Eduard Torrents (left), Elisabeth Engel and Pere Roca-Cusachs, who were all previously senior researchers in IBEC groups, were selected on the basis of several excellence criteria, including the scientific quality and feasibility of the projects they proposed, as well as the potential impact of their research.
Other factors considered included the added value offered by the new projects to the current IBEC research programme, and the ability of the selected candidates to carry out efficient group leadership and management.
The Tenure Track process will last four years, during which the resources available to the Junior Group Leaders will be laboratory space, an internal budget, and all the support that Group Leaders receive from IBEC. At the end of the third year, the Junior Group Leaders will be evaluated by IBEC’s Scientific Advisory Board. A positive evaluation, taking into account a further five-year project proposal, will allow the candidate to become a consolidated Group Leader.
The new projects to be led by the Junior Group Leaders are as follows: Antibacterial therapies: identification of new targets, efficient drug delivery and development of new diagnostic tools (Eduard Torrents); Mechanical communication in cells: molecules, mechanisms and physical constraints (Pere Roca-Cusachs); and Calcium Sensing Receptor as a Target in Healing Therapies (Elisabeth Engel).
