Where and when did the first liver transplant in Spain take place? Did you know that the Metro did not reach Bellvitge Hospital until 1989? How many research professionals work at IDIBELL? With historical photographs, little known data and questions that arouse curiosity, the Bellvitge exhibition, in search of the future, will challenge Metro users to know the past, the present and, above all, the future of Bellvitge, one of the main poles of research, care and health-teaching in the country and southern Europe.
The exhibition, installed at the Hospital de Bellvitge Metro station (L1), will be presented tomorrow, December 12, and can be visited until December 31, 2025. It has been promoted by IDIBELL within the framework of the events of the centenaries of the city of L’Hospitalet and the Metro, and invites visitors to take a tour that extends from the creation of the neighbourhood to the consolidation of the Health Campus, interpreting, scientifically, the urban and social transformation of the area, and the evolution of a set of health, research and teaching institutions that face important challenges of the future.
Innovation and research: drivers of change in Bellvitge
Bellvitge, a la recerca del futur, highlights the transformative role of the Bellvitge Health Campus, an ecosystem where assistance, research and teaching converge, and which has been a driver of change for the neighbourhood, L’Hospitalet and the whole country. The story begins with the birth of the Bellvitge neighbourhood, built from 1964 in a previously agricultural space in the Llobregat Delta to accommodate part of the large volume of population arrived in Catalonia during the 1950–1970 period. The rapid expansion of the neighbourhood and the impetus of the neighbourhood movement forged a cohesive territory, with a strong sense of belonging, which would become the stage where large health facilities would be built.
Since the creation, in 1972, of the Bellvitge University Hospital, the territory has undergone an evolution marked by scientific impulse, the improvement of communications -with the arrival of the Metro in 1989- and the consolidation of key institutions such as the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL). The exhibition reviews outstanding episodes of this trajectory, from the first liver transplant in Spain to the advances that today place Bellvitge at the forefront of biomedical research.
This leadership is especially evident in the activity of IDIBELL, with more than 1,000 researchers dedicated to personalized medicine and advanced therapies, and responsible for milestones such as the demonstration of the relationship between papilloma virus and cervical cancer, the creation of a stem cell bank for regenerative therapies, or the identification of minority genetic diseases. The exhibition also offers a look to the future with the Innovation and Health Biocluster, a strategic project that will turn the area into one of the most important biomedical hubs in southern Europe, capable of attracting talent, generating new scientific projects, and creating up to 50,000 jobs.
The exhibition has a web version and has been led by IDIBELL with the support of the City Council of L’Hospitalet and TMB, and with the collaboration of the Bellvitge University Hospital, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). The graphic idea and conceptualization have been in charge of the Brama studio.
The program Aquí Catalunya of Cadena SER, live from Bellvitge
During the morning of December 12, and coinciding with the presentation of the Bellvitge exhibition, in search of the future, the radio program Aquí Catalunya, from Cadena SER, will be broadcasting live from the Bellvitge Health Campus. The magazine will interview the mayor of L’Hospitalet, David Quirós; the CEO of TMB, Xavier Flores; Dr. Cristina Capdevila, director of the Hospital; and Dr. Gabriel Capellá, director of IDIBELL. Afterwards, several professionals from the Campus will explain on air the health research they develop in Bellvitge, with a clear impact on patients.
A scientific freestyle itinerant performance to inaugurate the exhibition
The musical and playful note that will accompany the presentation of the exhibition will be given by the Catalunya Freestyle collective, which will offer an interactive and itinerant rap show in Catalan on science and health. The action will start in the lobby of the Hospital de Bellvitge Metro station around 10am, and then start a route through the campus, towards the main building of the Hospital. The artists who will perform –Fossas and Majaraca – have been classified for the Catalunya Freestyle finale this year, and during their performance they will seek the complicity and participation of professionals, patients, students and users. The two freestylers will be accompanied by the beatboxer Pikas.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research center established in 2004 specialized in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine, and regenerative medicine. It counts on a team of more than 1.500 professionals who, from 73 research groups, publish more than 1.400 scientific articles per year. IDIBELL 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).