Pedro Jesús Vidal

Scientist by training, intra-entrepreneur by vocation. Healthcare Innovator; Tech-Transfer; Innovation project manager; Business developer.
His goal is to co-create, develop, and innovate in scientific-technological solutions with high added value and transfer them to society, as well as fostering projects and companies to achieve it.
Pedro Jesús Vidal holds a Biochemistry degree (University of Murcia, 2011) with the first cycle in chemistry, a Master in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (University of Murcia, 2012), a PhD in Biomedicine (University of Barcelona, 2020) and a Postgraduate in Health innovation “d·Health Barcelona” (Moebio-Biocat, Barcelona, 2020).
During the last year of the Bachelor’s degree, with a Collaboration Scholarship (during that period, I was an intern student for a year in the organic chemistry department and for two more years in the biochemistry department at the University of Murcia), and at the Master, he dealt and developed biomolecules with anti-inflammatory capacity, and their extraction, synthesis, purification, and analysis of these antioxidants, as well as enzyme kinetics. That work ended in the writing and publication of a research article in a high impact journal, and obtaining a contract for R+D+i practices training:
Inactivation of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase by natural betalains and semi-synthetic analogues. Food Chem. 2014 Jul 1; 154:246–54. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.01.014
At 2013 and 2014, he performed the “Entrepreneurship initiative” course from EOI, and worked at an environmental consulting, actively collaborated in the creation of a renewable energy Start-up, and also worked making organic synthesis for the pharmaceutical industry, as well as compound purification and analysis (FPLC, HPLC, NMR y GC-MS).
After that, he won several grants to do the thesis and also got a FPI contract, for which he came to Barcelona in 2015 to start his doctoral thesis at the Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) at the PCB, and the University of Barcelona. He defended the thesis “Critical size: effects and implications on growth and cell cycle” in 2020. His research topics focused on molecular and cell biology, microbiology, and genetic engineering (DNA, RNA, PCR, microscopy, and data and image analysis). He also managed several projects in parallel to the topic of the thesis, as well as supervisor for two ‘TFG’ about Anti-Prion finding.
He also did some entrepreneurship training at the StartUB!, as the Business Model Lab incubation.
At the end of the doctorate, he wanted to expand his professional future towards clinical and translational research and innovation. So, last 2020 he performed the Postgraduate in health innovation “Design Health Barcelona”, from Moebio-BIOCAT. This program aims to develop leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship in the healthcare sector, and it is based on the methodologies of Biodesign, created by Stanford University, and Lean Start-up. There, the participants carry out a complete cycle of innovation: Identify an unmet clinical need, identify a business idea, Design and Prototype a viable solution (medical device/app/service), and Develop a business model and search for funding. His team developed “Damia Health”, a digital solution to support and help pregnant women and clinicians to early detect and prevent the first symptoms of perinatal depression.
After that, he wanted to change the sector, from the lab to the market, to perform and improve the transfer of the knowledge and technology from the research centre and hospital to the market/companies, bringing both his biomedical and innovation expertise, as well as willing and wanted to continue learning and growing on these knowledges and skills.
About innovation, he won in 2019 the 3º award at the “Innovation days Barcelona” (EIT Health-UB), and last 2020, he participated as facilitator on it. During this 2021, he was participating as a mentor in the Technovation Girls program, helping girls to develop an App to solve international problems.
In September 2021, he joined the Unit of Molecular Epidemiology and Genetics in Infections and Cancer at the Cancer Epidemiology Research Program (PREC) in the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), with a project coordinator contract by IDIBELL, where he provided support in research activities and project management into the project “Effectiveness of HPV vaccination in the prevention of oral HPV infection in a young population” (PI: Alemany L. and Brotons M.).
On 2022, along with the previous project, he also join and support the SCREENWIDE (Screening signature of endometrial and ovarian cancers: options for early detection) and the RISCC (Risk-based Screening for Cervical Cancer, from the European Union) projects, involved in outreach activities on HPV and cervical cancer prevention and early detection methods, such as vaccination and screening.
In 2022, he did a Master of Global Business Administration (MBA) from the OBS Business School and the University of Barcelona, and host and organized some webinar about Tech transfer and VC, being part of the EIT Health Innovator community, that nowadays, he is a local representative at Barcelona.
From January 2023, he works at Biocat at the innovation and business development department, as the responsible of the TTO from universities, hospitals, and research institutions, supporting Startups and academic projects on the way of accelerating their projects and the tech-transfer, and managing Open Innovation programmes.