Six UPF researchers have been distinguished within the ICREA Acadèmia 2018 announcement, a programme to intensify research aimed at the teaching and research staff of public universities in Catalonia. This distinction (UPF currently has a total of 22 researchers who receive this aid) is endowed with 40,000 euros annually for a period of five years.

The six awarded researchers are Joan Benach and Ignacio Lago (Department of Political and Social Sciences), Antoni Ivorra and Núria Sebastián  (Department of Information and Communication Technologies), Francesc Posas  (Department of Experimental and Health Sciences), and Louise McNally (Department of Translation and Language Sciences).

UPF currently has a total of 22 researchers who enjoy an ICREA Acadèmia grant

Joan Benach, Antoni Ivorra and Ignacio Lago have obtained the ICREA Acadèmia distinction for the first time, while Francesc Posas, Núria Sebastián and Louise McNally have been granted it for the third time. All three had been awarded in the 2008 and 2013 editions, in successive five-year periods.

In the ICREA Acadèmia 2018 announcement by the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, a total of 45 researchers of the Catalan university system belonging to different areas of knowledge have been selected, chosen from among 324 applicants. They are currently teaching and are in a fully active, expanding phase of their research.

First ICREA Acadèmia grant for Joan Benach, Antoni Ivorra and Ignacio Lago

 Joan Benach de Rovira, full professor of the Department of Political and Social Sciences and director of the Research Group on Health Inequalities -Employment Conditions Network (GREDS-EMCONET), conducts his work in the field of the social determinants of health inequalities. He analyses employment conditions and job insecurity, health policies, and the crossovers between health and social class, geography, migration and gender.

 Antoni Ivorra Cano, A senior Serra Húnter professor of the DTIC and director of the Research Group in Biomedical Electronics (BERG), he focuses his analysis on bioelectrical phenomena, particularly exploring their use for the application of new methods and devices for biomedical applications. His main areas of research are electroporation, electrical bioimpedance for diagnosis, and injectable electronics for neuroprosthesis.

 Ignacio Lago Peñas, full professor of the Department of Political and Social Sciences and a member of the Institutions and Political Actors Research Group, focuses his research programme on the political consequences of electoral laws, political behaviour, problems of the political economy, the political parties (including aspects such as the nationalization of electoral policy and the impact of decentralization on party organization) and the convergence of sport and society.

Louise McNally, Francesc Posas i Núria Sebastián, seleccionats per tercera vegada

 Louise Elisabeth McNally Seifert, full professor of the Department of Translation and Language Sciences and member of the Formal Linguistics Research Group (GLIF), bases her research on how human language differs crucially from other semiotic systems and on the interpretation of natural language, namely, explaining how we associate meanings not only with words but especially with phrases and sentences.

 Francesc Posas Garriga, full professor with the DCEXS, analyses how cells detect and respond to environmental changes and focuses above all on the characterization of stress signal transduction pathways. The appropriate adaptation to stress involves the modulation of various basic aspects of cell biology, including cell cycle and gene expression.

 Núria Sebastián Gallés is a full professor of Basic Psychology at the DTIC and director of the Research Group on Speech Acquisition and Perception (SAP) at the Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC). There, she studies the mechanisms of language processing and the emergence of social knowledge, especially in bilingual populations and in babies, her methodology being based on behavioural responses, physiological responses and the production of brain images.

A programme to project research internationally

ICREA Acadèmia was launched in 2008 to encourage and reward research excellence of PhD teaching and research staff with permanent links to the public universities of Catalonia. Being selected allows the researchers greater dedication to their research, a reduction in their teaching load and significant financial aid.

The programme, which increases the impact and the international projection of the research carried out in Catalonia, prioritizes detecting and encouraging teachers with the greatest potential for scientific growth, and especially values how it can benefit the candidates’ research careers.