Twelve Doctoral Students From China Are Currently Conducting Their Research at IR Sant Pau

The internationalization of research also begins in the early stages of a scientific career. Lately, the Institut de Recerca Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau) has been consolidating a pathway for attracting predoctoral talent from China through the program established between the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This program currently enables twelve doctoral students to carry out their thesis projects in different research groups at the institute.

The CSC is the organization responsible for promoting scholarship programs that facilitate international training opportunities for Chinese students and researchers. It is a competitive talent selection system that maintains collaborative doctoral training programs with internationally renowned universities, such as University College London, the University of Sydney, and Monash University, among many others.

Predoctoral Talent Across Different Areas of Biomedical Research

The twelve doctoral students currently pursuing their PhDs at IR Sant Pau are working in different areas of biomedical research, including cardiovascular research, metabolism and lipids, pharmacogenomics and neurovascular genetics, neuroscience and dementia, and cancer epigenetics.

During this period, the doctoral students become integrated into the scientific activities of their research teams, develop their projects alongside researchers at different stages of their scientific careers, and gain access to the institute's research infrastructure, platforms, and resources.

“This program is enabling us to attract some of China's most talented young researchers to Sant Pau and offer them the opportunity to pursue their doctoral research within our research groups. The fact that we currently have twelve doctoral students who have joined us through this pathway demonstrates both IR Sant Pau's ability to attract international talent and the scientific quality of the teams hosting them,” says Dr. Jordi Surrallés, Director of IR Sant Pau.

For Dr. Surrallés, this educational dimension is also an important part of the institute's internationalization strategy. “Internationalization is not just about participating in European projects or establishing institutional agreements; it is also about encouraging talent from around the world to come and train and conduct research with us. These research stays also create scientific connections that can last for many years and open up new opportunities for collaboration with China.”