Skip to main content
< Back to news
President of the Government of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont with the three awardees: Joan Massagué, Manel Esteller and Josep Baselga (Photo: Generalitat)
 26.10.2016

Joan Massagué, Catalonia International Award

The co-founder of IRB Barcelona at PCB and president of its External Advisory Board received together with Manel Esteller and Josep Baselga, the Catalonia International Award presented by the Government of Catalonia for their revolutionary work in oncology, which has contributed to the advancement of biomedicine at the international level.

 

The distinction was formally awarded by the President of the Catalan Government on October 25th 2016 at a special ceremony held at the Palau de la Generalitat.

Joan Massagué (Barcelona, 1953) played a key role in the establishment and development of IRB Barcelona, and is currently the chair of its External Advisory Board, the body responsible for evaluating and guiding the scientific strategy of the centre. Massagué is director of the Sloan Kettering Institute in New York. He is renowned for his contributions to understanding the migration of tumour cells toward other organs, or metastasis.

The Premi Internacional Catalunya (Catalunya International Prize) is awarded annually by the Government of Catalonia to distinguish those whom have made a significant contribution to the development of cultural, scientific, or human values around the world. Past recipients of the award include Aung San Suu Kyi, Jimmy Carter, Karl Popper, Jacques Delors, Amartya Sen, Malala Yousafzai, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and, more recently, British Primatologist Jane Goodall.This year’s edition included a selection of 138 candidates from 57 countries put forward by 246 institutions and by the members of the jury.