International reference in the study of the brain
Leading neuroscience research center in Spain
The Cajal Institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest neuroscience research center in Spain and one of the most important international benchmarks in neuroscience research..
The scientific activity of the center has a clear multidisciplinary perspective aimed, ultimately, at understanding the functioning of the complex structure of the nervous system, both during the developmental period and in the adult individual.
Research, training and transfer
The work of the Institute is materialized in specific lines of study that cover all current areas of neuroscientific research, from the mechanisms of neuronal differentiation, hrough the study of the neurovascular unit, signal processing, neuroprotection and regeneration, as well as the analysis of systemic modulators of brain function..
The center's research activity is complemented by the training of predoctoral and postdoctoral students, as well as by the provision of specialized technology to other public or private research centers and the transfer to society of the knowledge generated at the Institute, with a growing number of patent applications and the creation of several spin-offs in recent years.
History
The Institute has its origin in the Biological Research Laboratory founded in 1900, with the awarding of the Moscow Prize to Ramón y Cajal. After the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine (1906) and the creation of the Junta de Ampliación de Estudios (1907), Cajal was appointed president of the same and a decree of Alfonso XIII ordered the construction of a new headquarters and his appointment as director in 1920..
Pioneer in brain research
The center finally inaugurated the new building in 1932, located in Madrid's Cerro de San Blas, changing its name to Cajal Institute to honor the memory of its founder. Since its origins, the scientific activity of the institute has been focused on the knowledge of the structure and function of the nervous system.
It is, therefore, the oldest neurobiological research center in Spain. Throughout its more than 100 years of history, renowned researchers and professionals from this center have contributed to the spectacular progress of Neuroscience in research institutions around the world.
The backbone of Spanish neuroscience
The current headquarters of the Cajal Institute, located on Avenida del Dr. Arce in Madrid, was built by order of the General Secretariat of the CSIC and inaugurated in 1989. With a surface area of 4,770 m2, it includes laboratories for research personnel supported by their corresponding associated services such as electron microscopy rooms, culture rooms, cold chambers, animal facilities, operating rooms, etc., distinguishing on the one hand the centralized premises for the building, and on the other hand the auxiliary areas of each floor. There are also, as an important part of the complex, some some general services including library, assembly hall and exhibition area, in addition to the functional cores and facilities necessary for the proper functioning of the center.
The center is currently preparing to face the challenges of the future and maintain its role as the backbone of neuroscientific research in Spain, always bearing in mind the welfare of society as the ultimate goal of the knowledge and science generated in its laboratories. Today it can be said that society is on the verge of profound changes and important advances, thanks to the practical materialization of much of the knowledge developed by the Cajal Institute..
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