The 2025 edition of the Health Research Call from the ”la Caixa” Foundation has selected 34 new cutting-edge biomedical research projects, awarding each of them up to one million euros. The projects are led by 25 research centres, universities and hospitals in Spain, and nine in Portugal.

This eighth edition of the call received 714 proposals in basic, clinical and translational research, and is particularly aimed at tackling major health challenges in several areas: neurosciences, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, oncology, infectious diseases and enabling technologies in any of these fields.

This year, agreements with the Breakthrough T1D Foundation and the Fundación Luzón have made it possible to place a stronger emphasis on funding initiatives focused on type 1 diabetes – two projects have been selected – and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with one project chosen. The call is also carried out in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), a public body linked to Portugal’s Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, which is allocating 1.8 million euros to fund three of the nine Portuguese projects awarded this year.

Among this year’s selected projects are, for example, initiatives aimed at uncovering hidden cardiac risks linked to cancer treatments, improving the maturation of beta cells for diabetes therapy, creating a reliable system to test spinal injury medications without animal experimentation, studying why some patients are able to suppress HIV without treatment, or developing a universal CAR-T cell that targets several types of cancer.

This edition also features support for six research projects aimed at developing treatments for rare paediatric diseases, such as Myhre syndrome, treatment-resistant T-cell leukaemia – a rare and aggressive form of childhood leukaemia – or hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy, which causes brain injury in newborns.

In the words of Àngel Font, assistant general manager of Research and Fellowships at the ”la Caixa” Foundation, “Biomedical research is one of the most powerful ways to improve people’s lives. The 34 awarded projects tackle very different challenges from a range of perspectives, but they all share three essential pillars for moving towards a more hopeful future for patients and their families: collaboration, talent and innovation.”

Presentation of the competitive funding awards

The CosmoCaixa Science Museum will host the award ceremony this afternoon, attended by several representatives of the ”la Caixa” Foundation including the assistant general manager of Research and Fellowships, Àngel Font, and the deputy general manager, Esther Planas. Also present will be the president of the Luzón Foundation, María José Arregui; the senior vice president at Breakthrough T1D, Esther Latres; and the member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Science and Technology, Paula Diogo, as well as the researchers who are leading the projects.

This year, the call allocates 26 million euros to outstanding biomedical research. It awards up to 500,000 euros to projects involving a single research institution and up to one million euros for research consortia made up of multiple institutions. In this edition, the consortium projects include collaboration with research groups from seven countries.

Since the programme began in 2018, the total funding awarded through the ”la Caixa” Foundation Health Research Call has reached 172.3 million euros for 234 projects, of which 162 are led by Spanish teams and 72 by research groups in Portugal. Today, it stands as one of the leading biomedical and health research calls in the Iberian Peninsula.

We invite you to learn more about the selected projects, organized by research areas:

Cardiovascular and related metabolic diseases

New treatments for a rare disease, the Myhre syndrome

• Project leader: Maria J. Macias, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona)
• Partner organizations: José Manuel Brea Floriani, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela y Asociación Síndrome de Myhre España, Madrid, España
• Funding received: 771.800 €

Reprogramming the immune system to prevent diabetes

• Project leader: Pere Santamaria, Hospital Cínic Barcelona – Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona
• Funding received: 500.000 €
• Project awarded in collaboration with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF)

Uncovering the hidden heart risks after cancer treatment

• Project leader: Borja Ibáñez, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), Madrid
• Partner organizations: Felipe Cortés, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas Carlos III, Madrid; Teresa López, Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid
• Funding received: 999.500 €

Advanced gene therapy for life-threatening heart conditions

• Project leader: Juan Antonio Bernal, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), Madrid
• Funding received: 498.352 €

Exploring new avenues in diabetes research through calorie restriction

• Project leader: Josep A. Villena, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Barcelona
• Funding received: 499.700 €

Deciphering genetic codes: enhancing beta cell maturation for diabetes treatment

• Project leader: Manuel Irimia, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona
• Funding received: 999.847,40 €
• Project awarded in collaboration with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF)

New approaches to combat cancer cachexia

• Project leader: Miguel López, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
• Funding received: 999.300 €

Infectious diseases

Unlocking the secrets of HIV control without treatment

• Project leader: Ezequiel Ruiz-Mateos, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS); Universidad de Sevilla; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC); Junta de Andalucía
• Partner organizations: Mathias Lichterfeld, Harvard University; Julià Blanco, Institut de Recerca sobre Immunopatologies-Caixa (IrsiCaixa), Badalona; Anna Rull, Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Tarragona; Adhara, Asociación VIH/Sida, Sevilla; Projecte dels Noms-Hispanosida, Barcelona
• Funding received: 999.952,40 €

Unraveling plasmid networks to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria

• Project leader: Álvaro San Millán, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid
• Partner organizations: María Teresa Coque, Instituto Ramon y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Madrid
• Funding received: 989.250 €

Revolutionising cerebral malaria research with tissue engineering techniques

• Project leader: Maria Bernabeu, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL Barcelona), Barcelona
• Partner organizations: Christopher Moxon, School of Infection and Immunity, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow
• Funding received: 996.910,04 €

Exploring the intracellular survival and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus

• Project leader: Ana Eulalio, Universidade de Coimbra
• Funding received: 473.902,70 €

Precision-targeted therapy to combat antibiotic resistance

• Project leader: Frank J. Hernandez, TECNUN – Universidad de Navarra
• Partner organizations: Markus Zeitlinger, Medizinische Universität Wien, Viena
• Funding received: 995.000 €

Innovative strategies to tackle antimicrobial resistance by understanding resistance genes

• Project leader: José Antonio Escudero García-Calderón, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid
• Funding received: 499.570 €

Neurosciences

Exploring cannabidiol (CBD) potential in treating newborn brain injuries

• Project leader: José Martínez, Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid
• Funding received: 488.070 €

How tiny DNA changes shape the developing brain

• Project leader: Diogo Castro, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S)
• Partner organizations: Gaia Novarino, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Klosterneuburg; Justin O’Sullivan, The Liggins Institute, University of Auckland
• Funding received: 731.631 €
• Project awarded in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Decoding brain mechanisms behind empathy and prosocial behavior

• Project leader: Cristina Márquez, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology – Universidade de Coimbra
• Partner organizations: Alexandre Charlet, Institute for Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience (INCI), UPR 3212, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Estrasburgo
• Funding received: 999.930 €

An innovative vaccine to treat Parkinson’s disease

• Project leader: Salvador Ventura, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
• Partner organizations: Analía Bortolozzi, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid
• Funding received: 628.288 €

Unveiling microglia’s role in als: from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic targets

• Project leader: Cintia Roodveldt, Andalusian Center for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER), Universidad de Sevilla
• Partner organizations: Abraham Acevedo, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Canarias, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Daniel Rico, Centro Andaluz de Biología Molecular y Medicina Regenerativa (CABIMER), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sevilla
• Funding received: 770.000 €
• Project awarded in collaboration with Fundación Luzón

Tailored solutions for Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathy

• Project leader: Antonio Ferrer Montiel, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
• Partner organizations: Víctor Soto Insuga, Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús, Madrid
• Funding received: 797.525 €

The science behind decision-making

• Project leader: Joseph Paton, Fundação Champalimaud, Lisboa
• Subvención recibida: 497.860 €

Fighting brain damage by rethinking mitochondria

• Project leader: Albert Quintana, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
• Funding received: 499.970 €

Oncology

Deciphering genome stability through telomeres and RNA interactionsa

• Project leader: Claus Maria Azzalin, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM), Lisboa
• Funding received: 499.950 €

Preventing medicine towards Leukaemia

• Project leader: Isidro Sánchez-García, Centro de Investigación del Cáncer de Salamanca (CSIC-Universidad de Salamanca-FICUS)
• Partner organizations: César Cobaleda Hernández, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBM), Madrid; Manuel Ramírez Orellana, Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús, Madrid; Lucas Moreno, Vall d’Hebron Instituto de Investigación (VHIR), Barcelona; Joaquín Duarte Calvete, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil E. P. E. ; Fundación Unoentrecienmil, Madrid
• Funding received: 1.000.000 €

Targeting PAX5 to restore balance in leukemia cells

• Project leader: Alejandro Vaquero, Instituto de Investigación contra la Leucemia Josep Carreras, Badalona
• Partner organizations: Eduardo Domínguez, Fundación Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela
• Funding received: 989.800 €

A new hope for children with resistant T-Cell Leukemia

• Project leader: Álvaro Urbano-Ispizua, Hospital Cínic Barcelona – Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona
• Partner organizations: Susana Rives, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat
• Funding received: 996.024 €

Targeting the tumor environment to personalize colorectal cancer care

• Project leader: Alexandre Calon, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona
• Partner organizations: Jorge Pisonero, Universidad de Oviedo; Holger Heyn, Consorcio para la Explotación del Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG), Barcelona; Daniele Lo Re, Universidad de Granada
• Funding received: 996.750 €

Tackling tumour microenvironment to unlock immunotherapy for brain cancer

• Project leader: Joan Seoane, Vall d’Hebron Institut d’Oncologia (VHIO), Barcelona
• Funding received: 497.992,96 €

A universal CAR-T cell to target cancer’s hidden signature

• Project leader: João Lacerda, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM), Lisboa
• Funding received: 499.303 €
• Project awarded in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Enabling technologies

Advanced nanotechnology for improved cancer immunotherapy

• Project leader: June Ereño-Orbea, Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias – CIC bioGUNE, Bilbao
• Partner organizations: Edurne Rujas, Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Leioa; Carlos Minutti, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisboa; María M. Caffarel, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Biogipuzkoa, Guipúzcoa; Omar Boutureira, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona
• Funding received: 998.670 €

Innovative Liquid-Based ECMO System

• Project leader: Thomas Hermans, Fundación IMDEA Nanociencia, Madrid
• Partner organizations: María José Santiago Lozano, Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Madrid
• Funding received: 999.816,40 €

An implantable drug delivery device to ameliorate the treatment for glioblastoma

• Project leader: Bruno Sarmento, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S)
• Partner organizations: Bruno Costa, Universidade do Minho; Alvaro Mata, University of Nottingham
• Funding received: 989.290 €

A new platform to test treatments for spinal cord damage

• Project leader: Zaida Álvarez, Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC), Barcelona
• Partner organizations: Juan Alberto Ortega, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, España
  Elena Sánchez, Universitat de Barcelona; Antonio Oliviero, Fundación Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos para la Investigación y la Integración, Toledo; Fundación del Lesionado Medular (FLM), Madrid
• Funding received: 999.559,03 €

AI-powered microscopy to combat infections

• Project leader: Ricardo Henriques, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier (ITQB), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
• Funding received: 499.833,52 €

A new way to fight brain damage from within

• Líder del proyecto: Ana Paula Pêgo, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S)
• Organizaciones asociadas: Francisco Campos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS); Ben Maoz, Tel Aviv University (TAU), Israel
• Subvención recibida: 999.563,80 €
• Project awarded in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia