Spain

Overview

EBRAINS Spain promotes the vision of EBRAINS and puts in place activities to position the Node as a strategic actor of the Spanish ecosystem of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology. The Node is formed by universities, research and technology centers, hospitals, and industrial entities. The Node members provide the EBRAINS community with a varied range of technical and clinical resources, like functional brain imaging techniques with patient data and intracranial registries, diagnostic tools to evaluate image-based biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases, prognostic tools based on artificial intelligence, or computational imaging data biobanks for brain research, among other tools and facilities. The collaborative research and innovation work facilitated by the Node aims at addressing two specific scientific challenges: the development of clinical solutions to better understand and address memory problems and the acceleration of neurorehabilitation innovation processes to tackle motor disorders.

Services offered

The National Centre for Neurotechnology (Spain Neurotech) 

Spain Neurotech is a public consortium established in 2024 by the General State Administration, through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), together with the Community of Madrid (CAM) and the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).

The Centre specialises in developing technological tools inspired by the fundamental principles of the human brain. Its work aims to advance health and address clinical conditions such as chronic diseases, autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and sleep disorders.

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Centro de Tecnología Biomédica) (UPM)

UPM´s lab employs a multimodal approach that combines functional brain imaging techniques with patient brain lesion data, pharmacology, genetics, deep brain stimulation and intracranial electrophysiological recordings to study human medial temporal lobe functions.

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Grupo de Inteligencia computacional) (UPM)

Solutions based on intelligent systems for biomedical problems. The services have been directed to several Spanish hospitals, foundations, and pharmaceutical companies for the construction of predictive models from data on problems related to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy.

Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (FRCB-IDIBAPS)

FRCB-IDIBAPS makes use of 7Tesla MRI (including both image acquisition and processing) to evaluate non-invasive and translational image-based biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases in animal models or tissue samples, and their potential as new diagnostic tools. Their research in computational models and/or artificial intelligence tools helps to predict the evolution of the disease with MRI.

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC)

URJC´s work is focused on the area of scientific visualisation, currently focused on the development of means and tools that help to understand data sets, models, structures, networks, and systems that are complex, massive and/or difficult to understand.

Universidad Pompeu Fabra (UPF) - Clúster computacional para modelado y análisis de datos

UPF offers advanced workflows for causal inference and model validation of brain function and dysfunction. Specifically, they provide integrated services to infer information routing patterns from large-scale neurophysiological data and model effective connectivity within brain networks. They employ multiscale co-simulation tools, coupling large-scale network models simulated by The Virtual Brain (TVB) with small-scale neuron simulations using NEST or Annarchy software.

Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)

The ISCIII is the Spanish entity of international reference in the field of Public Health and Biomedical Research. It articulates and facilitates health research within the scope of the National Health System (SNS), through its National Reference Centers, Research Institutes, Foundations, Networks, Consortia and Scientific-Technical Services Platforms. It offers scientific-technical advisory services for health technology decision-making.

Valencia Biomedical Research Foundation - Príncipe Felipe Research Centre (CIPF)

CIPF is a multidisciplinary biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of human disease and translating scientific discoveries into innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Its research is organised into three major programmes - Cancer Biology and Therapeutics, Neuronal Pathologies and Metabolic Disorders - and is strengthened by transversal research programmes in Drug Discovery and Nanomedicine, Biomedical Engineering and Cell Therapy, Preclinical Models, and Computational Tools and Data Science. These transversal programmes integrate advanced experimental and computational approaches across disease areas, fostering interdisciplinary research and the development of innovative therapeutic strategies.

In neuroscience, CIPF investigates neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease, dementia, spinal cord injury, retinal degeneration and rare neuromuscular diseases. Its expertise encompasses cortical circuits, neurobiology, computational biomedicine, stem cell-based therapies and neuronal regeneration, supporting the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

CIPF provides advanced technological platforms in genomics, proteomics, microscopy and bioimaging, cytomics and high-content screening, NMR spectroscopy, high-performance computing, biomodels and drug screening. It participates in national and European research infrastructures, platforms and networks, including EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC, the ISCIII Biomodels Platform, the Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NANOMED), CIBER and the IMPaCT Data initiative.

Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC) - Centro de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CIMUS)

CiMUS studies Parkinson's disease mechanisms (neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, α-synuclein, biomarkers), BBB transport, brain metabolism and pathological protein accumulation in neurodegeneration through molecular imaging biomarkers, and adult brain circuit plasticity through whole-brain 3D mapping (tissue clearing, light-sheet microscopy, terabyte-scale image analysis).

It offers preclinical imaging (microPET, SPECT, MRI, CT), an advanced biomarker analysis platform integrating ARGO HT (Alamar Biosciences), Simoa SR-X (Quanterix) and MESO SECTOR S 600 (Meso Scale Discovery) for ultrasensitive protein detection and multiplex biomarker profiling, and CNS drug screening at INNOPHARMA, an EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC high-capacity site (automated patch-clamp, microelectrode arrays, high-content screening).

Services onboarding

• Only members of EBRAINS and the National Node can propose new services (digital tools, research equipment, scientific data, etc.) to the EBRAINS infrastructure.
• The Node members must confirm the alignment and usefulness of the proposed new services to address the Node scientific challenges.
• The service provider institution must guarantee that the new service will be operative and available for the neuroscience community through EBRAINS, and according to the SLA (Service Level Agreement) or SLU (Service Level Understanding) signed between the AISBL and the provider.
• The service provider must guarantee that the new service will be properly documented and maintained.

Contact

Do you have any questions about EBRAINS Spain? Please submit your question and email address below. The message will go to EBRAINS Spain Node Coordinator Estefanía Muñoz.