On November 27 and 28, the first edition of the RegenBell symposium on stem cells and regenerative medicine took place, organized by IDIBELL’s Regenerative Medicine Program (RegenBell). This is the first time that RegenBell organizes an international symposium, which has had the main objective of establishing a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas between professionals with an interest in regenerative medicine.
The event was held at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, in Barcelona, and was attended by more than 165 people. During the entire Monday and on Tuesday morning, 10 invited lectures, 15 selected short talks, and 33 posters were presented, all around the biology and development of stem cells and the clinical applications of regenerative medicine. These exhibitions have been divided into 5 thematic sessions, each moderated by a RegenBell research group leader. In total, the event counted on 7 internal and 14 external speakers, 7 of them international, including Professor Heiko Lickert, director of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research in Munich, Professor Kim Bak Jensen, director of the Novo Nordisk Center for Stem Cell Medicine in Copenhagen and Dr. Eirini Trompouki, researcher at the Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging in Nice.
The first day, the monographic round table “The translation of regenerative medicine and good manufacturing practices (GMP)” was held, moderated by Dr Anna Veiga, head of the research group on pluripotential stem cell therapy at IDIBELL and PCMR-C and director of the Barcelona Stem Cell Bank. This table provided three perspectives on the subject: the scientific one, by Sergi Querol, director of the Barcelona Cord Blood Bank of the Blood and Tissue Bank, the clinical point of view by Jordi Monés, director of the Macula Institute and founder of the Barcelona Macula Foundation, and the regulatory perspective, with Sara Varea, senior specialist in ATMPs in the Hospital Clínic.
The three members of the organizing committee, Jordi Guiu, Mireya Plass and Anuska Linares, agree that this conference has been a success and point out the exceptional scientific and communicative quality of the presentations. In addition, they express their gratitude to Cultek, DD Biolab and Corning for their collaboration.
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).