IBSA Foundation (Institut Biochimique SA) for scientific research, recently announced a record-shattering year for its prestigious fellowship programme, drawing an unprecedented 398 applications from 64 countries.
This new benchmark in its mission to cultivate the next generation of world-class researchers was celebrated at the special event held in Barcelona ‘IBSA Foundation Fellowship: Empowering Young Talent, Inspiring Tomorrow’s Science’. Here, the Foundation awarded its 2025 fellowships and officially opened the 2026 call for applications.
The IBSA Foundation has announced the six winners of its 2025 fellowships, recognising promising early-career researchers whose work has the potential to advance scientific knowledge and improve patient outcomes across a range of therapeutic areas.
Among this year’s recipients is UK-trained researcher Dr Matthew Hunt, now based at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, who has been recognised through the fellowship programme for his research in melanoma.
With 398 projects submitted from 64 countries, the 2025 fellowships highlight the programme’s ever-increasing international reach, as the 2026 call for applications opens.
The winners of the 2025 IBSA Foundation Fellowships, announced in Barcelona, hail from diverse international universities in the US, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Austria.
The programme and 2025 edition
The Fellowships programme is designed to empower young scientists under 40, funding independent and innovative basic research in scientific areas such as dermatology, endocrinology, fertility/urology, orthopaedics/rheumatology/pain medicine, and the rapidly growing field of healthy ageing/regenerative medicine. In a global landscape where funding for early-career scientists is increasingly competitive, the programme’s success underscores its vital role in advancing scientific innovation.
During the special event in Barcelona, the foundation also had the distinct pleasure of formally awarding the 2025 Fellowships. Each of the six recipients will receive €32,000 to advance their pioneering work:
- Matthew Hunt (pictured), scientific area: dermatology
- Patricia Rada, scientific area: endocrinology
- Victoria Deneke, scientific area: fertility/urology
- Youngjun Kim, scientific area: pain medicine / orthopaedics / rheumatology
- Indranil Singh, scientific area: healthy ageing / regenerative medicine
- Silvia Sideri, scientific area: healthy ageing / regenerative medicine.
In a further testament to its commitment to inclusivity and global research capacity building, the IBSA Foundation Research Equity Prize, valued at €5,000, was awarded to:
- Hernán Andrés Morales-Navarrete, Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA), Quito, Ecuador
Opening of the 2026 call for applications
Looking ahead, IBSA Foundation announces the official opening of the 2026 call for applications. This upcoming edition will increase the number of fellowships from six to seven, each worth €32,000, across the five scientific areas. The IBSA Foundation research equity prize, a €5,000 award for the best scientific project from a developing country, will also be confirmed, reinforcing the Foundation’s commitment to supporting diverse research landscapes.
