The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Overview
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (https://www.csic.es/en) is the largest public research institution in Spain and one of the most renowned institutions in the European Research Area (ERA). It is affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Secretary General for Research. It was founded in 1939, is the successor of the Committee for Extension of Studies and Scientific Research (JAE), created in 1907 and whose first president was Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
The mission of CSIC is to promote, coordinate, develop and disseminate scientific and technological multidisciplinary research, in order to contribute to the progress of knowledge and economic, social and cultural development; as well as to train researchers and provide advice to public and private entities in these fields.
CSIC manages to undertake challenges that are not available to other institutions, both for its size (more than 11,000 people) and for its distribution (120 institutes, more than 1500 groups carry out basic and applied research present in almost all the Spanish Autonomous Communities. Research in CSIC extends in three Global Areas: Society (S), Life (V) and Materia (M), and four connection axes of between them (SV, SM, VM, SVM), which allow to address interdisciplinary research, initiatives of excellence and knowledge transfer, and tackle frontier issues in virtually all areas of knowledge.
Altogether, CSIC has about 3700 researchers, 1400 researcher in training, 4700 technicians, 1300 management, with almost 50/50 distribution between women and men. Also CSIC has about 1200 B.Sc. and M.Sc. students, and over 700 doctoral students.
Scientific production in CSIC is of about 15000 index article, more than 70% in Q1 journals, 600 no index articles, 220 books, 900 book chapters.
Knowledge transfer is another important pillar for CSIC, with about 1600 new signed contracts, 73 International priority patents, 69 PCT extensions, 147 priority patents, 10 technological-based spin-offs per year.
From CSIC, three different institutes are participating in this project:
The CSIC Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP-CSIC)
The CSIC Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP-CSIC) (https://icp.csic.es ) is a research centre framed within the Area of Chemistry and Chemical Technology. The main purpose is to develop new technological solutions within the field of catalysis, which contribute to improving the quality of life of citizens and enhance the competitiveness of our chemical industry, within the concept of Green Chemistry. Work in the development of advanced catalysts, both inorganic and enzymatic processes and innovative chemistry, along three main lines: energy, environmental protection and selective synthesis of chemical compounds. ICP researchers take part in international R&D activities which encompass from bilateral exchanges (including pre- and postdoctoral stages of ICP members in other laboratories, and vice versa) to multilateral networks and research projects, with particular attention to the European and Latin-American domains; research contracts with companies located at several continents are also pursued. It may be mentioned also that ICP members take part in advisory committees of some European research centres within their field. Finally, cooperation agreements have been started, or are in preparation, with foreign centres and institutions relevant in the field of catalysis
The Institute of Catalysis has about 200 employees, at the Universidad Autonoma Campus in Madrid, Spain. The research is divided in four different departments: Biocatalysis, Applied Catalysis, Structure and reactivity and Catalytic processes, constituted by 26 research groups. Strong research support services give access to different analytical and characterization techniques. In addition, a good number of undergraduates, Master and PhD students, young and senior researchers, many of them from countries all over the world, join the institute every year.
The CSIC Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL)
The CSIC Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL), is a center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Autonoma University of Madrid (UAM) whose main objective is the development of quality scientific research in the field of Food Science and Technology.
The research activity carried out in the CIAL is aimed for establishing scientific evidence on the physiological effects of foods and their compounds in human health and disease prevention, improving their safety and sensory properties, identifying at molecular level the mechanisms of biological activity of food ingredients and their metabolites in the human body, as well as their interactions with dietary elements. New approaches and tools based on metabolomics, proteomics or genomics, aims for solving scientific challenges in the relationship between food and health, with implications for the development of nutritional interventions, which are considered the base of future food.
The last goal is the application of food science for health, according to the needs of the population and economic development, with the contribution of products with high added value for industry, attracting and training young scientists and new professionals, staying in the service of social welfare and quality of life.
The CSIC Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN)
The CSIC Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN) was founded in Madrid in 2010 from the restructuring of the institutes of the Food Science and Technology Area of the CSIC located in the Autonomous Community of Madrid: the extinct Institute of Industrial Fermentations and the Institute of Refrigeration.
The main objective of ICTAN is to carry out innovative and quality scientific and technological research to produce, package and preserve safe and healthy foods that meet society’s current demands regarding sustainability, and their effect on the population’s nutrition and health. All this by establishing scientific evidence on the physiological effects of food, its constituents and by-products on health and disease prevention.
These characteristics make ICTAN a benchmark research centre for establishing collaborations with national and international research groups, training students and new professionals and transferring the knowledge acquired to industry and society. The research is divided in four different departments: Characterization, Quality and Safety, Metabolism and Nutrition, Technological Processing and Biotechnology, Meat and Fishery Products. Technical support services give access to different analytical and characterization techniques in food technology.
