The Institute will have a new home at the UAB Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

The UAB and the Government of Catalonia are promoting the construction of the new UAB Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (CENIT-UAB), a major new scientific infrastructure that will strengthen the Bellaterra campus’s research capacity in neuroscience and neurotechnology.

The project includes a €20 million contribution from the Government of Catalonia between 2026 and 2029 and envisages a total estimated investment of €44.6 million, covering the construction of the building, scientific and technical facilities, equipment and the centre’s commissioning.

A new space for neuroscience research

The CENIT-UAB will have 17,809 m² of built-up area and will house the Institute of Neurosciences, as well as research groups working in psychology and cognition and a new platform specialising in neurotechnology.

For the INc-UAB, the new infrastructure represents an opportunity to further consolidate an interdisciplinary research environment in which different approaches to the nervous system can work in a coordinated manner to study cognition and brain circuits, neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases, ageing and neuroregeneration. At the same time, it will enable the expansion and improvement of technical laboratories, providing research teams with state-of-the-art services.

The new centre will bring together knowledge and methodologies from fields such as biology, medicine, psychology, engineering, materials science, data science and artificial intelligence. This combination will create new connections between fundamental research, technological development and the application of research findings to society’s needs.

Integrative neuroscience and neurotechnology

One of the CENIT-UAB’s main areas of focus will be the development of new tools to study, prevent and treat disorders of the nervous system.

Planned areas of activity include neuroprosthetics, bioelectronic and brain-computer interfaces, neuromodulation, nerve regeneration, and technologies aimed at restoring sensory, motor and autonomic functions.

This approach is aligned with the interdisciplinary nature of the INc-UAB and with the need to address the challenges of neuroscience from different scales and perspectives, ranging from cellular and molecular mechanisms to cognitive functions and behaviour.

A scientific ecosystem at the Bellaterra campus

The CENIT-UAB will enable the Institute to maintain and strengthen synergies with other scientific and technological infrastructures on and around the campus, as well as with hospital and research centres linked to the UAB.

In addition, the CENIT-UAB is being established with the aim of strengthening the relationship between research and innovation by promoting collaboration with companies working in the fields of neurotechnology and neuromodulation, with the goal of facilitating knowledge transfer and the development of new technological solutions.

A project with a 2029 horizon

According to the planned schedule, the detailed design project will be completed in September 2026, the construction contract is expected to be awarded in May 2027, and construction is scheduled for completion in May 2029. The complementary facilities and equipment should be completed by December 2029.

With the CENIT-UAB, the Institute will have a new environment in which to continue developing interdisciplinary, integrative neuroscience research aimed at addressing the major challenges of the nervous system, while strengthening connections with the campus’s scientific, healthcare and technological ecosystem.