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Awardees and representatives at the CaixaResearch Health 2024 awards ceremony © "la Caixa" Foundation.
 13.11.2024

IBEC and IRB Barcelona receive funding from the CaixaResearch Health Call 2024

”la Caixa” Foundation has selected 29 new research projects of excellence with a high social impact as part of the CaixaResearch Health Call 2024, one of the most important philanthropic programmes in biomedicine in Spain and Portugal. Five of these selected projects are led by researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), based in the Barcelona Science Park.

Benedetta Bolognesi, principal investigator of the Protein Phase Transitions in Health and Disease group at IBEC, will collaborate with researchers in Australia to create a map of SOD1 protein mutations associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This map will both improve early diagnosis of the disease and open up new avenues for the development of targeted therapies. Read more about this project [+]

Xavier Fernàndez-Busquets, principal investigator of the Nanomalaria group of IBEC, will work with teams from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) to design new drugs that can bypass the resistance of the malaria parasite. Their aim is to identify molecules that inhibit Plasmodium aggregate proteins, which are essential for parasite survival. Read more about the project [+]

Xavier Trepat, head of the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group at IBEC, will lead a project in collaboration with Eduard Batlle (IRB Barcelona) and Marino Arroyo (CIMNE)to develop a model-on-chip and its digital twin to replicate the microenvironment of a colon tumour. This system allows the study of the mechanical and chemical interactions between tumour cells and their environment, facilitating the development and testing of immunotherapies. Read more about this project [+]

Xavier Fernàndez Busquets, Benedetta Bolognesi and Xavier Trepat. Image / IBEC.

Eduard Batlle, head of the Cancer Program and the Colorectal Cancer Laboratory at IRB Barcelona, will head a research to study the different states that metastatic cells adopt during their spread throughout the body, and understand the mechanisms that enable them to change their properties in response to environmental signals. The ultimate goal is to develop new therapies that prevent the development of metastases in colorectal cancer. Furthermore, Dr. Batlle will collaborate on an additional project undertaken by Dr. Xavier Trepat at IBEC. Read more about this project [+]

“la Caixa” Foundation will also fund an innovative research led by Roger Gomis, head of the Growth Control and Metastasis Laboratory at the IRB Barcelona, will delve into studying the factors that confer plasticity to metastatic tumour cells and will seek to identify new pathways to inhibit this plasticity. The purpose of this research is to halt the development of secondary metastases and prevent deaths associated with breast cancer metastasis. Read more about this project [+]

Eduard Batlle and Roger Gomis. Image / IRB Barcelona.

Support of 25.7 million for research projects in biomedicine

In this seventh edition of the CaixaResearch Health Call -to which 580 proposals of basic, clinic and translational research were submitted- ”la Caixa” Foundation has selected 29 biomedical research projects of excellence with a high social impact so that they can be conducted in centres, hospitals, and universities in Spain and Portugal.

The initiative, this year endowed with 25.7 million euros, is carried out in collaboration with the FCT, a public organism linked to Portuguese Ministry of Education Science and Innovation. The call is also supported by the Luzón Foundation which, together with the ”la Caixa” Foundation, is co-funding a project on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

CaixaForum Madrid hosted yesterday the award ceremony, which was attended by representatives of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, including the deputy general manager, Juan Ramón Fuertes; the chair of the Foundation’s scientific committee, Javier Solana; the director of relations with research and health institutions, Ignasi López; the trustee of the Foundation and honorary chair of the Banco Português de Investimento (BPI), Artur Santos Silva, and the member of the BPI’s Social Responsibility Committee, José Pena do Amaral. Also in attendance were the president of the Luzón Foundation, María José Arregui, and the chair of the Board of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Madalena Alves, as well as the researchers leading the projects.

» Link to the news: IBEC website [+] and IRB Barcelona website [+]