Could you explain what are you currently investigating? Our research focuses on the Hepatitis C virus. We study how its variability allows it to evade the immune response, persist and become chronic in a patient. Our goal is to find the best way to diagnose it. This can help us design the most efficient treatment possible for each patient. Tell us what you usually do on a common day working in your lab.I have evolved from bench-work to management work: fund seeking, project evaluation, designing strategies, directing research projects...What do you like most about your work?I really enjoy new challenges. I fit were not so, I would not spend the many hours that I spend, which means 100% involvement. I have no set schedule, and I often take my work home... There is always new information, everyday problems.... You need a lot of dedication, but you have many rewards, motivation is already one. And what do you like the least?Right now, what I like the least is the difficulty in obtaining resources. We try to find funding from all sectors, not only the public one, but often you try 10 options and 9 do not work. And this is because science is still far from society. We must raise public awareness that investing in science is critical for a country´s future. Without science there is no future. Your greatest satisfaction as a researcher was…In science, when you obtain a good result you are already thinking about the next step. It is an ongoing challenge. A satisfying period for me was my post-doc in the United States. It was fabulous! We worked on evolutionary parameters using RNA viruses as a tool, since these evolve a million times faster than higher organisms and, therefore, allow testing evolutionary hypothesis in a short time. It is like Alice in Wonderland: run as fast as you can to stay in the same place! Not to improve, but to be there, to survive.How do you feel about a major scientific discovery?First of all you have to be critical and not get carried away by the novelty. Read the article. Time puts things in their place: if the result can be repeated, then it is valuable. You have to be cautious because nothing in science is the panacea. It is true the proverb that says: patience is the mother of science?Patience and persistence are necessary. Many times you start things that end up going nowhere, and you have to change and adapt, as viruses do. Evolution is adaptation. In times of crisis, why is it necessary to maintain and encourage investment in biomedical research?It´s precisely the good moment to invest. Catalunya is where more investment in research should be made, in particular in biomedical research, which is our strength. We should believe in ourselves and advance together as a biomedical hub to attract capital from the multinationals. Basing an economy on research gives incredible power in order to obtain patents, develop products, treatments.... We already have the talent. We need more involvement of institutions and organisms. Currently, the problem here is that there is no continuity in the scientific career. Explain an example in your research group that shows that quality research has direct applications to the health of patients. In our group we try to carry out basic research together with direct applied research to the clinic. Sometimes a medical doctor comes and says “I have this problem....” and we try to find a solution. In fact, all basic research ends up having a practical application for the health of a patient, and we need to invest in both in an equilibrated manner.Why do you like working at VHIR? I started working here many years ago, when the Research Institute did not exist as such. If at that time someone had told us how it would be now, we would not have believed him! Before, we did everything ourselves. Now we have a structure that provides us with facilities at many levels: installations, project management... We have very good services and we must keep them going.