The jury of the Award for Biomedical Research of the Banco Sabadell Foundation has recognized the biologist Núria López-Bigas as the winner of the 2016 prize, endowed with 50,000 euros. In this eleventh edition there were a total of 53 candidates with basic, clinical and epidemiological research profiles. The jury decided to award this prize to Núria López-Bigas, leader of UPF’s Biomedical Genomics research group for her contribution to the development of new bioinformatics methods to study cancer genomes. Her work opens up new avenues for the classification of cancer patients according to the mutations of their tumours and thus advance in the implementation of the most appropriate customized therapies.

"This award helps to give visibility to Biomedical Research and lets society meet the people who do research. It is a social recognition of the work we do and it is an honour for me that the research done in my group has been recognized", said López-Bigas when hearing the news. ”In Barcelona, high quality research is done in biomedicine with leading research groups in this field that are conducting high-impact projects for society. For me, it is a luxury to do research in this environment and appear next to the other scientists who have been honoured with this award".

The jury, chaired by Carlos López-Otín, professor at the University of Oviedo, met on Tuesday 17 May at the headquarters of Banc Sabadell in Barcelona to decide the winner of the prize. López-Otín said "The Banc Sabadell Foundation once again renews its commitment to research and scientific talent recognizing and supporting the most outstanding young people in the field of biomedicine".

Núria López-Bigas has a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Barcelona. Her research career started in the laboratory of Dr. Estivill in Barcelona. She has worked as a researcher at the European Institute of Bioinformatics in Cambridge (UK), at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, where she had the opportunity to participate in the pilot phase of the ENCODE project and other projects related with the computerized genome, and the Molecular Biology laboratory in Cambridge (UK). She is currently an ICREA research professor at Pompeu Fabra University, where she coordinates the research group in Biomedical Genomics that belongs to the Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB), mixed group at Pompeu Fabra University and Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), dedicated to the research into cancer genomes. Her group has been a pioneer in developing computational methods to identify genomic alterations involved in the mechanisms of cancer. In collaboration with major international consortia, her group has analysed the genome of thousands of tumours to generate the catalogue of the genes directly responsible for the most prevalent cancers in the population, contributing to a greater understanding of the biology of the disease, with the aim of developing new therapies targeting the characteristics of each tumor. The researcher has received several awards and scholarships, among which stands out the one by the European Research Council (ERC) issued last February, and she has almost a hundred publications to her name. López-Bigas participates in different international consortia, including the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Recently, her group described how proteins that bind to DNA interfere in cellular processes of DNA repair, resulting in accumulation of mutations in these regions of the genome.

Award ceremony

The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday 12 July at the headquarters of Banc Sabadell in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona) and will bring together leading representatives from the scientific community. The event will be attended by the winner, some previous winners, jury members, institutional representatives, members of the medical community, research centres, universities from throughout Spain, and investors interested in research projects and the media.

Banc Sabadell Foundation Award for Biomedical Research: 11 years

The aim of the Banc Sabadell Foundation Award for Biomedical Research is to reward the career of a young scientist who has developed their career in Spain and has important future prospects. Endowed with 50,000 euros, it is recognized in academic circles as one of the most important prizes awarded in Spain in as strategic a sector as the health sciences.

Previous winners:

• 2015: Dr. Xavier Trepat, for his study of biophysical mechanisms their and interaction between cells.
• 2014: Dr. Salvador Aznar, for his research into stem cells and cancer.
• 2013: Dr. Almudena Rodriguez Ramiro, for her contributions to molecular and cellular immunology.
• 2012: Dr. Ben Lehner, for his work on genetic mutations and their impact on diseases such as cancer.
• 2011: Dr. Óscar Fernández-Capetillo, for his contribution to elucidating the origin of cancer, in particular, the mechanisms of DNA damage.
• 2010: Dr. Eduard Batlle, for his work on colon cancer.
• 2009: Dr. Joan Seoane, for his work in the field of oncology.
• 2008: Dr. Oscar Marín Parra, for his work on the origin of mental illness in the formation of the human brain.
• 2007: Dr. Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, for his numerous works on the biological origins of schizophrenia.
• 2006: Dr. Manuel Serrano, for his contributions in the field of tumour suppression.

About the Banc Sabadell Foundation

The Banc Sabadell Foundation was established as a private foundation in 1994 with the aim of encouraging excellence and promoting cultural awareness.

It aims to promote outreach, training and research in educational, scientific and cultural fields, as well as encourage and support young talent. Throughout these years, the Foundation has helped promote activities in these areas and has also established itself as organizer of the prestigious Banc Sabadell Foundation award for Biomedical Research and Banc Sabadell Foundation award for Economic Research.