The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) is an independent, non-profit research institution engaged in basic and applied biomedical science that aims to improve quality of life by applying advances in this field. IRB was founded in October 2005 by the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Barcelona Science Park (Parc Científic de Barcelona). IRB aims to promote multidisciplinary research of excellence at the interface between biology, chemistry and medicine, to foster collaborations with local organisations and international research institutes, and to promote and coordinate interdisciplinary research in biomedicine. IRB is located in the Barcelona Science Park, a centre in which first-class public research converges with the private sector in a stimulating, vanguard scientific environment.