The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)’s Board of Trustees appointed yesterday Professor Monica Bettencourt-Dias as its new Director. Professor Bettencourt-Dias, who led the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) in Portugal between 2018 and 2023 is expected to take up the post at the CRG in 2026. She succeeds the CRG’s long-serving Director, ICREA Research Professor Luis Serrano, who will continue to maintain a research group at the institute.
Professor Bettencourt-Dias, who is currently a group leader at the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, will be the first woman to lead the CRG since it was founded in the year 2000. She will form part of the BIST Executive Committee (composed by the BIST General Director and the directors of the seven BIST Community centres) and the BIST Board of Trustees.
“I am deeply honoured to be entrusted with leading the CRG, one of Europe’s most outstanding research institutes,” says Professor Mónica Bettencourt-Dias. “This is an exciting time for the life sciences and biomedicine. Advances in genomics, artificial intelligence and technology are revolutionising our ability to decode and engineer genomes, knowledge that is essential to understanding life and building resilience in the face of a changing environment.”
“The CRG, at the heart of Barcelona’s vibrant scientific community, is uniquely placed to lead this global effort. I look forward to working with its exceptional researchers and partners, building on the remarkable foundation laid by Dr. Serrano, to push the boundaries of discovery and create lasting impact for society,” concludes Professor Bettencourt-Dias.
Born in Portugal in 1973, Professor Mónica Bettencourt-Dias has built an international career at the forefront of cell and molecular biology. She completed her PhD at University College London investigating the regenerative properties of salamanders. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, she made key discoveries on cell proliferation, before returning to Portugal in 2006 to establish her research group at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science (IGC).
Her work has uncovered fundamental mechanisms governing centrosomes and cilia, structures essential for cell division, signalling and motility, and how their malfunction drives cancer and infertility. From 2018 to 2023, Bettencourt-Dias served as Director of the IGC, where she led a major strategic transformation, strengthened local and international collaborations, and positioned the institute as a reference for quantitative biology and One Health.
She has also played a leading role in shaping European science policy, including serving as Chair of EU-LIFE, the alliance of top life science institutes in Europe, and as a chair of the EMBO Policy Committee. Deeply committed to connecting science and society, she holds a postgraduate diploma in science communication from Birkbeck College, London. Her scientific and leadership contributions have been recognised with numerous honours, including two European Research Council Grants, EMBO membership, the Eppendorf Young European Investigator Award, and the Keith Porter Prize from the American Society for Cell Biology.
Since Dr. Luis Serrano became Director in 2011, the CRG has consolidated its position as an international biomedical research centre of excellence. During his tenure, the outgoing Director of the CRG was instrumental in founding EU-LIFE, the alliance that now unites seventeen of Europe’s top research institutes, and in launching SOMMa, which brings together Spain’s Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centres of excellence.
He also helped secure the establishment of EMBL Barcelona, the first European Molecular Biology Laboratory outstation in Spain, expanding the country’s international research footprint. By promoting an entrepreneurial culture, he has overseen the creation of six CRG spin-off companies including Seqera Labs, Pulmobiotics and Orikine Bio, which together have raised well over €50 million in venture capital, translating CRG science into tangible societal and economic impact.
“It has been a privilege to lead the CRG and to witness the remarkable achievements of our researchers and staff over the past fourteen years,” says Dr. Serrano. “I am proud of the culture of curiosity, innovation and societal impact we have built together, and I look forward to continuing my own research in such a vibrant environment while supporting Professor Bettencourt-Dias in her new role.”
Professor Bettencourt-Dias’s appointment completes a governance process that began in early 2024 and was supported by the Government of Catalonia and the institute’s international Scientific Advisory Board.
