The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) is a multidisciplinary research institute based on the capacities and aspirations of seven Catalan centres of excellence: the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona).

The BIST will create a new space for research and innovation in precision medicine (BiomedBIST), where it will bring together research groups working in the field of biomedicine.

At the Mercat del Peix, the BIST will create a new space for research and innovation in precision medicine (BiomedBIST), where it will bring together research groups –currently scattered around different centres–, working in the field of biomedicine, to enhance collaboration and a fruitful combination of various disciplines at the frontiers of knowledge. From here work will be carried out in close collaboration with the best hospitals in Barcelona, to promote the translation of the most advanced genomic, metabolic and cellular knowledge into medical practice.

The researchers working in the new BIST building will address the global challenge of developing tools for precision medicine, from the in-depth study of high-impact diseases such as superpathogens, cancer and metastasis, and their relationship with the environment, from a global integrative perspective of the individual/patient, through the use of genomics, bioinformatics, bioengineering, nanotechnology and other advanced experimental techniques. They will also be working on the design and personalized validation of innovative therapeutic approaches, which among others, include cell and tissue biomechanics, cell reprogramming, nanomedicine, immune response modulation, and tissue regeneration.