The Board of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), a research centre attached to UPF and with UPF participation as well as strategic partnership with the CEI UPF - Icària project, has just appointed scientist Luis Serrano as its new director for the next five years replacing his predecessor Miguel Beato, who directed the institution for the last ten years, the maximum period permissible.

With a renowned track record in science internationally, Serrano is approaching his new role as director with the challenge of becoming a world leader, obtaining private funding and translating knowledge into improved health and economic wealth.

Luis Serrano (1959), doctor in Biochemistry by the Autonomous University of Madrid, has been a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), in Heidelberg (Germany) and head of the Structural and Computational Biology programme in parallel with the EMBL and the CNIO.

He is currently an ICREA research professor and director of the Systems Biology programme at the CRG.

Since 2007, Serrano has acted as sub-director of the CRG and has proved that professionally he possesses scientific abilities, leadership capacity and managerial talent, all of which qualities are of great value in today's economic climate.

Continuity and new challenges for the future

As new director, Serrano will give continuity to the project, incorporating novel ideas and new challenges for the centre. Hence, the new director aims to continue along the same lines and ensure that the CRG maintains its status as a point of reference in biomedical research worldwide.

He stated "among my aims as director, I hope that the CRG will become a European centre of reference in human genome analysis. In order to achieve this, I will have to be able to attract private funding through patronage and partnerships with enterprise, as well as consolidate and streamline the institute".

Resources and further information:

Press kit regarding the appointment by the Centre for Genomic Regulation.