South of Barcelona, in L’Hospitalet del Llobregat, lies one of Catalonia’s largest healthcare and applied research centres, the Bellvitge Health Campus. On land once cultivated, internationally renowned health research is now “cultivated”, as is the case of the viral theory of cancer, which ultimately linked the human papilloma virus to uterus and cervix cancer. This research, which began in the 1950s, reached its decisive phase little after 2000, with the development of the HPV vaccine and the establishment of screening policies for the female population. According to the WHO, these tools have saved the lives of 62 million women worldwide. And it all started from a laboratory in the city of L’Hospitalet.
The power to change the world through research will be the leitmotif of the dialectical battle of the 9th edition of the sLHam of Women Scientists, where six researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) will share their personal experience as active researchers. They will do so not only to win over the audience, but above all to inspire children and young people to see science as a space for personal and professional development, with a real opportunity to forge a path in this field within the research and health care ecosystem offered by the Bellvitge Health Campus in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. The event also highlights the research carried out by women scientists at IDIBELL.
The show will take place on Thursday, February 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the Barradas Auditorium of L’Hospitalet for the general public, and there will be an exclusive morning session for the city’s educational centres. This year’s stars will be Paulina Cerdá, clinical physiotherapist and head of the clinical trials unit at IDIBELL-Hospital de Bellvitge; Catalina Falo, oncologist at the Catalan Institute of Oncology and researcher in breast cancer; Francesca Mateo, cell biologist and researcher in breast cancer and LAM; Juliana Bordignon, nephrologist at Bellvitge Hospital and researcher in vasculitis; Laura Casado, graduate in Biomedical Sciences and predoctoral researcher in regenerative medicine, and Lucero Munguía, psychologist and researcher in neurobiology of eating disorders and addictions. These scientists will be joined by two students embarking on their scientific journey, Tanzeela Aslam and Salma Varo, high school students from the Bellvitge Institute who conducted their research work on the problematic use of screens at IDIBELL. The show will be hosted by Júlia Benito, biologist and science communicator, and the scientific-musical touch will be provided by DJ Trapella, the artistic name of Marta Riera, a microbiologist who has chosen to pursue a career in the music industry.
The sLHam is held within the framework of the global commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and is one of the initiatives promoted by IDIBELL as part of its commitment to bring the research carried out at the Bellvitge Health Campus to the public and, furthermore, to encouraging women to pursue careers in science. Currently, IDIBELL has a team of 1,500 professionals, 64% of whom are women, who stand out within the scientific structure of the centre: 58% of the professionals who work as main researchers (145 of a total of 251), 56% of clinical researchers (169 of the 302), 64% of postdoctoral researchers (107 of 168) and 73% of predoctoral researchers (177 of the 250 affiliated) are women. In addition, at IDIBELL, 46% of the scientific papers published in 2024 were led by female researchers.
The sLHam of Women Scientists is an initiative that has the collaboration of the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, the Bellvitge Institute and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).
About IDIBELL
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research center created in 2004 and specialized in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine and regenerative medicine. It has 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 centres 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 is an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).