The award was presented during the closing session of the XXXVIII Annual Congress of Behavioral Therapy and Behavioral Medicine in Clinical Practice, held this April in Barcelona, with the institutional participation of Dr. Jordi Gascón, deputy medical director of the Bellvitge Hospital.
This recognition highlights the contribution of both professionals in areas such as eating disorders, behavioural addictions and clinical psychology.
Dr. Susana Jiménez-Murcia is co-leader of the Psychoneurobiology of eating and addictive behaviours’ group at IDIBELL, head of the Clinical Psychology Service at Bellvitge Hospital, coordinator of the MetroSur Territorial Mental Health Plan and director of the Pathological Gambling and other Behavioral Addictions Program. She is also associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Barcelona. In 2024 she has been distinguished with the Doctor of Alcalá Award for Research Excellence in Human and Social Sciences, as well as with the Health Award for her career as one of the first heads of the Clinical Psychology service in Spain.
Dr. Fernando Fernández-Aranda, also co-leader of the Psychoneurobiology of eating and addictive behaviours’ group at IDIBELL, is director of the Eating Disorders Unit of the Clinical Psychology Service of the Bellvitge Hospital, director of the Bellvitge-Fundación Hospitalarias High Complexity and Long-Term Eating Disorders Unit, head of the section of the same service at the HUB, and professor at the University of Barcelona as well. He is an international reference figure in the field of eating disorders, with a solid track record in research, teaching and clinical leadership. In 2024 he has been recognized with the ICREA Academy Award of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Both have published more than 550 articles in international scientific journals throughout their careers and have been principal investigators in more than a dozen international projects. With a clear vocation for collaboration and generation of synergies, they have directed more than 38 doctoral theses and are a benchmark in clinical psychology on a national and international scale.
From IDIBELL and the Bellvitge Hospital we congratulate Dr. Jiménez-Murcia and Dr. Fernández-Aranda for this well-deserved recognition and for their excellent and continuous contribution to the improvement of mental health.
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).