We walk this path with open minds and linked hands.
ICREA is an institution created by the Catalan government in 2001 to meet the specific needs of our research system.
ICREA’s mission is to attract outstanding researchers from all over the world to increase the impact and global visibility of Catalan universities and research centres.
Science is a universal human enterprise, and each research system must find its own path to success.
ICREA has succeeded in bringing together one of the most influential research communities in the world.
Freedom to explore
ICREA brings together a global community of more than 300 researchers and empowers them to strive for excellence, free from political pressures or external influences.
Throughout their careers, these researchers are regularly evaluated by an external, independent promotion committee.
ICREA Research Professors
in universities
in CERCA centres
in CSIC centres
in other institutions
Equality forters progress
ICREA is an institution committed to diversity and inclusion, increasing opportunities for women in science and welcoming researchers from all backgrounds to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive research system.
Diversity and scope
Every year, ICREA offers tenured positions to talented researchers from all over the world to come and work in Catalonia.
In fields ranging from philosophy to astrophysics, these positions have become benchmarks of global academic excellence.
ICREAs in every field
Internationalisation
Citations and impact
ICREA researchers are able to pursue their work at the host institutions that best match their research interests. Full respect for freedom of research allows ICREA scientists to push back the frontiers of knowledge and find new paths to progress.
One third of publications by ICREA researchers rank in the top 10% of the most cited.
ICREAs ranked among the top 1% most cited researchers worldwide by Clarivate
Andreu Cabot
IREC
Markus Donat
BSC-CNS
Toni Gabaldón
BSC-CNS & IRB Barcelona
Jason Hickel
UAB
Josep Maria Llovet
FRCB-IDIBAPS
Maurizio Mencuccini
CREAF
Xavier Ros-Oton
UB
Research that matters
There is no dividing line between pure and applied science; there is only science, which changes the way we understand ourselves and the universe – and transforms the way we live.
Honours and awards
These are some of the ICREA Research Professors who received awards in 2025
Antonio Acín
Premio Rei Jaume I – 36a Edición – Investigación Básica
Ricard Alert Zenón
Premio Investigador Joven en Física Teórica de la Real Sociedad Española de Física – Fundación BBVA
Verónica Benet
Wegner Theoretical Innovation Prize
Damián Blasi
Schmidt Sciences Polymath Award
Jan Eeckhout
Premio Rei Jaume I – 37a Edición – Economía
María Escudero Escribano
Premio Fundación Real Academia de Ciencias al Joven Talento Femenino en la categoría de Física, Química y Ciencias Afines
Jose Garrido Ariza
Premi Ciutat de Barcelona. Ciències Experimentals i Tecnologia: 2024
Carl Hoefer
Lakatos Award Expert Workshop 2025
Manuel Irimia
EMBO Member
Kostas Kostarelos
Premi Ciutat de Barcelona. Ciències Experimentals i Tecnologia: 2024
Maciej Lewenstein
The BEC Lifetime Achievement Award
Núria López-Bigas
Premio Rei Jaume I – 37a Edición – Investigación Biomédica.
Premio Constantes y Vitales a la Trayectoria Científica en Investigación Biomédica
Rachel Lowe
Premi Ciutat de Barcelona. Ciències Ambientals i de la Terra: 2024
Genoveva Martí
‘Distinción a una Trayectoria’ by the Society for Women in (Analytic) Philosophy (Spain), SWIP(A)
Eva Maria Novoa
Premi Nacional de Recerca al Talent Jove 2024 ex aequo
Victoria Reyes García
Premio Rei Jaume I – 37a Edición – Protección al Medio Ambiente
Alejo Rodriguez Fraticelli
EMBO Young Investigator
Carme Rovira
Membre electe de la Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona – Secció de Química
Xavier Ros Oton
Premi Nacional de Recerca al Talent Jove 2024 ex aequo
Laura Soucek
EMBO Young Investigator
Marcel Swart
2025 Dalton Horizon Prize by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Luis Serrano Pubul
Premio Nacional de Innovación – Trayectoria Innovadora.
Premio Rei Jaume I – 36a Edición – Nuevas Tecnologías
Leticia Tarruell
The Junior BEC Award
Xavier Trepat
2025 Dalton Horizon Prize by the Royal Society of Chemistry
ERC grants awarded
Consolidator grants
Vladimir Asriyan
CREI
Rebekah Clements
UAB
Gergely Neu
UPF
Advanced grants
Marco Armiero
UAB
Jan Eeckhout
UPF
Leo Wanner
BSC-CNS
Synergy grants
Esteve Corbera
UAB
Frédéric Courbin
UB
José Ramón Galán Mascarós
ICIQ
Miguel Ángel González Ballester
UPF
Licia Verde
UB
One in four ICREA Research Professors has an active ERC grant
Transparency
Our funding comes entirely from the Catalan government.
We are proud of our transparent track record of using these funds in a careful and considered way to ensure that resources are channelled into what matters most: outstanding science.