The Institute

History

The creation of the Biomedicine Research Institute of Buenos Aires – CONICET – Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society (IBioBA – CONICET – MPSP) is the result of over 20 years of fruitful relationship between the Max Planck Society (MPS) and researchers from Argentina. It is based in different scientific collaborations, joint projects and visits of Argentine scientists to Max Planck Institutes. This relationship laid down the foundations for greater cooperation between both parties.

In November 2007 an agreement was signed between Argentine authorities and the Vice President of the MPS, Dr. Herbert Jäckle, for the creation of an Institute in Biomedicine. This was formalized with the signing of the corresponding statute between the Max Planck Society and the CONICET.

On October 6, 2011, the new building of the IBioBA at the Scientific and Technological Polo of Buenos Aires, was inaugurated. The international symposium Frontiers in Bioscience, organized in the scientific ‘Polo’ from April 22 to 25, 2012, marked the beginning of the activities for graduates and outreach actions of IBioBA. And in October 2012 the first reseach group moved into de new building.

The Institutes of the Max Planck Society are institutions for basic research that focus in excellence. The IBioBA-MPSP contributes to the development of biosciences in Argentina, and focuses its investigations to researches in the edge of knowledge.

Mission

IBioBA-MPSP is devoted to conduct cutting edge research in the field of Biomedicine to generate new knowledge concerning the molecular mechanisms that underlie relevant human diseases and to promote the translation of this knowledge into new individualized therapies.

The goal of the institute is to expand the frontiers of knowledge, to contribute to the education and training of young scientists, to complement the scientific research of CONICET and the Max Planck institutes, and to strengthen scientific collaboration between Argentina and Germany.

Our institute seeks to offer a new perspective on relevant biological questions in topics such as the interdependence between genes, cellular function, environmental and cellular context, and phenotypes of organisms. Our main goal is to identify the molecular bases of key physiological and pathological processes in the fields of molecular neuroendocrinology, neurosciences, cancer, metabolism and stress.

Vision

In order to achieve our objectives, our vision is based on the combination of experiments and innovative theoretical methodologies that articulate through a strong interdisciplinary research.

We use a combination of experimental, theoretical, molecular, cell biology and in vivo approaches, as well as experimental models such as cell clones, 3D cultures, animal systems and patient samples to identify the molecular mechanisms that control fundamental cellular processes. We study post-translational modifications, signal transduction, degradation pathways and cellular interactions, among other mechanisms.

We use computational chemistry approaches to identify the structure and interaction of molecules, and design compounds that affect these processes so that they can be used as proof of concept in these models and targets. Also, a wide range of dynamic molecular processes, and cellular structures in model organisms are used to understand the basic biological principles and the molecular bases of human disorders in order to identify potential therapeutic targets.