The thirteenth IBSA Foundation Fellowships concluded with a record number of applications and awards going to seven researchers in Barcelona: an acknowledgement of the international scientific talent and a programme that, year after year, continues to grow.
The 2025 call for applications covered six treatment areas: dermatology, endocrinology, fertility and urology, healthy ageing and regenerative medicine, pain medicine, rheumatology and orthopaedics. This year, IBSA Foundation made available six scholarships for €32,000 each. There was also a new award this year: the Research Equity Prize, an additional €5,000 for researchers working with limited resources, designed to boost the impact of the programme and promote fairness in scientific research at global level.
The thirteenth Fellowships programme received 398 applications from institutions in 64 countries, the highest number in its history and an increase of more than 53% compared to the 259 the previous year. Women comprised 60% of the total (238 out of 398). The highest number of applications came from Italy (178), followed by Switzerland (34), the US (31), Spain (26) and the UK (11). In terms of treatment areas, healthy ageing and regenerative medicine saw the most applications at 136, more than a third of the total, followed by pain medicine, rheumatology and orthopaedics (75) and endocrinology (70).
Spain deserves a special mention. Over thirteen years, 6 Spanish researchers have been awarded scholarships and, each year, applications received from institutions in Spain continue to be among the most numerous: a sign of the consistent quality and energy of the Iberian scientific community.
Barcelona, 29 May 2026 – It was the steadfast and growing participation of Spain's scientific community that led IBSA Foundation to choose Barcelona for this year's event: the Real Academia de Medicina de Cataluña, in the heart of a city with one of the most highly developed biomedical ecosystems in Europe, hosted the awards ceremony in the presence of the Scientific Committee, IBSA Iberia and key players from the academic and institutional world.
Prior to the ceremony there was a round table entitled "Empowering Young Talent, Inspiring Tomorrow's Science", moderated by journalist Belén Diego. The focus of the debate included the working conditions for young researchers in Spain today. What opportunities does the system offer? What obstacles are still slowing down career paths? And how can public institutions, industry and private foundations work together to build a more robust and attractive scientific ecosystem?
Attending the round table were: Silvia Misiti, Director of IBSA Foundation, and Alessandro Ruggiero from IBSA Group, together with Luis Calvo from the CSIC Delegation in Catalonia. With them were three representatives from Spain’s scientific community:
Lluis Montoliu, Scientific Researcher at CSIC, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB) and researcher at the Biomedical Research Networking Centre on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII);
Elena Labarta, Gynaecologist specialising in reproductive medicine, Clinical Research Coordinator at IVI RMA Valencia and Clinical Researcher at the IVI Foundation, La Fe Hospital, Valencia;
Mar Porras, President of the STEM Women Association.
It was clear from the meeting that, despite recent institutional investments, young researchers in Spain are still having to contend with short contracts, intermittent funding and uncertain career paths. Retaining talent and offering stable working conditions remains one of the more pressing challenges for Spain's research ecosystem and, more widely, across Europe.
Since 2013, IBSA Foundation has continued to support young scientists under 40 during the most critical and delicate stages of their careers. In a context where public funding is often intermittent and contract stability takes a long time to arrive, the Fellowships are a fundamental resource.
The total of 398 applications in 2025, nearly ten times the number in the first year (41), speaks to how much this type of support is long-awaited and recognised by the international scientific community.
At the ceremony, IBSA Foundation announced the launch of the new 2026 call for applications, with important news: in light of the consistent growth in applications and the high scientific calibre of the projects received, the number of scholarships has been increased from 6 to 7. This is a sign of the Foundation's commitment to increasing its support for independent research and for young scientific talent at international level.