Biocat brings together renowned nanotechnology and information technology experts from Southern Europe in Barcelona
The scientific seminars, which will be held from 4 to 6 October, will help “increase collaboration among Interbio regions and identify common needs,” explained Montserrat Vendrell, CEO of Biocat.
Biocat, with advisory services from the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and the UAB Research Park (PRUAB), is holding workshops on nanobiotechnology and information technology for biology and healthcare from 4 to 6 October at the Autonomous University of Barcelona Hotel Sehrs Campus.
This scientific event is part of the Interbio project (FEDER-UE), which aims to promote scientific exchange and collaboration among bioclusters in Southern Europe and drive technology transfer among companies in the area. In addition to Biocat, other Interbio participants include the Université Paul Sabatier (UPS) in Toulouse, the Foundation for Urban Innovation and the Knowledge Economy (FIVEC) in Valencia, the Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology (ITQB) in Lisbon and the Institut Européen Chimie et Biologie (IECB) in Bordeaux.
These workshops help “increase mutual knowledge and collaboration among the regions that make up Interbio, and identify some common needs (facilities, funding, etc.) in two fields, nanotechnology and information technology applied to healthcare, in which Catalonia is particularly strong", explained Montserrat Vendrell, CEO of Biocat. “Proof of the strength of nanomedicine in our area is the collaboration network of organizations and companies that Biocat is driving, which will be presented shortly”, added Vendrell.
Among the different stakeholders that drive these workshops, “Biocat is a key stakeholder in the Interbio network. Their scientific contribution is important thanks to the level of excellence demonstrated by the Catalan research community. Biocat also provides the network with a long history of professional experience in leading and dynamizing interactive clusters”, explained Alain-M. Bourdet, the representative from Toulouse.
The topics to be covered will be: in the area of nanobiotechnology, participants will delve deeper into the development of nano-objects to dispense drugs and obtain cell-level images, nanomaterials for biology and implants, and nano-tools and sensors for healthcare and nanotoxicology. In the field of information technology (IT) for biology and healthcare, the workshops will focus on information technology and systems biology, information technology applied to genomics and proteomics, IT for healthcare vigilance and IT for improving diagnosis and new therapies.
Each of these workshops is made up of a plenary session and four breakout sessions. Two representatives from each Interbio region will participate in each session through an interactive format of short presentations, lasting no more than ten minutes each. After the speakers, there will be a session to discuss and exchange opinions, as well as identifying possible areas for collaboration and drawing conclusions to be presented in the final plenary session.
This project also aims to initiate collaboration projects (among partners and teams from different disciplines) and reach “a better knowledge of the scientific and organizational context of biotechnology in Catalonia and new motivation to develop collaboration thanks to the unique design of these interactive workshops”, affirmed Bourdet.
The agenda also includes networking sessions and a visit to the Alba-CELLS Synchrotron.
- Related news (8/9/2010)
- Press release in Spanish (1/10/2010)
