Spanish research institute specializing in leukaemia biology, haematological cancer epigenetics, PI3K signalling, and immunotherapy translation.
The Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute is a dedicated haematological cancer research centre in Badalona, Spain, focused on understanding the biology of leukaemia and related blood cancers. Their core work spans the molecular mechanisms of leukaemogenesis — from infant acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia — with strong capabilities in single-cell sequencing, epigenetics, and chromatin regulation. They also pursue translational paths including CAR-T immunotherapy development and PI3K/PTEN signalling in both cancer and rare overgrowth disorders. The institute trains early-career researchers through multiple Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships and networks, contributing to the European haematology talent pipeline.
Core focus across INFANTLEUKEMIA, InTheMLLrBALL, SirT-IMLEU, SENAGE, HifLICs, IT4B-ALL, IT4-TALL, INTERCEPT-MDS, and CLOSER — covering MLL-rearranged, childhood, myeloid, and lymphoid leukaemias.
ChroMe studied chromatin-metabolism interactions, INTERCEPT-MDS explored epigenetic regulation in myelodysplastic syndromes, SirT-IMLEU investigated sirtuin-dependent chromatin regulation, and SENAGE examined senescence in leukaemogenesis.
PIPgen connects PI3K/PTEN monogenic disease to cancer understanding, while PROS-VARIANT models PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum variants in preclinical systems.
IT4B-ALL targeted NG2 and CD22 antigens for B-cell ALL immunotherapy, and IT4-TALL developed CD1a-directed CAR for refractory T-cell ALL — both coordinated by the institute as ERC Proof of Concept projects.
cONCReTE focuses on RNA-based cancer therapies, while Evomet deconstructs the evolution of metastasis including dormancy and stromal interactions.
HARMONY and HARMONY PLUS built large-scale real-world patient data platforms for haematological malignancies, integrating big data analytics and translational medicine approaches.
In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), the institute focused on fundamental blood cell biology — erythrocyte life cycles, haematopoiesis, stem cell differentiation, and microfluidics-based drug screening — alongside foundational work on infant MLL-rearranged leukaemia. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward translational oncology: PI3K signalling pathways, cancer RNA therapeutics, metastasis mechanisms, CAR-T immunotherapy clinical translation, and big data platforms for haematological malignancies. The trend shows a clear maturation from basic blood biology toward disease-specific translational research with direct clinical and therapeutic applications.
The institute is moving toward clinical translation — immunotherapy, precision oncology, and rare disease modelling — making them an increasingly valuable partner for projects bridging lab discoveries and patient-facing applications.
The institute coordinates more often than it participates (10 of 17 projects as coordinator), indicating strong project leadership capability and grant-writing expertise. Many coordinated projects are individual fellowships (MSCA-IF) or proof-of-concept grants (ERC-POC), reflecting a culture of empowering individual researchers to lead focused investigations. When they join larger consortia (HARMONY, cONCReTE, CLOSER), they contribute specialist haematology expertise to multi-partner networks — they have worked with 131 unique partners across 20 countries, showing broad European reach without over-dependence on any single collaborator.
With 131 unique consortium partners across 20 countries, the institute maintains a wide European network concentrated in haematology and oncology research. Their participation in large IMI-scale projects like HARMONY connects them to major pharmaceutical companies and clinical centres across Europe and Latin America (via CLOSER).
Unlike generalist cancer research centres, Josep Carreras is laser-focused on haematological malignancies — leukaemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes — giving them deep rather than broad expertise. Their unusual combination of PI3K rare disease research (PROS, PHTS) with leukaemia biology creates a distinctive niche connecting monogenic disorders to cancer mechanisms. They also demonstrate a rare ability to move from basic science (ERC-funded) through proof-of-concept (ERC-POC immunotherapy projects) toward clinical translation, all within a single institute.
