The BBVA Foundation plays an instrumental role in advancing IRB Barcelona's scientific research by supporting key areas.
State-of-the-art technology is transforming biomedical research by providing unprecedented tools and capabilities for undertaking pioneering projects. As of 2025, the BBVA Foundation has funded IRB Barcelona’s Advanced Technologies in Oncology Programme, which will boost the Institute's technological capabilities through a strategic investment in innovative high-end instrumentation, materials and highly specialized personnel.
The programme will stimulate innovation and expand the scope and complexity of research projects, thus increasing opportunities to transfer discovery research to the industry and, eventually, to clinical applications.
In 2021, also thanks to the BBVA Foundation, IRB Barcelona acquired an inverted, robotic, automated microscope for capturing fluorescent images of living cells cultured in 3D and/or organoids. This technology facilitates innovative cancer research projects, in particular those addressing cell plasticity, response to treatment, and relapse.
Scientific knowledge exchange and collaboration are paramount for fostering interdisciplinary breakthroughs and accelerating discovery. The BBVA Foundation is a valuable partner in the organization of the Barcelona BioMed Conferences, which bring together leading scientists from around the world twice a year for focused "think-tank" events.
These gatherings delve into emerging fields in biomedical research, covering topics such as the role of AI in drug discovery, and proximity-inducing pharmacology.
Since their launch in 2005, the conferences have established themselves as benchmark events within the scientific community, and offer a distinctive and valuable platform, fostering international scientific exchange and collaboration. In 2025, the conference series will mark its 43rd and 44th editions.
Furthermore, the BBVA Foundation supports monthly Oncology Seminars by renowned invited speakers, who share their research insights, enabling Barcelona’s scientific community to stay abreast of the latest discoveries, tools, and techniques in their respective fields.
The BBVA Foundation has also been instrumental in advancing IRB Barcelona’s cancer and metastasis research, mainly by supporting the following initiatives:
Research projects:
Mechanisms of metastasis, dormancy and latency of breast cancer. Understanding how growth factors, signaling pathways, and gene expression programs control breast cancer metastasis with the ultimate goal of identifying potential new therapeutic strategies.
Principal investigator: Dr. Roger Gomis, head of the Growth Control and Cancer Metastasis laboratory.
Unravelling the mechanisms of TGF-β signalling cascades at the molecular level. Study of the correlations between TGF-β signalling and Smad-regulated gene expression to reveal key elements susceptible to targeting with new therapeutic and diagnostic tools.
Principal investigators: Dr. Maria J. Macías, head of the Structural Characterization of Macromolecular Assemblies laboratory, and Dr. Joan Massagué (Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, USA).
How dietary fats influence cancer metastasis. Uncovering the fundamental mechanisms of cancer metastasis, focusing on identifying metastatic cells, understanding their dependence on fat metabolism, and exploring how they induce cancer-associated cachexia, with the aim of paving the way for novel anti-metastatic therapies.
Principal investigator: Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah, head of the Stem Cells and Cancer laboratory.
IRB Barcelona - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Mobility Programme:
The programme seeks to consolidate efforts and develop best practices and tools for the computational analysis of next-generation sequencing data. It has provided for exchange visits from members of both institutions, allowing the development of joint projects and training in innovative techniques and procedures.
Principal investigator: Dr. Camille Stephan-Otto Attolini, head of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core Facility
BBVA Foundation Oncology Research Chair
Awarded to Dr. Ángel R. Nebreda in 2010, the Chair allowed the establishment of the Signaling and Cell Cycle laboratory, which focuses on the study of how external signals are interpreted by cells to modulate their proliferation, differentiation, and survival in the tumour context.