Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, visits ISGlobal

The Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, visited the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) on Wednesday 24 July to celebrate the renewal of the institution's accreditation as a 'Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence'.

During the visit, Morant highlighted the fact that ISGlobal had received this prestigious distinction from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the second consecutive time. The award recognises centres that stand out for their scientific impact and international leadership.

For their part, ISGlobal's Director General, Quique Bassat, and the Institute's former Director of Global Development, Leire Pajín, stressed that ISGlobal is the only centre of epidemiology and global public health to be recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence. This is an important boost for this area of research, both in Spain and internationally'.

Mark Nieuwenhuijsen and Giulia Pollarolo, Scientific Director and Coordinator, respectively, of the Severo Ochoa Programme at ISGlobal, then reviewed the achievements of the first Severo Ochoa programme, awarded in 2019, and presented the main objectives of this second phase. "The new Severo Ochoa Programme aims to better understand the interaction between infectious diseases, chronic non-communicable diseases and environmental factors, as well as their combined and individual effects," they stressed.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the ISGlobal Board of Trustees, including Josep M. Campistol, Director General of the Hospital Clínic, Ignasi López, Director of Relations with Research and Health Institutions of the 'la Caixa' Foundation, and Maria Eugènia Gay, Second Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council.

After the meeting, Minister Morant visited the ISGlobal laboratory, where she was briefed by ISGlobal researchers on the Institute's research in the field of malaria and antimicrobial resistance.