The University of Barcelona receives over €1.2 million in funding through the 2024 Knowledge Industry Grants call
The University of Barcelona (UB) has received a total of €1,209,100.00 in funding for the development of thirteen innovative projects under the 2024 Knowledge Industry Grants call from the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia.
The call, promoted by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), aims to promote knowledge generated in the scientific environment so it can reach the productive sector.
Through the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), its Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO), the UB has been one of the universities to receive the most funding in this call, reflecting its commitment to and excellence in research and innovation.
Innovative projects with potential for integration into the productive sector
The 2024 Knowledge Industry Grants programme is divided into three categories according to the maturity of the projects and innovative ideas: Seed, Product, and Innovators.
Of the thirteen projects selected in this call, four fall under the Seed category, each funded with €20,000; six belong to the Product category, each funded with approximately €150,000; and three fall under the Innovators category, each funded with more than €80,000.
The Seed category is aimed at funding innovation projects in the early stages of technological maturity. The four UB projects selected in this category total €80,000 and are as follows:
Faculty of Biology
Dr. Sergi Munné Bosch from the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, with the project “Biofortification of chia sprouts: sustainable strategies for high nutritional value production.”
Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences
Dr. Santiago Vázquez Cruz from the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Chemistry, with the project “PoC-TD-CoV. Proof of concept of the targeted degradation of the main protease (wild-type and mutant subtypes) as treatment for drug-resistant coronavirus infection.”
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Dr. Ignasi Jorba Masdéu from the Unit of Biophysics and Bioengineering, with the project “HEARTBOX: Development of a 3D printed Heart Preservation System to Increase Viability in Transplantation.”
Dr. Jorge Otero Díaz, with the project “PulmOrgGel. Lung Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels: Innovating Pulmonary Organoid Research.”
The six UB projects included in the Product category total €877,100 and are intended to fund the development of prototypes to reduce uncertainties about the technical and commercial feasibility of the developing technologies. The selected projects are:
Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences
Dr. M. Carmen Escolano from the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Chemistry, with the project “Progression of an innovative antiglioblastoma drug.”
Faculty of Philology and Communication
Dr. Mireia Farrús Cabeceran from the Department of Catalan Philology and General Linguistics, with the project “SCRIBAL. Audio transcription pilot in a university teaching environment.”
Faculty of Physics
Dr. Oriol Arteaga Barriel from the Department of Applied Physics, with the project “POLVISION. A system for complete polarization vision.”
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
Dr. Sergi Escalera Guerrero from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, with the project “VirtualDraping. A Virtual Clothing Try-On System based on 3D Body and Garment Reconstruction and Animation.”
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Dr. Concepció Soler Prat from the Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, with the project “TREX2I. Charting New Paths: First-in-class TREX2 inhibitors for psoriasis and dermatitis.”
Faculty of Chemistry
Dr. Vicente Marchán Sancho from the Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, with the project “HYPOPDT. Next generation of photosensitizers for the PDT treatment of highly aggressive hypoxic tumors.”
Regarding the Innovators category, the three UB projects total €252,000 and are intended to fund knowledge valorisation and transfer projects developed by innovators during placements at institutions within the Catalan research and innovation system.
The selected projects are:
Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences
Dr. Christian Griñán Ferré from the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Chemistry, with the project “FLAVG9a. FLAVIUS THERAPEUTICS: Pioneering epigenetic precision medicine to fight CNS conditions.”
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Dr. Sandra Acosta Verdugo from the Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, with the project “OrganAID. Facilitating the incorporation of OrganAID to the market.”
Faculty of Chemistry
Dr. Vicente Marchán Sancho from the Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, with the project “HYPOPDT. Next generation of photosensitizers for the PDT treatment of highly aggressive hypoxic tumors.”
