Recently, the management teams of some of the centres of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) have undergone significant changes. In addition, some senior residents have retired, leaving behind an important legacy. In a world like research, where change is essential to ensure excellence, recent additions open up new opportunities for the advancement of science. In this el·lipse article we review the latest staff changes and take the opportunity to say goodbye to our colleagues who are starting a new stage in their lives.
Changes in the board of directors
The latest addition to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL Barcelona) has been the new head of administration, Laura Marin Pedrera. Laura joined in early May from the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), a global research programme to fund research on antimicrobial resistance. Having worked in different European institutions, the new EMBL Barcelona administrator has several years of experience building strategic partnerships, managing research and innovation projects and facilitating numerous science policy forums. She replaces Amaranta Amador Bernal, who was general administrator of EMBL Barcelona from its inception in 2017 until October 2023, when she left to become Head of Legal Services and International Relations at EuroBioImaging.
The Department of Medicine and Life Sciences of the Pompeu Fabra University (MELIS-UPF) has also said goodbye to Fina Lorente, who for 25 years has been the director of the Campus Mar of the UPF. A task that has allowed her to see how the UPF welcomed Biomedicine and other Life Sciences disciplines into its educational offer, which, until a quarter of a century ago, was focused only on the Social Sciences. Now, Fina has left to direct the Ciutadella Campus and it is Esther De la Varga who, since the beginning of July, has taken over the direction of the Campus Mar. Until then, Esther had been head of the Postgraduate and Doctoral Office at the UPF, with a career spanning more than 25 years at the university.
The Hospital del Mar also has a new manager, Jaume Raventós, who has accumulated experience as Managing Director of the hospitals Sant Bernabé in Berga, Josep Trueta in Girona, Vall d’Hebron and the Hospital Consortium of Catalonia. In recent years he has been, among others, Director of eHealth at Telefónica Solutions and Territorial Director of Quirónsalud in Catalonia, as well as having a productive teaching career in institutions such as the UPF, the UAB and the UB. Jaume replaces Olga Pané Mena, who has retired after dedicating the last 13 years of her career to this institution.
Andreu Fort has also retired. After 25 years as manager of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, he has given way to Vanesa Nogales. She is a familiar face at the centre, given that, until she took up her new post last September, she had been Deputy Director at the institute for three years. A task she began after coordinating the launch and consolidation of the Cancer area of the Biomedical research network centre (CIBER).
The PRBB Consortium has also recently said goodbye to its manager, Marga Sala. After almost 12 years in the administration of the Park, since the beginning of April she has begun a new stage as manager of the Joan Miró Foundation. Her departure has given way to Jordi Medrano, who comes from the management of the City Council of Reus and who has more than 20 years of experience in the field of management, both in the public sector – as Director of Services and Head of Legal Services in the Generalitat de Catalunya – and in the private sector – as Managing Director at MediaPro.
Retirements
In recent months, several people who have been linked to the Park for many years have also retired, leaving their personal mark.
Elisabeth Cardis has left the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) where she has been studying the effects of radiation on health since 2008, earning her the ‘Chernobyl, 30 years’ medal. She now has the role of professor emeritus. Rosa Cervelló has also retired this year. She started at what is now the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and for 18 years has been responsible for compiling all the publications of the PRBB and its centres as well as, most recently, supporting the ICT department of the Park.
Best of luck to all of you in your new work and life adventures!
