Andalusian public research foundation specializing in autoimmune disease, inflammation biology, bioinformatics infrastructure, and science engagement.
FPS is the public biomedical research foundation of Andalusia (Spain), serving as the region's infrastructure backbone for health research, clinical trials, and life science data management. They coordinate large-scale autoimmune disease and inflammation studies, run nanomedicine doctoral training, and manage bioinformatics infrastructure linked to the European ELIXIR network. Beyond bench research, they play a strong regional role in science communication and responsible research, running annual "Open Researchers" public engagement campaigns across Andalusia.
Coordinated the flagship 3TR project (EUR 8.9M) on treatment non-response in autoimmunity, plus RoBE on lupus B-cell mechanisms, NECESSITY on Sjögren's Syndrome, and Onco-inflammation on cancer-inflammation links.
Participated in four consecutive OPENRESEARCHERS campaigns (2016-2022) focused on responsible research, scientific vocations, and public understanding of science in Andalusia.
Contributed to ELIXIR-EXCELERATE and ELIXIR-CONVERGE, supporting life science data management, FAIR principles, and sustainable research infrastructure across Europe.
Coordinated the NanoMedPhD doctoral programme covering nanodiagnostics, therapeutic nanosystems, and regenerative nanomedicine.
Participated in MLFPM2018 on machine learning for precision medicine and integrated predictive modeling into 3TR for disease stratification.
Coordinated Onco-inflammation on inflammation-driven genomic instability in pancreatic cancer (2022) and PB_dormancy on breast cancer dormancy mechanisms (2020).
In their early H2020 period (2015-2018), FPS focused on research infrastructure (ELIXIR bioinformatics), public engagement (Open Researchers), and foundational health studies like age-related macular degeneration and mHealth. From 2019 onward, their work pivoted sharply toward molecular-level disease mechanisms — autoimmune inflammation, cancer biology, precision medicine, and single-cell genomics — with FPS stepping up as coordinator of their largest projects. This shift from infrastructure and outreach support roles to leading disease-mechanism research marks a clear maturation of their scientific ambitions.
FPS is moving toward data-intensive molecular medicine, combining their bioinformatics infrastructure with autoimmune and cancer research — expect future work at the intersection of multi-omics, inflammation biology, and clinical stratification.
FPS operates as both a consortium leader and an active partner, coordinating 5 of their 17 projects including the massive EUR 8.9M 3TR initiative. With 232 unique partners across 28 countries, they maintain a broad and non-repetitive network — characteristic of a hub organization that connects different research communities rather than relying on a fixed set of collaborators. Their coordination of 3TR (one of the largest autoimmune consortia in H2020) demonstrates capacity to manage complex, multi-partner clinical-research programmes.
FPS has collaborated with 232 unique partners across 28 countries, indicating a deeply pan-European network. Their consortium work spans from Nordic clinical partners (through 3TR) to Southern European research institutes, with no strong geographic bias beyond their Andalusian home base.
FPS occupies a rare dual role: they are both a regional health research foundation with deep roots in Andalusia's public health system and a credible coordinator of multi-million-euro European disease research consortia. Their combination of ELIXIR-linked bioinformatics infrastructure, clinical trial coordination capacity (3TR, NECESSITY), and strong public engagement track record makes them a versatile partner who can handle both the data science and the patient-facing sides of biomedical projects. For consortium builders, they offer a direct bridge into the Spanish public health research ecosystem with proven large-project management experience.
