The country is investing €70 million in the centre, on top of €120m in neurotechnologies
Spain is making a bid for global neuroscience leadership by establishing a “milestone” new research centre.
The Cajal Neuroscience Centre, which combines two existing neuroscience research centres, launched on 17 February with €70 million in public funding.
Spain’s science ministry said the centre, based at the University of Alcalá campus, would be able to house about 60 research groups comprising about 700 researchers.
“This centre is a milestone for Spanish science due to its open and multidisciplinary approach, which promotes synergies between research groups, and due to the cutting-edge infrastructure and technologies that we will bring together,” said science minister Diana Morant.
She said it should deliver scientific advances in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and autism spectrum disorders. The technologies she referred to included microscopes enabling the study of molecular structures and of real-time changes to the brain, the ministry added.
The centre will also be home to the largest animal research facility in Spain and one of the largest in Europe, according to Morant.
Public investments
Of the committed funding, €40m comes from the Spanish National Research Council and €30m from sources including Spain’s share of the EU’s Covid recovery fund.
The centre is named after pioneering Spanish neuroanatomist Santiago Ramón y Cajal. It is being formed by combining the existing Cajal Institute and Cajal International Neuroscience Centre. Morant said the move would “allow Spain to make a qualitative leap in neuroscientific research at an international level”.
Spain is also investing €120m in a National Centre for Neurotechnology in Madrid. Together, Morant said, the investments “reflect the government’s ambitious strategic commitment to position Spain as a leading country in neuroscience research and in the development of disruptive technologies”.