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- Immersive Science: Discover Ageing from Within is an initiative designed to make ageing research accessible and engaging for senior communities.
- This activity combines interactive talks by IRB Barcelona researchers with a virtual reality laboratory tour.
In December 2025, IRB Barcelona launched the activity "Immersive Science: Discover Ageing from Within" in collaboration with the association Més que Ciència and supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).
Ageing is an important area of research at IRB Barcelona, with significant advances being made. However, older people are often left out of science outreach activities, despite being one of the groups most directly affected by progress in this field.
"Older adults are a fantastic audience, with many interests and a strong desire to learn new things. We are delighted to bring science to places it does not often reach," says Mariona Esquerda, Science Education and Outreach Officer at IRB Barcelona.
Scientific curiosity has no age
During each session, IRB Barcelona scientists specializing in ageing research visit local organizations and groups serving senior citizens to share insights into their work. Attendees can ask questions and learn how biomedical research contributes to our understanding of ageing.
The talks are paired with an immersive virtual reality experience. Wearing VR headsets, participants can tour IRB Barcelona’s research facilities, explore cutting-edge technologies, and get a firsthand look at the daily work of our scientists.
Participating organizations
The project has already reached a diverse group of local communities, including:
- Grup Senior del CitiLab
- Associació Gent del Masnou
- Aula Oberta de la Bordeta
- Canyelles Aprèn
- Aula d'Extensió Universitària de Badalona
- Centre de Formació per a Persones Adultes Les Corts
- CFA Montcada i Reixac
- Associació Martinet Solidari
Participating researchers
- Dr. Montserrat Romero, Postdoctoral Fellow (Complex Metabolic Diseases and Mitochondria)
- Dr. Daniel Fernandez, Postdoctoral Fellow (Quantitative Stem Cell Dynamics)
- Dr. Erika López, Lab Coordinator (Biomedical Genomics)
Bring this experience to your community
If you represent a community centre, association, library, or local group working with senior citizens and would like to learn more about hosting this activity, please contact the IRB Barcelona outreach team at irb_outreach@irbbarcelona.org.
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
