Dr. Joan Comella, director of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), has been appointed member-at-large of the http://www.icord.se/" International Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Drugs (ICORD). He was elected at the general assembly of the international society, which took place in October in Cape Town, South Africa.The ICORD society involves health care, research, academic, industry, patient organizations, regulatory authorities, health authorities and public policy professionals. Its mission is to improve the welfare of patients with rare diseases and their families world-wide through better knowledge, research, care, information, education and awareness.The presence of Dr. Comella in the board of ICORD reflects the commitment of the institute with the research on rare diseases. More than 350 professionals (composed of physicians, predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers, nurses and technical staff) are currently working at VHIR to move forward in the knowledge of these diseases. Specifically, they are investigating nearly 200 rare diseases with the aim to find treatments to improve these patients' quality of life.