Two researchers at the CRG and CNAG-CRG, and one CRG alumni, have been selected to take part in the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, a training programme that provides women entrepreneurs with the skills, resources, and networks needed to start and scale successful businesses.

Maria Lluch, Leslie Matalonga and Ariadna Montero are three of thirty entrepreneurs chosen in the latest call for the Academy. They will undergo online training using a program developed by the Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and carry out a set of face-to-face masterclasses at the headquarters of the Catalan employers' association.

Maria Lluch, previously a researcher at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), is the cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer of Pulmobiotics S.L., a pre-clinical life sciences company using synthetic biology to develop new treatments and vaccines for various types of lung diseases. Last year the company secured €2,000,000 of seed financing from Barcelona-based Invivo Ventures, one of Spain’s leading biomedical venture capital firms.

Ariadna Montero, a researcher at the Serrano lab, is also developing business ideas around synthetic biology, using software to design proteins that can be used for various therapeutic purposes. This includes designing molecules that can treat autoimmune diseases.

Leslie Matalonga is involved in a potential spin-off involving genomic data analysis technologies and their integration with clinical data to improve the diagnosis of diseases, a key aspect in the new era of personalized medicine. The project has also been selected to join this year’s Mobile World Capital’s Collider program.

In Catalonia, the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs programme is organized in conjunction with Foment del Treball, the Government of Aragon and the US Consulate in Barcelona. The successful participants were announced at an event held in Barcelona on the 6th of May.