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ICREA Professor Xavier Trepat / Image: IBEC.
 15.04.2024

Xavier Trepat wins the 2024 Biomedical Research Award from the Lilly Foundation

The jury of the Lilly Foundation Biomedical Research Awards 2024 has honored Xavier Trepat -ICREA Professor at IBEC, based in the Barcelona Science Park- in the category of Preclinical Research for his pioneering work in applying novel techniques and concepts of mechanobiology and biophysics to the field of biomedicine. These awards, now in their 22nd edition, recognize scientific careers of excellence that significantly contribute to the development of health sciences in Spain.

The research developed by Xavier Trepat, principal investigator of IBEC’s Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group, aims to understand how cells and tissues grow, invade, move, and regenerate in various physiological and pathophysiological processes. To achieve this, he has developed and patented several technologies that measure cellular mechanical properties at the micro- and nano-scale. The jury commends the pioneering and original technologies led by Trepat’s group, which have been adopted in numerous laboratories worldwide and have represented a paradigm shift in the field of mechanobiology.

“The movement of cancer cells during metastasis is governed by physical forces. We need to understand the physics of cells to fight cancer”, says Trepat.

Mariano Barbacid, president of the jury comprising the Scientific Council of the Lilly Foundation, along with the winners of the previous edition, María Buti Ferret and Nuria López-Bigas, and two renowned Spanish researchers in the scientific field, evaluated a total of 50 nominations in this edition. In addition to Prof. Xavier Trepat, the other winner in the clinical research category was Prof. Xavier Montalban, head of the Neurology Department at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and Professor of Neurology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and UVic-UCC.

The award ceremony will take place on Monday, June 17, where the winners will receive their awards and have the opportunity to participate in a colloquium on their research lines and their applications.

» Link to the news: IBEC website [+]