Roger Casals Franch, member of the CBBL and PhD candidate in the UVic-UCC Bioinformatics programme, has won the ninth edition of the University’s “Your Thesis in 4 Minutes” competition. The final took place in the Mercè Torrents room on the Vic campus and brought together fourteen doctoral candidates from the UVic-UCC Doctoral School.

Roger, who works at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Life Sciences and Health in Central Catalonia (IRIS-CC), is a Biotechnology graduate from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and holds a master’s degree in Bioinformatics from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

His awarded presentation, “Every cell tells a different story”, summarizes his thesis, focused on analysing how individual cells respond to the same disease or treatment. The research aims to better understand cellular diversity, a key factor for interpreting what is really happening inside the body.

The jury recognised Casals for presenting a clear, well-structured and accessible talk for a non-specialist audience. They also highlighted his ability to communicate enthusiasm, connect with the audience and hold their attention throughout the presentation.

As winner, Roger will represent UVic-UCC in the Catalan edition of “Present Your Thesis in 4 Minutes”, organised by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation. The competition will bring together representatives from all Catalan universities and will take place on 11 June 2026 at the Pilarín Bayés Library auditorium in Vic.

Sources: FCTE news item and L’Apunt UVic-UCC news item.