James Watson, co-discover of the DNA structure and Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962, visited the laboratory premises of the Prous Institute for Biomedical Research based at the Barcelona Science Park to get a closer look at the research activity conducted by the young researchers and to study possible ways of scientific collaboration. Due to his interest in cancer research, Dr Watson also visited the Metlab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), also based at the Barcelona Science Park, and devoted to the study of the genes involved in metastasis under the leadership of Doctors Roger Gomis, Mónica Morales and Xavier García De Albeniz.

James Watson, in collaboration with Francis Crick, described back in 1953 the double helix model of a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), a milestone in modern biology that permitted to understand and to interpret the biomolecular basis of genetics. Watson and Crick both won the Nobel Prize in Medicine together with Maurice Wilkins in 1962.

James Watson’s visit is part of a series of meetings held with top researchers and leading scientific institutions that the Prous Institute is conducting. These contacts include representatives from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that use the technology developed by Prous to predict the toxicological effects caused by chemical entities and the Max Planck Institute.

According to J.R. Prous, president and director general of the Prous Institute for Biomedical Research: “We are very excited about Dr Watson’s visit, as this will allows us to show him our research lines in the field of degenerative diseases, and to have a first hand opinion from possibly the most relevant person in the history of modern biology and to share his opinion with other research centres located at the Barcelona Science Park.”