yesterday, the IBEC-organised B·Debate at CosmoCaixa museum was an intensive review of biomedical engineering as the foundation of many of the actions needed to improve the quality of life of our ageing population.

The event welcomed more than 75 international scientists, clinicians and other actors with affiliations ranging from ETH Zürich and the World Health Organization to IBM Research and Hospital Clinic. Under the theme of “Bioengineering for Healthy Ageing: adding life to years”, they presented and examined possible solutions bioengineering can provide to address the challenges an ageing population faces.

The event opened with a session outlining the challenges and opportunities of the rapid growth of the oldest age groups, a major societal challenge that will have a huge impact on health care.

Inphinit success for IBEC

IBEC will welcome no fewer than three new PhD students with fellowships from the “la Caixa” Foundation’s new Inphinit programme, placing the institute fourth among the 28 centres that were chosen.

The doctoral fellowship programme, which aims to attract international early-stage researchers to the top Spanish research centres – namely the MINECO-selected Severo Ochoa centres and Maria de Maeztu units of excellence, and the Spanish Ministry of Health’s Carlos III centres of excellence – closed its first call in February this year.

It attracted 438 applications for the 57 positions, which are co-funded by the European Commission through COFUND, one of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie initiatives of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

El día de demà: “Les malalties”

Yesterday IBEC appeared on Canal 33’s “El día de demà” programme in an episode about disease.

The programme, which is the brainchild of journalist Josep Puigbó and is directed by TV3 in association with l’Obra Social “la Caixa”, addressed the fact that in the last fifty years, life expectancy has increased by thirty years and that disciplines such as photonics, nanotechnology, robotics and augmented reality are opening new ways to diagnose, prevent or treat diseases of the future.

IBEC researcher’s ERC project highlighted in Madrid exhibition

This weekend Javier Ramon’s European Research Council-funded project, DAMOC, was one of eight highlighted in a special exhibition in Madrid to mark the ERC’s tenth anniversary.

Alcobendas’ Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT) displayed the most “outstanding” projects led by researchers in Spain as part of a full weekend of activities to celebrate the first decade of the prestigious funding body, which was launched in 2007 by the European Union and has funded nearly 7,000 researchers, among them six Nobel Prize winners.

Projects

All IBEC’s groups coordinate or are involved in competitively funded projects. Funding sources include the EU’s Framework Programmes, national or regional governmental grants, private foundations and industrial partnerships. Major, currently … Read more