Replaces Ignacio Romagosa, who has been the director during the last 5 years

The Board of Trustees of the Agrotecnio Foundation has chosen , José Antonio Bonet Lledós, as the new director of this research centre. He will hold the position for a minimum of 4 years and a maximum of 5, renewable. Bonet replaces, Ignacio Romagosa, who has been the director of Agrotecnio since February 2018 until now.

Bonet has been professor at ETSEAFIV since February 2021, although he has been linked to this UdL center as a professor and researcher since 2003. Doctor of Forestry Engineering and Master of Business Administration and Management (Executive MBA) , was director general of the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) from 2006 to 2009, where he had also been director of research and technology transfer between 2001 and 2007. Currently, he continues there as a researcher. Member of the Forest Production research group of the UdL, his lines of research focus on health and forest mycology, forestry, bioenergy and protected natural spaces.

Among his priorities at the head of Agrotecnio, the new director highlights “consolidating this research centre of excellence within the CERCA map and optimizing the impact of the research carried out by the different groups, enhancing synergies with the Park Agrifood Scientific and Technological of Lleida (Agrobiotech Lleida)”.

José Antonio Bonet is linked professionally or through management or representation positions to the CTFC, Fundació Terra i Agrotecnio. He was assistant to the president of the Social Council of the University of Lleida from 2008 to 2017, a member of the Board of Directors of IRTA between 2009 and 2016 and of the Board of the European Forest Institute (EFI), as a representative in the Spanish Government, in the period between 2008 and 2014. In March 2021, he was appointed coordinator of Research, Transfer, Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Agrobiotech Park, a position in which he will continue until June.

The Governing Council of the Institute de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD) has appointed Dr. Joan Comella as director of the institute. Comella, director of Innovation, Research and Knowledge Management at the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital, replaces Dr. Francesc Palau, the first director of the IRSJD.

“I am honored to take on this significant responsibility and challenge as the new director of the Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu. I am proud to follow in the footsteps of the excellent work accomplished so far and I am eager to contribute to the growth of this esteemed institution. My focus will be to broaden its international reach and ensure that our research makes a tangible impact in diagnosing and treating patients’ illnesses“.

Dr Joan Comella holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Barcelona. From September 2009 to September 2022 he has directed the Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital Vall d’Hebron (VHIR), and has been the head of research at the Campus Hospitalari de Vall d’Hebron.

The new leadership faces the challenge of maintaining and advancing the pursuit of global excellence with a tangible impact on enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in our field. This requires providing the institute with adequate infrastructure and equipment, as well as fostering the development and recruitment of skilled professionals and dedicated research time for healthcare workers.

Benito, a cardiologist specialising in hereditary disorders that cause arrhythmias and sudden death, will head the VHIR after having worked in healthcare, research and teaching at the Vall d’Hebron Campus.

Dr Begoña Benito Villabriga is to take over the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) after combining work in healthcare, research and teaching at the Vall d’Hebron Campus in recent years. She holds an undergraduate and doctoral degree in Medicine from the University of Barcelona, specialising in Cardiology at Hospital Clínic in Barcelona.

In her statement, Dr Begoña Benito said, “It is a true privilege for me to have this opportunity to direct the research centre of a referral hospital such as the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. Thanks to the work of all the professionals and managers who have preceded me, VHIR is ideally positioned to successfully face the coming years, which will see the commissioning of the new building to help meet many of the current and future challenges in biomedical research.”

During her career she has focused on the field of arrhythmias, taking a special clinical and scientific interest in the study of hereditary disorders causing arrhythmias and sudden death. To complement her knowledge in this field, she has trained in basic and experimental research and in clinical and interventional management of arrhythmias at a number of leading centres, including the Montreal Heart Institute in Canada and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard University in Boston.