- Yesterday IRB Barcelona’s Board of Trustees appointed the renowned scientist as director of the Institute, a position that he will take up on May 1st
- Francesc Posas succeeds Joan J. Guinovart, the director and founder of the Institute
Francesc Posas Garriga, an internationally acknowledged researcher in the field of cell biology and full professor of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), is to take up the position of director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). As of May 1st, he will succeed Joan J. Guinovart, who was a key figure in setting up the Institute in October 2005 and who has served as director since.
The international selection process for IRB Barcelona’s new director has been coordinated by the CERCA Institute (Catalan Research Centres), an organisation run by the Catalan Government. Seventeen applications from six countries were received. IRB Barcelona’s External Advisory Board, which is chaired by researcher Joan Massagué and formed by researchers from centres around the world, was charged with conducting the interviews and putting forward the candidate to the Board of Trustees, which approved the appointment yesterday.
“It is an honour to be offered the opportunity to head one of the best research centres in the country. I intend to channel my experience and efforts into strengthening the research on the fundamental causes of diseases being conducted by outstanding scientists. With the help of all the members of the Institute, we will firmly position IRB Barcelona on the map of international research centres of reference. This will require the involvement and cooperation of the IRB Barcelona community, and institutions, centres and universities in our setting. To ensure that this goal is accomplished, we will continue to foster the training of young scientists, promote technology transfer and seek the involvement of society,” said Francesc Posas.
Francesc Posas will be moving his Cell Signalling Laboratory to IRB Barcelona premises at the Barcelona Science Park. He will continue his projects focused on the molecular bases that determine how cells respond to changes in their environment and the involvement of this cell behaviour in diseases such as cancer and inflammatory conditions. His lab is expected to be up and running at the end of the summer.
Congratulations to Francesc Posas for this appointment. We look forward to working together!
More details can be found on the IRB Barcelona website.