Joan Comella will take over the management of the Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, replacing Emili Bargalló

Today, April 29, the leadership transition at the Fundació Sant Joan de Déu (FSJD) becomes effective. In this new stage, Joan Comella takes over the leadership from Emili Bargalló, who concludes a 15-year period leading the institution.

Joan Comella will combine the new responsibility at the head of the Fundació with the continuation of his current roles as director of the Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD) and in the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Learning at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital Barcelona (HSJD), thus strengthening the strategic integration between research, innovation and institutional management.

The new leadership will maintain a strong drive for research in all its areas: translational and clinical, as well as in strategic fields such as pediatrics, mental health and rare diseases. At the same time, the commitment to providing maximum support for the management of research at Sant Joan de Déu will be reinforced, with special attention to the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital and the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu (PSSJD), two key centers for the institution's healthcare, teaching and research progress, as well as for generating impact on health and social well-being.

On this basis, a networked research ecosystem will continue to be consolidated, going beyond the already established strategic alliances with the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) an Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and also including leading hospitals such as Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge or Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, as well as monographic centers of excellence such as the Fundació Josep Carreras, Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC) or Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG), and other research groups linked to the Fundació "la Caixa". This ecosystem is also projected internationally through collaboration with partners such as King's College de Londres.

Under the leadership of Joan Comella, the Fundació faces the future with the determination to continue advancing its mission: to generate impactful, transformative research focused on the most vulnerable people, in order to improve their health and that of their families.

For his part, Emili Bargalló will remain linked to the Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, assuming the presidency of the FSJD Board of Trustees, from where he will continue to contribute his experience and strategic vision to institutional development. At the same time, he will dedicate his full working time to the Unitat Territorial I, the governance and territorial management structure of the Orde Hospitalari Sant Joan de Déu, where he has already carried out functions on a part-time basis over the last three years.

Emili Bargalló has driven, together with a broad team, the growth and positioning of the Fundació. In recent years, the institution has significantly strengthened its scientific output, increasing research activity and the impact of its publications. Likewise, he has helped achieve strategic milestones such as the CERCA accreditation, a recognition of the excellence of the scientific and governance model, and has strengthened its participation in international networks, achieving coordination and a prominent presence in top-level European and international projects. At the same time, the Fundació has promoted leading clinical trials, especially in highly specialized fields.

The Fundació Sant Joan de Déu benefits from the involvement and sustained commitment of the institutions that form part of its governance structure, especially the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Fundació "la Caixa". Their active participation in the Board of Trustees has been key to consolidating a model based on public-social and academic collaboration, strengthening excellence, strategic vision and the transformative capacity of the Fundació in the service of research and people.

The institution would like to express its deep gratitude to Emili Bargalló for his excellent work, commitment and dedication over these fifteen years, and wishes him every success in this new professional stage.