Translational Medicine Explored – TMex 2026

Date & Time 30 November - 3 December 2026
Address Residència Salesiana Martí-Codolar
Registration opens 15 June 2026
Registration closes 15 August 2026
Location Barcelona, Spain

Experience translational medicine in our 4-day course for PhD students and Postdocs and learn how to translate your ideas into health solutions

Are you a biomedical researcher who wants to explore how your work can be turned into patient benefit; or do you want to learn more about the process of medicinal product development and the career prospects available in the field? In this course, participants experience how translation of biomedical discoveries into products that provide patient benefit requires a truly multidisciplinary effort. 

How does the course work? 

Translational Medicine Explored (TMex) is an interactive 4-day course focused on how research can be successfully translated from the laboratory to the clinic.  You will learn from real-life scenarios presented by experts in the field, and group assignments about the elements needed for successfully translating biomedical research into patient benefit. Before attending the 4-day course, an 8-hour e-learning course will equip you with the essential knowledge to make the most of the course.  

Who is the course for? 

Designed for early-career researchers (e.g. late-stage PhD students, early postdoctoral and medical students in academia and/or industry), TMex provides skills and knowledge directly applicable to your research, along with professional development opportunities (e.g. networking and development of teamwork skills) and exposure to a variety of career opportunities available in translational medicine.  

What will I learn? 

Covering topics as diverse as target validation, patient engagement and entrepreneurship, the course will meet the following learning objectives, where participants attending the course will be able to: 

  • Describe the key steps and questions to be addressed when translating scientific discoveries into medical products; 
  • Define the different stakeholders and multidisciplinary experts involved in translation and the importance of strong partnerships; 
  • Recognise the importance of collaborating with patients and demonstrate strategies for engagement; 
  • Examine key translational medicine bottlenecks and opportunities. 

“TMex has been a transformative experience. The balance between science, practical activities, and patient-centred thinking gave me tools I can use immediately in my work. I highly recommend this course to anyone involved in translational medicine.”
Liron Meidan, Patient Expert & Medical Communications Specialist

How to apply and costs?

The course fee of €550 includes daytime catering plus 2 evening social activities.  Please note that travel and accommodation is not included.

Regular course fee €550
Discounted course fee for EATRIS members, EUPATI fellows , candidates from EU-13 countries* €350
Discounted course fee for candidates from EU-13 countries* including 4 nights accommodation – 2 seats available! €350
4 nights accommodation on site, limited to EATRIS members €200 – only 15 rooms available

Green discount – €75 will be refunded to participants coming by train from further than 500km. 

*Participants based in Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (HR), Cyprus (CY), Czech Republic (CZ), Estonia (EE), Hungary (HU), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Malta (MT), Poland (PL), Romania (RO), Slovakia (SK) and Slovenia (SI).

How to apply?

To apply you will be asked to provide some details, including a brief outline of your current research and your motivation for attending the course. We are only accepting 30 participants, so make sure you apply soon. Registration will close on 15 August 2026 for discounted fee and accommodation, and on 18 September 2026 for regular fee, if seats are still available.

 APPLY NOW 

About the course organisers 

EATRIS is a non-profit organisation bringing together people, resources and services to translate scientific discoveries into benefits for patients. 

Course highlights

  • REPURPOLIS educational bord game
    Rosan Vegter, Senior Rare Diseases Innovation Officer at EATRIS
    Navigate the complex journey of bringing a repurposing drug candidate to patients. Work your way through real-world challenges, from formulation, preclinical and clinical research, patient engagement, funding, regulatory interactions to commercialization, and patient access.
  • Translational success stories
    Ramón Martí Seves, Group Leader at VHIR
    Hear from VHIR researcher Ramón Martí Seves about the rewarding journey from understanding a rare disease (TK2 deficiency) to successfully treating patients.
  • Understanding the opportunities of cloud computing, AI and open science for Translational Research
    Sarah Morgan, Training Manager at EATRIS
    In an interactive session you will find out more about how you can use cloud computing, AI and open science to advance your translational research, and how Translational Research becomes more powerful with new data technologies and when being FAIR.
  • At the heart of translational medicine: the patient
    Ariadna Laguna Tuset, Principal Investigator at VHIR; Meritxell Teixido, CEO and co-founder at Gate2brain; Isabel Huber Ruano, CEO and co-founder at SucciPro
    How do you make sure that your research and the treatments you are developing are indeed what patients need? Why and how to make patients voices heard through the whole drug development process? This is the kind of questions every translational researcher needs to address and keep in mind during all stages of their work. This session will provide insights, tools and resources to help you incorporate patient engagement in your research path.
  • The innovation landscape: Drivers of value
    Donald Lo, Director of Medicines Development at EATRIS
    How do you actually get your treatment to the patient? This is where innovation strategies come into the equation of translational medicine. In this session, Donald Lo, EATRIS Director of Medicines Development, will guide you through the complexities of the innovation landscape.

To get a more comprehensive idea of what to expect from TMex, you can have a look at reports from our previous courses: TMex 2024 report, TMex 2025 report.

Course programme (subject to change)

 

Monday 30 November Tuesday 1 December Wednesday 2 December Thursday 3 December
Welcome and introductions Ariadna Laguna Tuset, VHIR
Meritxell Teixido, Gate2brain

Patient Centricity
activity

TBC Sarah Morgan, EATRIS
Isabel Huber Ruano, SucciPro
Entrepreneurship and patient-centric research in academia and industry
Board game: bringing a repurposed medicine to the patient Sarah Morgan, EATRIS
Clinical trials activity
Break Break Break Break
Board game continued Patient Centricity
activity continued
Clinical trials activity continued Entrepreneurship and patient-centric research in academia and industry

continued

TBC Don Lo, EATRIS
Target product profiles
Break Break Break Break
Quiz: Product Types Participants project introductions Rosan Vegter, EATRIS
Target Product Profile activity
TBC
Ramon Marti, VHIR
TK-2 deficiency, a success story
TK-2 deficiency activity TBC Closing activity
Break Break Break
TK-2 deficiency activity continued Sarah Morgan, EATRIS

Data and reproducibility

TBC
Don Lo, EATRIS
The innovation landscape: drivers of value
Daily wrap up Daily wrap up Daily wrap up
Welcome evening Careers & tapas

 

 

 

 

Contact

Lauranne Duquenne
Education & Training Manager