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IRB welcomes a scientific leader in stem cell and cancer

By 25 de September de 2013November 18th, 2020No Comments
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Salvador Aznar Benitah.(J. Lanuza.IRB).
 25.09.2013

IRB welcomes a scientific leader in stem cell and cancer

After weighing up offers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research of the University of Cambridge, the University of Toronto and the University of Stanford in the US, Salvador Aznar Benitah has opted to continue his research on stem cells and cancer in Barcelona and has brought his lab from the Centre de Regulació Genòmica to IRB Barcelona, located at the Parc Científic de Barcelona.The recruitment of Aznar Benitah to the Catalan Research centre is an example of the retention and attraction of international talent.


This September, the 38-year-old Spanish and Canadian scientist, together with his team comprising 8 members, are putting the final touches on the “Stem Cell and Cancer” Lab, a facility occupying 168 m2 at the IRB. His group is the fifth to join the Oncology programme, which specifically addresses cancer and metastasis and is one of the five research programmes at IRB Barcelona. Hosting 23 research groups with approximately 450 members of staff, the institute is one of the largest basic research centres in Spain.

“The current position of science in our country is rather complicated but there are centres that we should be proud of and that we should continue to support,” explains Aznar Benitah. “Competitive groups, an international environment, evaluations that take place every 5 years, a flexible administrative organisation and cutting-edge scientific platforms make IRB Barcelona a highly attractive place in which to undertake this new stage of my career.”

Holder of a degree in Biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Salvador Aznar Benitah did his PhD at the “Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas” of the “Universidad Autónoma de Madrid”. He holds an ICREA professorship from the “Generalitat de Catalunya” and projects supported by the European Research Council (ERC), namely an ERC Starting Grant, (“Consolidators” panel 2012-2017), as well as two projects funded by the UK’s Association for International Cancer Research. The Beug Foundation (Germany), has recently awarded him the 2013 Metastasis Prize, which brings with it 12,000 euros for the development of a scientific project on the metastasis of skin cancer.