As of the 1 September, Dr Román Pérez is the new vice-rector for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at UIC Barcelona. Researcher at the University’s Bioengineering Institute of Technology (BIT), Dr. Pérez joined the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in 2016 with a Juan de la Cierva scholarship and, later, he joined the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences with a Ramón y Cajal scholarship to drive the new area of Bioengineering, directing the BIT and the new Bioengineering degree.

A trained chemist with a PhD in Material Sciences, Dr. Pérez has carried out much of his research internationally, in top-level centres around the world, in countries such as Korea, the USA, Ireland and Canada. The new vice-rector is included in the Ranking of the World Scientists: World’s Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University's international benchmark ranking for the impact of his publications on biomaterials for tissue regeneration. Throughout his career as a researcher, Román Pérez has led numerous research projects focused on the use of biomaterials to create everything from sustainable cosmetics to blood vessels with the aim of contributing to the improvement of the health of people and society, which have resulted in prestigious scientific publications and several patents.

The head of the vice-rectorate for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at UIC Barcelona takes on the challenge of implementing the strategic lines of research defined by his predecessor, Dr Conrado Aparicio, which focus on two areas: health and comprehensive care, and people and social innovation. As vice-rector, Dr Pérez will also continue to work to strengthen and enhance collaboration between academia, research and business.