With this sentence the general director of IDIBELL, Emilià Pola, has summarized the general situation of the institution: our scientific production has increased, and also our impact, and we have more competitive projects. On the other side of the scales, the economic crisis means that there is less support and less amount, and it complicates the situation of the scientific partners. With this sentence the general director of IDIBELL, Emilià Pola, has summarized the general situation of the institution: our scientific production has increased, and also our impact, and we have more competitive projects. On the other side of the scales, the economic crisis means that there is less support and less amount, and it complicates the situation of the scientific partners.

Pola took stock of the activity made during 2011 and explained the budget for this year at a general meeting held on January 25 at the Duran i Reynals Hospital Conference Hall, which also involved representatives of the institution’s partners: the managing director of the Bellvitge University Hospital, Xavier Corbella; the general director of the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Candela Calle, and the Vice-chancellor’s delegate in the Bellvitge Campus of the University of Barcelona, Miquel Viñas.

“The year 2011 has been a record year for attracting competitive resources,” said Pola. During 2011 the Institute has been awarded with 15 international and 79 national projects, plus 13 human resources grants. Pola has also stressed the implementation of the experimental cardiology laboratory and the start of construction of the laboratories of cancer and metabolism and virology which will come into operation during 2012.

With regard to numbers, the general director of IDIBELL presented the budgets for 2012. Emilià Pola explained that this budget should be looked at from the perspective of the current economic situation in which “IDIBELL’s partners are going through very difficult times.” “We anticipate a drop in revenue respect to 2011 and to avoid risks when making the year’s balance we have been forced to implement certain corrective measures.” Then Pola explained that “we have tried to make that these measures will not affect the research.”

These measures include reducing the lunch subvention for the institute’s workers, the reduction of aids to research groups (post-residence grants and the support to young researchers), the termination of several advisory services and the decrease to structural current expenditure.

With respect to the projection of IDIBELL, Emilià Pola has highlighted some of the awards won by researchers at the institute this year as the European Association of Cancer Research received by Manel Esteller or the Valdés-Salas Foundation award given to Joan Gil. In addition to the various congresses and conferences organized by the centre during 2011.

The general director of IDIBELL is confident that the next year the institution will grow its international projection, it will improve and foster relationships with industry “to be able to translate research into medical solutions” and will implement more efficient circuits and procedures in the management and administration departments for adapting their services to the growth that the centre has experienced in recent years.