Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) leads for the first time the number of research projects granted by the Spanish Health Institute (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) in the ‘Acción Estratégica de Salud 2012’ call.VHIR leads the ranking with 31 projects granted of its 77 presented. Among the projects funded include 7 from the neurosciences area, 4 from the cardiovascular diseases, 4 from the infectious diseases, and 4 more from the area of digestive and liver diseases. The projects will be funded with 3.478.334 eurosThe second position of the ranking is for IDIBAPS, with 29 projects granted, followed by Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, with 23 projects.With this resolution, Catalonia is consolidated as a referent of biomedical research in Spain, with the 31,3 per cent of the 723 projects granted, followed by Madrid (26,3%), Andalucía (8,9) and Valencia (6,9%).