The CSIC awards the ASPIRA-MaX seal of scientific excellence to I2Sysbio

The MaX-CSIC Project is an initiative that seeks to promote scientific excellence within the institution. The project consists of three phases with three stamps: Josefa Barba, Sagrario Martínez-Carrera and Margarita Comas. The I2SysBio (CSIC - University of Valencia) gets the recognition of excellence Sagrario Martínez-Carrera that amounts to 300,000 euros for the development of its plan of excellence

The Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), a body attached to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, announced this week the decision on two calls for the MaX-ProjectCSIC, an initiative that seeks to promote scientific excellence in its centres and institutes. On the one hand, the seals of excellence Sagrario Martínez-Carrera, corresponding to the second phase of the 2024 call, and the stamps of Josefa Barba, belonging to the first phase of this year’s call have been published.

The project presents a three-phase route involving allocation of resources and accreditations of excellence. Each badge is named after a researcher who has developed her career in one of the three scientific areas of CSIC: the first phase is named after Josefa Barba, PhD in Sciences; the second phase is named after Sagrario Martínez-Carrera, PhD in Chemistry, and the third and last is Margarita Comas, PhD in Biology.

"For a young institute like ours to get this recognition, by the CSIC, is an additional incentive to continue with our goal of achieving scientific excellence that will allow us to consolidate as one of the reference centers for the study of Systems Biology, both nationally and internationally. This seal is a result of the joint effort of all scientific, technical and administrative staff who work day by day to improve our institute", Gustavo Gómez, director of I2SysBio

I2SysBio, seal of excellence Sagrario Martínez-Carrera

The Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), a joint centre of CSIC and the University of Valencia, has been awarded the seal of excellence ASPIRA-MaX Sagrario Martínez-Career, which involves a grant of 300,000 euros and the implementation of its plan for excellence in three years. In this second phase, a committee of experts was responsible for evaluating the submitted scientific projects and excellence plans. In addition to I2SysBio, another 29 CSIC centers from all over the country have also been recognized, which will have until February 17, 2028 for the execution of this item.

Gustavo Gómez, director of I2SysBio, "for a young institute like ours to get this recognition from the CSIC, is an additional incentive to continue with our goal of achieving scientific excellence that will allow us to consolidate as one of the reference centers for the study of Systems Biology, both nationally and internationally. This seal is the result of the joint effort of all scientific, technical and administrative staff who work day by day to improve our institute".

For its part, the Institute for Innovation and Knowledge Management (INGENIO), a joint centre of the CSIC and the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), which obtained in the first phase of 2024 the seal of excellence ASPIRA-MaX Josefa Barba, will have to correct its plan of excellence in order to progress to the second phase.

El Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), centro mixto del CSIC y la Universitat de València, ha sido reconocido con el sello de excelencia ASPIRA-MaX Sagrario Martínez-Carrera, que supone una dotación de 300.000 euros y la implementación de su plan de excelencia en tres años. En esta segunda fase, un comité de expertos se encargó de evaluar los proyectos científicos y los planes de excelencia presentados. Además del I2SysBio también han sido reconocidos otros 29 centros del CSIC de todo el país, que tendrán hasta el 17 de febrero de 2028 para la ejecución de esta partida.

Gustavo Gómez, director del I2SysBio, “para un instituto joven como el nuestro obtener este reconocimiento, por parte del CSIC, constituye un estímulo adicional para continuar con nuestro objetivo de alcanzar la excelencia científica que permitirá consolidarnos como uno de los centros de referencia para el estudio de la Biología de Sistemas, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional. Este sello es consecuencia del esfuerzo conjunto de todo el personal científico, técnico y administrativo que día a día trabaja para mejorar nuestro instituto”.

Por su parte, el Instituto de Gestión de la Innovación y del Conocimiento (INGENIO), centro mixto del CSIC y la Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), que consiguió en la primera fase de 2024 el sello de excelencia ASPIRA-MaX Josefa Barba, deberá subsanar su plan de excelencia para progresar a la segunda fase.

Distinctive of excellence

The CSIC launched in 2023 the MaX-CSIC Project, which comprises three phases with three seals that involve the allocation of financial resources and accreditations of excellence. The first two are Josefa Barba and Sagrario Martínez-Carrera. And in the third and final phase, the CSIC’s Scientific Advisory Committee will assess the impact of the DEEP-MaX programme on the centre, so that centres with a positive assessment will receive the ASPIRA-MaX Margarita Comas, maximum recognition for the effort towards scientific excellence granted by the CSIC presidency.

In the first year, 2023, the first ASPIRA-MaX CSIC Awards of Excellence were awarded to various centres that successfully participated in the pilot project. A team of experts analysed the CSIC’s leading research centres in order to determine their defining characteristics. This helped to design a programme that could be exported to other research institutes, enabling them to move towards scientific excellence. Thus, a comprehensive self-assessment framework was established that is accessible and easy to use by all centres.

Each badge is named after a researcher who has developed her career in one of the three scientific areas of the CSIC: Josefa Barba, graduate in Pharmacy and doctor of science, developed a prolific career in the field of Neurosciences and learning processes; Sagrario Martínez-Carrera, PhD in Chemistry, worked in the Department of Crystallography at the Blas Cabrera Institute of Physical Chemistry and is considered as one of the exponents of Spanish science of the mid-twentieth century, and Margarita Comas, PhD in Biology and writer, developed his scientific career in Pedagogy, highlighting his work on the introduction of Didactics of Sciences in Spain and the homologation of women and men in the academic space.

Source: CSIC