Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Spain
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), located in Bellaterra, is one of the major public universities in Spain. The UAB has been acknowledged for its teaching quality and attracting international talent. In the 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings, the UAB placed third among Spanish universities, 175th in the world ranking and 74th within Europe.
Regarding the UAB’s research activity annual data (for 2024): 5,446 articles published (Clarivate Analytics WoS), 58 international research projects and 228 national research projects, 41 patents filed, and 1 new company hosted at the UAB’s Research Park. The UAB’s research covers extremely varied areas of knowledge into a single campus, which helps to promote multi-disciplinary research. UAB is also the hub of UAB Sphere, a knowledge ecosystem that includes research centres (most located on the UAB’s campus), local businesses, authorities, and the largest hospital network in Catalonia, collaborating in the social and economic development of the region.
UAB has over 40,000 students (including 5,000 foreign students) and almost 6,000 researchers and teaching staff. UAB offers 100 bachelor’s degrees, 140 master’s degrees, 9 Erasmus Mundus master’s degrees and 67 doctoral programs. More than 800 dissertations are defended per year.
Lead: Dr. Alberto Allepuz
Role: WP3 Lead (Pilot Studies)
Funders
Alberto Allepuz
Senior epidemiologist with 20 years of experience in the field of animal health. Professor in the Department of Animal Anatomy and Health since 2002 at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He has participated in various national and international training courses, and is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, primarily in epidemiology, health policy, and diseases of legal importance. His research has always focused on the application of epidemiological methods to improve animal health and has expertise in risk assessment, biosecurity, spatial analysis, and surveillance. In the last six years, he has published approximately 35 scientific articles and supervised five doctoral theses. He is currently supervising five doctoral theses in which biosecurity is a key component.
Gerard Martín-Valls
Researcher with 18 years of experience in the field of animal health and welfare. His research career started at the Research Centre of Animal Health (CReSA) from 2008 to 2016, as PhD student and post-doc. In 2016, he enrolled the Department of Animal Anatomy and Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and more recently, also the Department of Food and Animal Science. His research has focused on the study of infectious diseases, its diagnosis, impact, and prevention with a clear focus on biosecurity and the development of control programs. In the last three years, he is also involved in research on the topic of animal welfare. From 2019, he has published 24 scientific articles, supervised one doctoral thesis and 4 master thesis. He is currently supervising one doctoral thesis in which biosecurity is a key component.
Georgina Molero
Veterinarian and PhD candidate at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she specializes in veterinary epidemiology and biosecurity. After completing a Master’s degree in One Health and Zoonoses, with a thesis on collective learning in cattle biosecurity, she continued her academic career with a doctoral project focused on tailored biosecurity strategies for non-intensive farming systems. She has participated in national and international research contests and conferences from an early stage, strengthening her expertise and interest in disease prevention. She has also completed training programs in animal health and welfare and aims to further expand her professional experience in the field. Her research interests include on-farm biosecurity evaluation and the development of practical tools to support decision-making in animal health programs.