The Severo Ochoa Programme recognizes IRB Barcelona as one of the eight top research centres in Spain

Joan Guinovart, director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), a centre recognized by an international panel of judges for the Severo Ochoa Excellence Programme, has received this award in an official presentation in Madrid chaired by the Minister of Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia. Guinovart expressed his gratitude for this award and said “the Severo Ochoa Distinction allows us to take a qualitative step forward. It is highly rewarding to see that if you get good results and perform good work public institutions place you among the best, motivating you to improve even more”. The objective of the programme is to identify and promote research centres and units in Spain that stand out as international references in their specialized fields.

The award is for four years and carries with it one million euros each year for each of the eight winning centres. These centres will also benefit from preferential access to scientific facilities, flexible recruitment options for researchers and the capacity to attract philanthropic funding.

The evaluation, performed by three selection committees comprising international researchers and headed by three Nobel prize winners, has considered the research programmes and human resources of the centres as well as the plans put forward for follow-up and evaluation of the results obtained.

The 8 centers distinguished are:

Life Sciences and Medicine:

• Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas Carlos III (CNIO)
• Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC)
• IRB Barcelona

Physical Sciences and Engineering:

• Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS)
• Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (ICMAT)
• Instituto de Ciencias Fotónicas (ICFO)
• Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)

Social Sciences and Humanities:

• Barcelona Graduate School of Economics

For more information:

Severo Ochoa Programme, MICINN

Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) Quick Facts

Open letter from the Directors of the Severo Ochoa Research Centers of Excellence to the incoming Spanish government (PDF - Spanish)