Impact
Knowledge and technology transfer
Translating research into society: innovation, transference, and public engagement.
Innovation and
technology transfer
At MELIS-UPF, we focus on translating laboratory insights into practical medical and industrial applications. In 2025, our technology transfer initiatives made steady progress. For instance, MELIS researchers secured six competitive grants specifically for technology transfer actions, amounting to nearly €3 million, from prestigious funding programs including EIC Transition, ERC Proof of Concept, and CaixaImpulse.
We are happy to be part of a growing innovation ecosystem. To date, MELIS has fostered a dynamic portfolio of research-driven spin-offs, including Integra Therapeutics, NoctuRNA Therapeutics, KOA Biotech SL, Disrupt Therapeutics, MedBioInformatics SL, BIOM- Bioinspired Materials, and Quantitative Genomic Medicine Laboratories, SL (qGenomics). In 2025, MELIS professor Marc Güell co-founded Thesian Bio (https://www.thesianbio.com/), a spin-off company aimed at harnessing the immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Knowledge transfer
MELIS-UPF Biomedical Research Symposium 2025
Held at the PRBB Auditorium, this yearly institutional event served as a platform for local and international scientific exchange, showcasing the latest breakthroughs of the department to the broader academic community and healthcare stakeholders. It also included flash talks and a poster session led by MELIS junior researchers.
Artist in Residence Program
In May 2025, MELIS introduced an innovative cross-disciplinary initiative incorporating an Artist in Residence to present creative insights at departmental meetings, offering a modern avenue for cultural and scientific fusion.
In collaboration with Fundació Vila Casas, MELIS-UPF hosted the artist Gemma París for a one-year residency project titled «Life together, an interdisciplinary research study between art and cell biology». By translating high-resolution microscopic imagery into fine-art drawings, this initiative explored the intersection of visual arts and cell biology, creating new avenues for public aesthetic engagement with microscopic science.
Bioconductor Carpentry Workshops
The European Bioconductor Conference (EuroBioC2025) took place on September 17-19. MELIS professor Robert Castelo participated in the organizing committee.
Reflecting its commitment to open science and training, MELIS-UPF organized and awarded grants for two specialized Bioconductor Carpentry Workshops. Conducted in partnership with the global non-profit organization Bioconductor, these courses provided critical training in bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis, empowering early-career researchers and international participants with advanced computational skills.
Outreach activities
«La Facultat al Barri»
(The faculty in the neighborhood)
Throughout the academic year, professors from the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences opened their classrooms, allowing citizens from the Barceloneta neighborhood and the wider city to attend master classes. MELIS professor David Comas gave two lectures entitled “The evolution of the human life cycle: stages of the life cycle” and “Research into the genomic diversity of human populations”.
Humanistic Dialogues
Every year, the UPF Department of Humanities organizes the Humanistic Dialogues, a forum for both the university community and society at large, promoting dissemination and debate centered on the humanistic field.
This year, MELIS professor Jordi Garcia Ojalvo, and Mireia Artigot i Golobardes, principal investigator in the UPF Law department, talked about decision making from cells to humans, discussing the following questions: What are the minimum requirements for making decisions? Can a cell make decisions? How does a stem cell become a neuron? Do cells have collective behaviors like human societies?
Open day of the PRBB
The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) opened its doors to the public on Saturday, October 4. Over a full morning of open-door activities, MELIS volunteers hosted guided lab tours, scientific talks, and hands-on workshops, fostering a direct dialogue with citizens and promoting scientific literacy. Approximately 1,000 people attended the Open Day, which was a success with the help of 225 volunteers.
PRBB Podcasts
The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park has produced a series of scientific podcasts to explain the research being carried out at its centers. In 2025, MELIS professor Alfonso Martinez Arias participated in the episode «Unravelling the living cell: what are we missing?» of the «Science With a View» podcast.
«Festa de la Ciència»
In June, the Science, Communication, and Society Studies Centre of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (CCS-UPF), participated in the 18th «Festa de la Ciència» (Barcelona Science Festival), an event organized by the Barcelona City Council.
The activity, entitled «Create a superhero story: discover macrophages!», was designed for children aged 8 to 12 years. The objective was for participants to learn about macrophages in a fun and creative way, while also experiencing collaborative content creation.
PRBB Award
Every year, the PRBB Award is granted to the best research work in health and life sciences by high school students from all over Catalonia. This initiative is a collaboration between the PRBB and the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences of the UPF. In 2025, MELIS professor Andrés Ozaita participated as a jury member in the different selection phases.
«What is Science?» School Outreach Series
To combat early childhood gender stereotypes, 45 female researchers from PRBB centers, including MELIS, volunteered to visit over 30 preschool and primary schools across the Barcelona metropolitan area. Through interactive, hands-on experiments (e.g., microbial hand-cultures and invisible ink readings), these female role models inspired the next generation of researchers by showing children not just how science is done, but also, who does it.
