Officially announced yesterday, Joaquín Arribas, Director of Preclinical Research at VHIO, Principal Investigator of VHIO´s Growth Factors Group, and ICREA Professor, has been appointed as Scientific Director of Oncology for the national Virtual Center of Biomedical Research (CIBER – Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red).
Set within the context of this announcement, CIBER also revealed the launch of a trio of new programs to join this unique online hub of scientific excellence at national level; CIBERONC (CIBER-oncology) to be championed by Joaquín; CIBERCV (CIBER-Cardiovascular) to be directed by Francisco Fernández-Avilés, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid and Head of the Cardiology Service at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid; CIBERFES (CIBER-Fragility and Healthy Ageing), to be led by Leocadio Rodríguez, Head of the Geriatric Care Service at the Getafe University Hospital.
While CIBERONC will initially incorporate 50 research groups focused on research lines spanning gastrointestinal, breast, lung, hematologic, and rare cancers as well as the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression, CIBERVC will consist of 40 groups centered on and around six research areas dedicated to cardiovascular disease, and CIBERFES, made up of 20 different research teams, will tackle four main lines aimed at advancing research into ageing and wellbeing.
“The launch of CIBERONC represents a tremendous opportunity at national level to harness oncological research of excellence and collectively work towards translating discovery at preclinical level into benefits for an increasing number of patients with cancer. Through the collective development of a variety projects we strive to secure the additional funding that will be critical in ultimately developing more effective and increasingly more precise novel anticancer therapies,” observes Joaquín Arribas.
Founded back in 2006, CIBER is a virtual research center of national excellence under the auspices of the Institute of Health Carlos III, ISCIII, with a faculty of 830 professionals and almost 4000 members belonging to a total of 339 research groups.
Aimed at spurring research of excellence in biomedicine and health at national level, in addition to the three newly incorporated fields, CIBER covers an expansive and established range of scientific areas including Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Diabetes and Metabolic Disease (CIBERDEM), Hepatic and Digestive Disease (CIBEREHD), Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Respiratory Disease (CIBERES), Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), as well as Mental Health (CIBERSAM).
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