The 'Centre de Recerca en Epidemiologia Ambiental' (CREAL) [Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology], is an institute created at the end of 2005 with the mission of promoting and developing advanced epidemiological research into the environmental factors that affect human health, in order to help prevent and control their harmful effects.

Research programmes

CREAL's research is focused on 6 research programmes: Respiratory, Cancer, Childhood, Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Radiation. Also we have more projects related with our research as Biostatistics and Educational projects.

CREAL is mainly conducting applied research aimed at developing health protection policies that will lead to the prevention of diseases and social disabilities due to environmental exposures.

Commitment with the public health

CREAL promotes environmental epidemiology as a main scientific area of public health and, as such, CREAL demonstrates the will and commitment for collaborating in the processes of risk evaluation and the practice of the public environmental health.

Public environmental health confronts major challenges to protect the populations of the effects of physical, chemical and biological agents in both developed and developing countries.

These challenges can be confronted by means of competitive research projects , advanced education and multidisciplinary national and international collaborations.

Joint initiative

CREAL is an initiative of the Generalitat de Catalunya with the collaboration of Parc de Salut Mar from Barcelona and Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Despite its recent constitution, the centre follows environmental epidemiological research that was initially based at the Unitat de Recerca Respiratòria i Ambiental (URRA) [Unit of Respiratory and Environmental Research] of the Hospital del Mar Research Centre (IMIM).

CREAL's research staff has a long experience in research evaluating environmental risks, as well as training in environmental epidemiology.

Over the last years, the alliance between the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health Foundation (ISGlobal) has successfully developed a cutting-edge cluster of research expertise with capacity to address health challenges, including infectious diseases and non-communicable chronic diseases, with a strong focus on their environmental determinants. This alliance is evolving into a merger of both centres in an integrated ISGlobal.