Once the construction of the first phase of the ITB headquarters building was completed at the end of 2021, the laboratory furniture was acquired and installed, along with the relocation of large equipment previously housed in laboratories of different departments. The new building, located on the Health Sciences Campus and near the University Hospital Complex of the Canary Islands, has approximately 4,000 m2 and comprises three floors: (i) an advanced animal facility for rodents and other small animals, specially designed for the generation and maintenance of genetically mutated animals; (ii) a floor housing spaces for technology transfer activities through the Bioavance Foundation, laboratories for the institute's large shared equipment, a large area for experimental laboratories where researchers will be based, and a seminar room equipped for doctoral thesis defenses; and (iii) a technical floor, located between the two previous floors, for managing the maintenance of the building's general facilities.
During its creation, the ITB's research groups have participated in a coordinated manner in competitive national and European infrastructure calls, which has allowed them to progressively acquire the necessary equipment and renew it at an appropriate pace. Currently, the institute's shared infrastructure consists of the following units, platforms, and services:
- SIMA (Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Service): (i) state-of-the-art equipment for confocal microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy; (ii) system for microdissection and optical sections at the cellular level; (iii) electrophysiology for studies combined with live-cell imaging techniques 🡪 Responsible: Dr. Teresa Giráldez Fernández
- Analytical instrumentation and sample preparation services, including: (i) spectrometry, spectrofluorometry and microplate readers; (ii) benchtop centrifuges and ultracentrifuges; (iii) advanced systems for quantifying proteins and DNA in different preparations; (iv) cell and particle counters; (v) flow cytometry.
- Cell and tissue culture rooms, including P2 type facilities
- Brain and tissue bank
- ProITB: proteomics unit 🡪 Responsible: Dr. Juan Ramón Hernández Fernaud
- Lipidomics and metabolomics
- SOMA (Service for Obtaining and Cryopreservation of Animal Models) 🡪 Responsible: Dr. Belinda Rivero Pérez
- Phenotyping, genotyping and behavioral studies of rodents (in the animal facility)
Additionally, the institute's research groups have access to the ULL's General Research Support Services (SEGAI), located on the Anchieta Campus. These services include shared equipment and scientific and technical instrumental support for both internal and external groups. Specifically, the infrastructure for biomedical and biotechnological experimentation includes a general animal facility, microscopy, genomics, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for chemical analysis and structural biology, and MRI for studying brain function. Furthermore, the institute's translational research groups have access to and regularly collaborate with the Clinical Trials Unit of the University Hospital Complex of the Canary Islands—part of the Spanish Clinical Trials Center (CAIBER) and the Biobank service, accredited by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, through the collaboration between ITB and the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER), the institute's researchers have access to the TEIDE supercomputer and the genomics laboratory at ITER.