Universidad de Zaragoza

Brief Overview

The University of Zaragoza is a public higher education and research institution with 500 years of history, having over 27,000 undergraduate, 2,000 master and 1,900 PhD students. All its 54 degrees, 55 masters and 45 doctorate programmes are adapted to the European Higher Education Area. Research activities at UZ span over Arts and Humanities, Experimental Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Engineering. UZ promotes transfer of knowledge, with over 3200 contracts with industries, and a high number of patents, and spin-off companies.
The Mycobacterial Genetics Group (MGG) at UZ has more than 25 years of mycobacterial research experience.

Research Areas

Epidemiology\Immunology\Infection\Microbiology\Molecular biology

Host center eligibility

Global fellowships (return phase only)\ European fellowships

Research infrastructure/facilities

The Department of Microbiology-PRSP has laboratories at the Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Miguel Servet, and Aragon Center for Biomedical Research dedicated to antimicrobials, molecular genetics, immunology, vaccinology, and molecular epidemiology of respiratory diseases, mainly tuberculosis. There is a BSL-3 laboratory fully operative according to national and European safety regulations. BIFI has laboratories dedicated to protein expression and crystallization, and platforms for screening compounds as drug candidates for many diseases including respiratory. UZ provides core facilities (genomics, proteomics, flow cytometry, confocal and electron microscopy, animal facilities) and is a partner of CIBERES (national network for research on respiratory diseases).

Research funding/Resources

On average, every year, the University of Zaragoza gets competitive funds for research valued over 35 million euros, including EU-funded projects (over 6 million euros), national projects (over 8 million euros) and other regional, public, and private funds. EU-funding for research on respiratory diseases at Department of Microbiology and BIFI comes from FP7 and H2020 programmes, and projects are focused on tuberculosis vaccine development (TBVAC2020), drug and regimen development for tuberculosis (MM4TB, ERA4TB), and novel drug formulations for microbes causing respiratory diseases (NAREB). Recently, several grants for research on coronavirus epidemiology, immunology and drug discovery, have been awarded.

Links to non-academic sector

The University of Zaragoza has many links with industry, including collaborative projects with major European pharmaceutical industries for research on tuberculosis, asthma and other respiratory diseases, as well as collaborations with biotech companies for development of diagnostics and drugs. Research groups at Department of Microbiology-PRSP and BIFI collaborate with Clinical Microbiology departments of major hospitals in Zaragoza, and with our regional health care system. Department of Microbiology-PRSP and BIFI also contribute significantly to initiatives for promoting dissemination and public understanding of science. All this provides non-academic training opportunities for our researchers.

Experience hosting international researchers, career development & training programmes, outreach activities

The University of Zaragoza has attracted an increasing number of international students, mainly from Europe and Latin America. Most research groups at Department of Microbiology-PRSP and BIFI host international PhD students or postdocs, and some groups are leaded by a non-Spanish principal investigator. PhD thesis, seminars and lab meetings are in English. The UZ has an office dedicated to help foreign researchers to find accommodation, to get visa and work permits when needed, and to deal with administrative issues. This make a multinational and friendly atmosphere that helps new researchers to integrate in work and in life.

HR Excellence in Research – EU award

Yes