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Cellular and molecular mechanobiology

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The “la Caixa” Foundation funds four health projects involving IBEC, two of them led by the institute

IBEC researchers Samuel Sánchez and Giuseppe Battaglia are leading two of the projects selected in the “la Caixa” Foundation’s 2026 health research and innovation calls. In addition, Pere Roca-Cusachs and Jordi Duran are members of the consortia behind two further projects. The four projects address challenges such as pseudomyxoma peritonei, bladder cancer, Lafora disease and frontotemporal dementia.

IBEC launches IBEC On Air, a podcast exploring bioengineering beyond the lab

The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has today released the first episode of IBEC On Air, its new science communication podcast and one of the activities marking the institute’s 20th anniversary. Across seven episodes of around 20 minutes each, researchers from the institute talk about their work, the questions that drive it and the journey behind each project. The podcast is available on Spotify, iVoox, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

From the classroom to the laboratory: summer stays at IBEC

As every year, as soon as the school year ends, IBEC’s laboratories fill up with a new generation of future scientists. This summer, more than 20 secondary school, high school and undergraduate students took part in various programmes, gaining first-hand experience of the day-to-day work of bioengineering research in nine of the centre’s laboratories.

IBEC staff gather for IBEC Day to mark the institute’s 20th anniversary

Over 200 people took part in IBEC Day 2026, an event designed to encourage sharing, connection and celebration in honour of the institute’s 20th anniversary.

IBEC launches the exhibition ‘Open Dialogues’ with three co-creation projects at the intersection of art and science

On 13 May, the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia opened an exhibition featuring three collaborative works created through the first edition of “Open Dialogues”, a programme that brings together artists and IBEC researchers. Addressing issues such as gender bias in healthcare, the sensory translation of cellular processes and the parallels between artistic and scientific practices based on the olfactory experience, the pieces were created through a dialogue between art and science.

How cells decide when to react could shape future treatments for cancer and fibrosis

Scientists from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and King’s College London have discovered that cells do not just sense mechanical forces but also measure how long those forces last before responding. The findings, published in Nature Materials, reveal a timing mechanism that allows cells to ignore brief mechanical noise while reacting to sustained changes, a process that is crucial in diseases such as cancer and fibrosis.

Scientists create living tissues capable of changing shape in a programmed manner

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering for Catalonia (IBEC), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) have developed a new strategy for ‘programming’ the shape of biological tissues in vitro. The study, published in the journal Science, is the first to demonstrate that it is possible to guide the forces and final shape of living tissue by controlling the orientation of its cells. The research opens the door to new applications in tissue engineering, biohybrid robotics, and the design of smart living materials.

BIST calls for reforms to turn scientific discoveries into European industry

The BIST Forum 2026 brought together scientists and representatives from academic, economic and social institutions to discuss how frontier research can help build Europe’s industries of the future. The event also announced the recipients of the BIST To the Mothers of Science and Ignite programmes.

INTROPY: A new approach to cancer therapy by inhibiting mechanotransduction

IBEC senior researcher Pere Roca-Cusachs has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. This is a prestigious grant awarded by the European Research Council to explore the commercial and societal potential of research projects carried out at European institutions. Roca-Cusachs’ project, INTROPY, focuses on the inhibition of mechanotransduction as a potential therapy against cancer or fibrosis.

Viscosity of materials key to cell differentiation

An IBEC-led study has revealed how mesenchymal stem cells respond to the viscosity of their environment, a key aspect in their differentiation process. The research, published in Nature Communications, provides new insights that could revolutionise the design of biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications.