Instituto de Bioingenería de Cataluña_IBEC

IBEC:
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) from CERCA is an interdisciplinary research centre based in Barcelona. Dedicated to convergence research of excellence in the frontiers of engineering, basic sciences and life sciences, IBEC’s objective is to generate new knowledge through the combination of areas such as nanomedicine, biophysics, biotechnology, tissue engineering and the applications of information communication technologies (ICTs) to improve health, quality of life and generate wealth. IBEC was created in 2005 by the Department of Innovation and Universities and Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya, by the University of Barcelona (UB) and by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). Currently, the Institute has 22 research groups and counts with more than 300 researchers (53% female), as well as staff from more than 20 different countries. IBEC was recognized as ‘Severo Ochoa’ grant (under Life Sciences panel) in 2014 and 2018 calls, which recognizes excellence at the highest international level in terms of research, training, human resources, outreach and technology transfer. IBEC also belongs to the “The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)”, a scientific initiative of seven of Catalonia’s research centres of excellence whose objective is to increase their levels of collaboration in order to build together a joint scientific project of excellence.

Services

Within the framework of the Biobanks and Biomodels Platform, IBEC offers the following services:

• Generation of 3D culture systems (including organoids, spheroids and tumoroids) from human pluripotent stem cells and patient samples for applications in disease modeling. Our 3D culture systems include: kidney organoids, retina organoids, liver organoids, liver organoids and bladder organoids.

• Genome editing in primary cells and 3D culture systems (including organoids, tumoroids and spheroids) for applications in disease modeling and drug discovery. Our genome editing tools include CRISPR/Cas9 and TALEN.

• Synthesis and characterization of (bio)materials for applications in tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting.

• Generation of tissue and organ constructs through biofabrication (including 3D bioprinting and the use of biological matrices).

• Design and microfabrication of organ-on-chip devices to direct the derivation of 3D cultures (including organoids, tumoroids and spheroids) for applications in disease modeling and drug screening.