Barcelona will host the European Islet Study Group (EISG) Conference 2026, which will take place from 17 to 19 June at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB). The congress will bring together 235 researchers from all over the world specialized in the study of pancreatic islets, key structures in the regulation of glucose levels in the body and in the development of diabetes. The meeting is organized by Meritxell Rovira, head of the research group on Pancreas Regeneration at IDIBELL and the University of Barcelona, together with Lorenzo Pasquali, researcher at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
In this edition, the congress will feature 140 scientific posters, 22 guest speakers and 15 short talks selected from the posters, consolidating itself as a dynamic and participatory event. In addition, the celebration of the congress in Barcelona is especially relevant: it has not taken place in Spain since 2013.
The conference will become a space to share the latest advances in pancreatic islet biology, diabetes, cell regeneration and translational medicine, and will foster new international scientific collaborations. The congress sessions will focus on genomics and epigenomics, metabolism, new treatment strategies for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, or in vitro modeling of pancreas-related diseases. The plenary lecture will be given by Gérard Gradwohl, from the Institute of Genetics and Biological Molecules et Cellulaire, Illkirch, France, and will review 30 years of research on the transcriptional regulation of pancreatic islet cell formation.
The celebration of EISG 2026 in Barcelona highlights the outstanding role of Catalan research centres in this field and reinforces the international projection of the research carried out at IDIBELL.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research centre created in 2004 specialising in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine and regenerative medicine. It has a team of more than 1,500 professionals who, from the 73 research groups, generate more than 1,400 scientific articles per year. IDIBELL is owned 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 has been an Accredited Centre of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).