Dra. M Carolina Florian, group leader at IDIBELL, has been appointed as an ICREA Research Professor. ICREA, the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, offers permanent, tenured positions to the most talented and extraordinary scientists and academics to come and work in Catalonia. Over the years these positions have become a synonym for global academic excellence.
M. Carolina obtained her Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and her Ph.D. in Endocrinology from the University of Milan, Italy. She did her postdoctoral training in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Biology at the University of Ulm, Germany. In 2020 she moved to the Program of Regenerative Medicine at the Bellvitge Institute of Biomedical Research, Barcelona, Spain, where she is currently leading the Stem Cell Aging research group.
Her research in the past years strongly challenged the concept that aging is an irreversible process. Her team investigates the role of epigenetics and the stem cell microenvironment in driving the aging of somatic stem cells. The scope is to define possibilities to target aging and functionally rejuvenate stem cells and tissues and possibly extend health span and lifespan. To pursue these pioneering research goals, Florian’s team combines several cutting-edge technologies, bridging knowledge from interdisciplinary scientific fields.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).