The venue took place at the anatomic amphitheater of the Reial Acadèmia de Medicina de Catalunya, where Dr. Ribera delivered the talk “Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in adults. What did we do from the Cooperative Group PETHEMA?”, hosted by Dr. Evarist Feliu, former numerary member of the academy and Josep Carreras Institute campus coordinator at ICO – Germans Trias i Pujol.

In his presentation, Dr. Ribera reviewed his own academic and professional career in the field of acute lymphoblastic leukemia as member of the Hematology Treatments Spanish Program (PETHEMA), and described the progress acquired in the last three decades on the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, both in adult and pediatric patients.

The royal academy was founded in 1770, but its roots can be followed up to 1401, when the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau was created. Since its foundation, the academy has had more than 350 numerary members, virtually all the great personalities in the Catalan medicine.

Academic and professional career

Dr. Ribera graduated in medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 1979 and obtained his PhD from the Universitat de Barcelona in 1987. As a medical doctor specialized in hematology and hemotherapy, he practiced as assistant physician at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and as chief of the clinical hematology section at the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, where he is the current clinical hematology service chief.

In parallel of his medical practice, Dr. Ribera stands out as a researcher aimed at reaching a better diagnosis and treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He is member of the Josep Carreras Institute’s internal scientific advisory board, and also its Clinical Director and leader of the acute lymphoblastic leukemia research group.

His research groups have produced over 500 indexed publications and has authored 97 book chapters. As a teacher, Dr. Ribera has a long career at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, occupying a chair at the Medicine Faculty since 2020.