The 2009 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Biomedicine category goes to Prof. Robert J. Lefkowitz (New York, 1943) for identifying the receptors targeted by around half of today’s prescription drugs. His research has enabled the development of new treatments for neurological and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
The BBVA Foundation grants one of its Biomedicine Chairs to research on retinal diseases, which number among the main causes of vision loss in developed countries.
The BBVA Foundation has concluded a collaboration agreement with the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) enabling the incorporation of 60 researchers to a new Cancer Cell Biology Program looking at tumor growth in organs and tissues.
The BBVA Foundation has concluded an agreement to promote the cancer research program of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine – MetLab, in Barcelona. The program headed by the center’s adjunct director, Joan Massagué (also chairman of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York), has identified the genetic activity governing metastasis in certain types of tumors.
The BBVA Foundation Chairs in Biomedicine seek to promote research and advanced training by funding the temporary attachment (between six and twelve months) of leading foreign researchers to Spanish groups of excellence working at universities and research centers. This scheme provides a tailored and flexible mechanism to extend international experience and knowledge transfer.
Through 1,500 questions and answers, the Libro de la salud del Hospital Clínic de Barcelona y la Fundación BBVA presents the latest medical knowledge in plain, easy-to-understand terms. It covers a selection of diseases of major public health impact as well as information on the workings of the Spanish healthcare system. The book draws on contributions from more than 120 healthcare professionals with an extensive clinical background. A full version is available online.
This publication examines the problems of today’s model of health system financing and the possibilities for a future reform, starting from a comparison with the healthcare systems of other OECD countries.
The Barcelona BioMed Conferences, organized by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) Barcelona and the BBVA Foundation, provide a platform for leading international specialists to meet and discuss the latest breakthroughs in biomedical sciences. The conferences aim to provide a highly focused think-tank atmosphere for a select group of participants. About twenty speakers, chosen from among the top international researchers in their field, are joined by a limited number of participants, selected on the basis of their scientific experience.
Next conference: Intrinsically Disordered Proteins in Biomedicine (4-6 October 2010)
