Director of the Translational Research program at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) within the Vall d'Hebron Hospital since 2011. In 1998, he obtained his PhD from the University of Barcelona. Previously, in 1993, he obtained his BSc degree in Chemistry. Joan joined the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York as a post-doctoral fellow in 1998 (first as a Research Fellow and then Research Associate since 2001). He was appointed ICREA Research Professor in 2004 and joined VHIO. In 2008, he was the recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) grant. He obtained two ERC Proof of Concept grants (2011, 2013). In 2008, he became Board member of the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR) and Associate Professor of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. In 2012, founded Mosaic Biomedicals as a spin-off company from his lab and, in 2013, he was the recipient of the Dr. Josef Steiner Award. In 2016, he became Secretary General of the EACR.

Research interests

Our main objective is to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of cancer. Specifically, our research is focused on the study of brain tumours, including glioma and brain metastasis. Both glioblastoma (the most aggressive form of glioma) and brain metastasis are dismal diseases with limited therapeutic options. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern these types of cancer is required in order to design rational, specific and successful therapeutic approaches.