IRB welcomes a scientific leader in stem cells and cancer

“Over the last decade Barcelona has become a world reference in basic and clinical research,” says Salvador Aznar Benitah (Montreal, Canada, 1975). This September, the 38-year-old Spanish and Canadian scientist, together with his team comprising 8 members, are putting the final touches on the “Stem Cells and Cancer” Lab, a facility occupying 168 m2 at the IRB.

After weighing up offers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research of the University of Cambridge, the University of Toronto and the University of Stanford in the US, Salvador Aznar Benitah has opted to continue his research on stem cells and cancer in Barcelona and has brought his lab from the Centre de Regulació Genòmica to IRB Barcelona. His group is the fifth to join the Oncology programme, which specifically addresses cancer and metastasis and is one of the five research programmes at IRB Barcelona. Hosting 23 research groups with approximately 450 members of staff, the institute is one of the largest basic research centres in Spain.

“The current position of science in our country is rather complicated but there are centres that we should be proud of and that we should continue to support,” explains Aznar Benitah. “Competitive groups, an international environment, evaluations that take place every 5 years, a flexible administrative organisation and cutting-edge scientific platforms make IRB Barcelona a highly attractive place in which to undertake this new stage of my career.”

Skin and mouth cancer

Aznar Benitah’s lab will focus on the stem cells of stratified tissues such as the skin and oral mucosa. These cells are responsible for maintaining these tissues and their dysfunction can lead to the development of tumours. Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin and mouth are the second and fifth most common types of cancer in industrialized countries. “More and more people are getting mouth cancer, a condition that has poor prognosis and significantly reduces quality of life. Now more than ever it is necessary to study why this cancer develops and how to tackle it,” emphasizes the researcher.

The group will address several aspects of the behaviour of stem cells in both healthy tissue and in disease. Basic studies on the biology of this type of cell will help the researchers understand why stem cells stop working properly in ageing tissues and why they deviate from strict behavioural rules, giving rise to tumours.

In the last six years Aznar Benitah has presented his research results in more than 50 conferences in international congresses. In this same period, his lab has published 21 articles, 13 of which Aznar Benitah appears as first author, in journals of high impact such as “Nature” and “Cell Stem Cell”.

Holder of a degree in Biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he did his PhD at the “Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas” of the “Universidad Autónoma de Madrid”. After 4 years of postdoctoral training at the London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK, in 2006 he joined Barcelona’s “Centre de Regulació Genòmica”.

He holds an ICREA professorship from the “Generalitat de Catalunya” and projects supported by the European Research Council (ERC), namely an ERC Starting Grant, ("Consolidators" panel 2012-2017), as well as two projects funded by the UK’s Worldwide Cancer Research (formarlly AICR). The Beug Foundation (Germany), has recently awarded him the 2013 Metastasis Prize, which brings with it 12,000 euros for the development of a scientific project on the metastasis of skin cancer.