Anna Bigas and her research group on stem cells and cancer arrived at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) almost as soon as the Park was inaugurated, about 15 years ago.
In this episode of the PRBB podcast in Catalan, ‘La mare de la ciència‘, the researcher takes us into the world of stem cells, explaining the different types that exist – such as embryonic stem cells (totipotent), or adult, tissue-specific stem cells (pluripotent).
The group leader talks about how her lab studies how blood stem cells are formed during the embryonic stage, and how these cells are related to leukaemia. Indeed, within tumours there are cells that ‘copy’ the mechanisms of stem cells, and those are the most resistant to current treatments. Hence the importance of understanding how they work, in order to attack them.
But in addition to leading her laboratory at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Anna Bigas does much more. She is vice-director of Preclinical Research at the Josep Carreras Institute, Scientific Director of CIBER for oncology in Spain and, in Europe, she is part of the scientific group that advises the European Union’s Cancer Mission, which aims to save 3 million lives by 2030. She is also a reviewer for journals and funding agencies in various European countries, as well as for the European Research Council itself. Not for nothing has she been named one of the top 100 women leaders in Spain in 2021.
In this interview, Anna Bigas brings us closer to her research and to this more unknown side of the academic world. Don’t miss it!
