Under the theme “Turning obstacles into milestones in biomedical research”, the programme combined scientific sessions, training activities and networking spaces with the aim of highlighting young talent and addressing the challenges of developing a research career.
The day began with the institutional welcome by the PhD Community and Michela Bertero, Director of Strategy at IDIBAPS. This was followed by the keynote talk, focused on the challenges faced by researchers at the beginning and throughout their scientific careers, with the participation of Anna Martínez-Muriana and Hernando Martínez, from Hospital Clínic.
One of the highlights of the event was the round table discussion on how to keep research active, which addressed key topics such as funding acquisition or scientific communication, among others. The session featured professionals from both academia and industry, as well as science outreach: Núria Camp (Camp Divulgatiu and Neurones Fregides), Meritxell Gironella (Clínic-IDIBAPS), Diana Reyes (Almirall), and Àlex Cordero Casanovas (Oniria Therapeutics).
Doctoral researchers were the main protagonists of the day, with the three-minute thesis presentations, where they demonstrated their ability to synthesize and communicate their work, and with a poster session, where they presented their research projects and exchanged experiences with attendees.
The programme also included a practical workshop on communication and public speaking skills in scientific contexts, delivered by Nerea Felices from Scienseed, oriented at strengthening the participants’ transversal skills and improving their professional profiles.
The event concluded with the award ceremony for the best three-minute thesis presentations and the best posters. The jury, responsible for selecting the winning contributions, was composed by Neus Agell, Cristina Fillat, Eduard Guasch and Rubén Fernández-Santiago, all researchers at IDIBAPS.
Best three-minute thesis presentations:
- First prize, Ángela Sanzo-Machuca, from the Inflammatory bowel disease research group.
- Second prize, Guillem Cano-Segarra, from the Translational research in hepatic oncology group.
- Third prize, Aleix Real-Ribas, from the Molecular pathology of lymphoid neoplasms research group.
Best posters:
- First prize, Claudia Yanes-Castilla, from the Systems neuropharmacology research group.
- Second prize, Laura Garcia-Tercero, from the Systems neuropharmacology research group.
- Third prize, Laura Valls-Roca, from the Inherited Metabolic Diseases and Muscular Disorders research group.
The PhD Day is held within the framework of the European Doctoral Day, an initiative launched in 2026 that wants to highlight the key role of predoctoral researchers in driving scientific excellence, innovation, and social progress.
Photographs of the event are available in this album.
