Athletic Club & CIC bioGune, football and science hand in hand

CIC bioGune, located in the Bizkaia Science and Technology Park, is one of the most prestigious biomedical research centres in Europe.

Recognised as a ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’, CIC bioGune has modern scientific infrastructures led by top-level experts who carry out vitally important work in the field of health studies and disease prevention.

CIC bioGune is ideal partner for Athletic Club's commitment to scientific innovation and social impact. Iñigo San Millán, Athletic's director of performance, will be in charge of leading this joint project between the two entities.

This is an alliance that started with two independent projects, but which have a mutual focus on cutting-edge research and the promotion of sport as a fundamental tool for a healthy lifestyle.

Scientific innovation and social impact

The first project focuses on the analysis of performance biomarkers. Through this study, Athletic Club obtains quality data with which to improve its youth development work. CIC bioGune can gather analytical information of great scientific interest for the High-Performance Centre that San Millán runs in Lezama.

The second project incorporates an element of societal impact, as it aims to prevent diabetes at an early age. A sedentary lifestyle is an increasingly widespread enemy of health in society and any analysis that makes it possible to detect its future occurrence represents an advance in social well-being. In this project, Lezama will serve as a contrast group for the research carried out by CIC bioGune.

In short, football and science go hand in hand, an integral aspect of the AC Aurrera action plan guiding Athletic Club.

Jon Uriarte's visit to CIC bioGune
 

To mark the agreement reached between Athletic Club and CIC bioGune, club president Jon Uriarte, accompanied by Iñigo San Millán and director Ignacio Urigüen, visited the research centre's facilities at the Bizkaia Science and Technology Park.  

The Athletic Club president has seen in situ how a team of more than 200 scientists and technicians, organised in 19 groups and six technological platforms, carry out pioneering multidisciplinary research that combines studies where chemistry, mathematics, biology and biomedicine come together with one main mission: to advance in precision medicine by exploring the molecular mechanisms of diseases.

Starting from this season, Athletic Club will team up with CIC bioGune's team of scientists to contribute to the research being done while also raising awareness about how science can be used for the greater good.