The Fundació Institut de Recerca of the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron (FIR-HUVH) has now been in operation for a full decade, with biomedical research conducted at the Institut de Recerca of the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron (IR-HUVH) becoming stronger over time to the point that the HUVH is now the second most important state-run hospital in Spanish in terms of total impact factor for its publications.

Although this is important, several key aspects of research at the IR-HUVH should also be emphasized, as they help define its work: the Fundació's close relationship with clinical-care activities, which led to its founding and for which it attempts to provide diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic solutions, is an approach that could be defined as “two-way translational research” from patient to laboratory and from laboratory to patient.

The FIR-HUVH  was founded in 1994 with the creation of the Fundació de Recerca Biomèdica i Docència of the Ciutat Sanitària Vall d’Hebron. In 2002 the Foundation was given its current name, and membership to its Board of Directors was expanded to include institutions such as the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Agència d’Avaluació de Tecnologies Sanitàries i Recerca Mèdica, and more recently the  Banc de Sang i Teixits (BST), the Institut Català de Farmacologia (ICF) and the Institut de Diagnòstic per la Imatge (IDI). According to its Articles of Association, the overall purpose of the FIR-HUVH is to support, promote, and foster research, scientific and technological knowledge, teaching, and training within the context of the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebronand its areas of influence and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.