The GAEM Foundation reorganises its Board of Trustees Blog Post

Headquartered in the Barcelona Science Park (Parc Científic de Barcelona, PCB), the GAEM (Multiple Sclerosis Sufferers Group, Grup d’Afectats per l’Esclerosi Múltiple) Foundation is reorganising its governing bodies to include leading medical, biomedical and business figures. The changes in its Board of Trustees are designed to enhance its public image and expand its scope of action by bringing in a wider variety of expertise in biomedicine, research, the private sector and charities.

 

From African clawed frog oocytes… to drugs that are activated by light Blog Post

The Live Research Fair, which opens its doors today at CosmoCaixa Barcelona until Saturday 14 April, aims to raise public awareness of research by opening up dialogue between the community and researchers and encouraging young people to consider scientific professions. The event has been organized by the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) –as part of its Research in Society programme– and “la Caixa” Foundation, with the support of Barcelona City Council and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), and the collaboration of the University of Barcelona (UB).

 

IRB Barcelona paves the way to the use of immunotherapy to treat aggressive colon tumours and their metastasis Blog Post

A team headed by ICREA researcher Eduard Batlle, from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) at the Barcelona Science Park, discovers that immune system-stimulating treatments combined with a TGF-beta inhibitor are effective against colon cancer. In a study published today in the journal Nature, scientifics explain that the hormone TGF-beta is responsible for the “blindness” of the immune system to colon cancer cells. The work paves the way for the development of the first treatment based on immunotherapy for patients with metastatic colon cancer and for those patients with poor prognosis but who have not yet developed metastasis.

 

The oxidation process favours recovery after a spine injury Blog Post

The inflammatory response and oxidation after a nerve injury could favour the regeneration of axons (prolongation of neurons). This is the most relevant conclusion of a pre-clinical study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, with the participation of researchers from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) at the Barcelona Science Park. This work, carried out in collaboration with scientifics from the Imperial College London, suggests that the indiscriminate use of antioxidant therapies on nerve injuries should be examined, since these could block the body’s own regenerative response.

 

Oriol Segarra, CEO of Uriach, appointed member of the Board of Directors of Mind the Byte Blog Post

Mind the Byte, located at the Barcelona Science Park, announces the designation of Oriol Segarra, CEO of the pharmaceutical company Uriach, as a new member of the board of directors. With this appointment, the bioinformatics company –specializing in computational drug discovery using Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies– wants to accelerate its business plan for its growth and internationalisation. 

 

The FBG awards €100,000 to four UB projects for the valorisation of research Blog Post

On 18 January, the FBG, located at PCB, presented the grants of the Valorisation Fund (FVal) of the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation (F2i). Within this funding programme, € 25,000 were awarded to each selected project, which will be used to valorize projects of the University of Barcelona with a high potential for transfer and impact on our society. 

 

EIT Health Wild Card: €4 million in search of innovative health ideas Blog Post

Under the new Wild Card programme, EIT Health consortium –the largest European body for innovation in healthy living and active ageing– has announced €4 million in funding for disruptive initiatives that help transform European healthcare and mitigate the social and economic impact of the progressive ageing of the population. The Universitat de Barcelona (UB), a core partner and promoter of EIT Health Spain, is one of the 14 European institutions that will offer advisory and incubation services to the two winning teams to turn their ideas into a business plan through of the Barcelona Entrepreneurship Institute (BIE), the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG) and the Barcelona Science Park (PCB). On Monday, January 29, an informative session will take place at the PCB.

 

SOLVE-RD: Major European grant for research into rare diseases Blog Post

The CNAG-CRG at PCB participates in a large consortium led by the University of Tübingen, the Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen and the University of Leicester that has acquired a € 15 million grant for the SOLVE-RD research program he researchers will work directly with four European Reference Networks (ERNs) to share and enhance the knowledge and resources used for treating rare diseases.