The fourth EMBL-IBEC Conference, organised by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), focused on disease modelling, developmental biology, and regenerative medicine. The event brought around 130 international bioengineering experts together at the PRBB in Barcelona this week.
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is pleased to welcome new international students to its PhD programme. This initiative offers excellent training and research opportunities in bioengineering, as well as strong collaboration with leading hospitals and institutions.
IBEC researcher Amayra Hernández-Vega has been awarded a grant from the Pasqual Maragall Researchers Programme to lead a project focused on studying the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The study will combine in vitro and human models of familial Alzheimer’s disease to identify age-related factors and potential inhibitors that could slow the early progression of the disease. The project was presented at an informative session on sleep and brain health, which was attended by around 500 people.
Josep Samitier will step down as Director of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) on 31 December 2025. Under his leadership since 2013, IBEC has become a leading institution in Spain for research excellence in bioengineering. Manuel Salmeron, an ICREA Research Professor at IBEC, will take over as interim director at the request of the Institute’s board of trustees.
Barcelona hosted the third IBEC-WCH Precision Medicine Conference this week, an event that further strengthened the strategic alliance between the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the West China Hospital of Sichuan University (WCHSU). The Chinese delegation visited Spain from 26 to 29 November, taking part in a busy schedule of scientific and institutional activities and exchanges between the two centres.
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Spanish Society of Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering (SEMIT) organized the inaugural SEMIT 2025 Congress. The event gathered leading national and international experts in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, creating a unique platform for knowledge exchange among researchers, clinicians, and industry.
Manuel Salmeron and Xavier Rovira, who are both principal investigators at IBEC, have each been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. These prestigious grants are awarded by the European Research Council to explore the commercial and social potential of research projects carried out at European institutions. Salmeron’s project, FACTORINK, focuses on designing functional bioinks with biological activity for printing artificial tissues. Meanwhile, Rovira’s project seeks to develop the EVOaware platform, which is designed to address tumour resistance to therapies and accelerate the discovery and development of new cancer treatments.
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia and the Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children’s Hospital have held a joint conference to strengthen collaboration in bioengineering and translational medicine. The event, held this morning at the IBEC, highlighted innovative projects, presented a joint PhD programme and encouraged the exchange of ideas between researchers from both institutions.
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.
IBEC kicks off 2024 with the incorporation of three new research groups led by Manuel Salmerón Sánchez, Zaida Álvarez Pinto, and Xavier Rovira Clavé. With these additions, IBEC strengthens its position in the field of advanced and emerging therapies.