Noticias

Last Monday, January 30th, the European project of the Digital Innovation Hub of Navarra, IRIS, recognised in the 2022 call by the European Commission as a European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) was launched. Thanks to this recognition, SMEs will be able to access these services with the costs covered 100%.

These services aim to accelerate the digital transformation of Navarra's SMEs, increase the region's industrial competitiveness through digitalisation, as well as promote the development of Navarra's public administrations towards a higher degree of digitalisation. They also intend to promote a greater knowledge of the technologies that make it possible to achieve an advanced digital society, lead technological progress by generating research and innovation of excellence based on digital technologies, contribute to the development of business entrepreneurship at all stages and facilitate and develop collaborations with other European regions and other leading hubs.
Precisely, IRIS EDIH's collaboration with other national and European EDIHs will facilitate and allow companies to access the best practices and digital trends and the most cutting-edge technologies at regional, national and European levels.

Specifically, the services offered by IRIS EDIH are included in three technological specialties: artificial intelligence, supercomputing and personalised precision medicine. They are structured into five categories of services, adapting to the needs of companies depending on their sector and level of digital maturity. These categories are: experimentation and testing, training and talent, access to financing, access to innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurship and networking, and personalised precision medicine through digitisation. These services are financed by the European Union, through the Digital programme, DG CONECT, and by each member state, in the case of Spain by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism (Mincotur), with funds from the Transformation, Recovery and Resilience Plan. Therefore, they will not entail any cost for the companies that hire them.
 
Participating entities
 
The consortium of the Digital Innovation Hub of Navarra, IRIS, to which the European project belongs, is chaired and promoted by the Government of Navarra, through the Department of Economic and business Development and the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation. The most relevant stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem of Navarra participate in it, including representatives of the SINAI (Navarra R&D&I System) such as universities, technology and research centres; ICT providers, professional associations, business associations and sectoral clusters. Of the 34 partner entities of the IRIS Consortium, 23 are part of the European proposal. The entities that are part of this European proposal, IRIS EDIH, are: ADItech, as coordinating entity, NAITEC, AIN, CNTA, Lurederra, CSIC, UPNA, University of Navarra, ATANA, Nasertic, Navarrabiomed, INTIA, CEIN, Dinabide, Tracasa Instrumental, Tracasa global, Nagrifood, CEN, Chamber of Navarra, Cluster Functional Print, Citi Navarra, Econet and the Professional Association of Engineers of Navarra.  In addition to the Government of Navarra and SODENA, which are associated with the project.

• The Strategic Action on Health, managed by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), is the main tool to finance biomedical and health research in Spain. 

The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the agreement authorising the 2023 call for grants from the Strategic Action on Health (AES), managed by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), which has a budget of about 144.3 million euros with national funds, 28% more than in 2018. This amount comes from the General State Budgets, thus consolidating the increasing and progressive financing established by the new Law on Science, Technology and Innovation.

The Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, has highlighted that the Government of Spain has placed health research as a priority to tackle diseases such as cancer. Morant pointed out that this new call promotes R&D&I on health in Spain, facilitating the development of research careers and offering opportunities for our researchers to continue developing biomedical science of the highest quality. 
The AES, which is published every year, is the main tool for financing biomedical and health research in Spain. This programme awards grants for the implementation of contracts and research projects to promote the development of R+D+I in health in our country and the careers of the research community in this field.  

The actions of the AES are aimed at protecting the health of citizens through R+D+I and respond to the priorities in population health in the preventive, diagnostic, curative, rehabilitative and palliative aspects of diseases.
 
What's New at AES 2023 
 
The AES 2023 continues to promote the creation of permanent jobs linked to post-doctoral programmes of excellence, an initiative that began with the Miguel Servet contracts and that this year is extended to the Juan Rodés contracts. Another highlight is the incorporation of the R3 certificate, created in the new Law of Science, Technology and Innovation.

In addition, the AES is adding new lines of health research this year related to the study of the social impact of health policies, digital innovation and chronicity, among others.

These research lines are in addition to those already established by the State Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation Plan 2021-2023, including research in vulnerable populations, the reduction of health inequalities, the study of the social determinants of health, advanced therapies and infectious diseases.

In addition to the AES 2023, the calls corresponding to the European funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan within the framework of the PERTE for Cutting-edge Health.

• The selection process has been carried out through an open and competitive process with 11 candidacies from several autonomous communities.

The board of trustees of Navarrabiomed-Miguel Servet Foundation, composed of representatives of the Government of Navarra and the Public University of Navarra and which manages the Navarrabiomed public biomedical research centre, has recently appointed the clinical neurologist and researcher Maite Mendioroz Iriarte as the new scientific director of this centre. Dr. Mendioroz underwent an open and competitive selection process with the participation of a total of 11 candidacies from several autonomous communities. 

Maite Mendioroz Iriarte (Pamplona, 1972) has a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Navarra (1996) and studied the specialty of neurology (MIR) at the Donostia Hospital. She continued her training at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital- Institut de Recerca (2006-2010), where she completed her doctoral thesis at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. From 2010-2012 she completed her training in neuroepigenetics with a stay as a Visiting Scientist at Columbia University (New York, United States).

Since 2010, Mendioroz has been part of the medical team of the Neurology Service of the University Hospital of Navarra (HUN), where she is the Research Coordinator and has worked in the area of neurodegenerative diseases. She has combined healthcare work with the leadership of the NeuroEpigenetics Unit from Navarrabiomed, thanks to the Intensification Program of La Caixa Banking Foundation, Caja Navarra Banking Foundation and Navarrabiomed and the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII). 

Throughout her career she has been a resident tutor and has directed 4 doctoral theses and 12 competitive national and international projects that have led to 98 scientific publications. She has participated in the evaluation of projects at the State Research Agency and as a panellist in Technical Evaluation Commissions of the ISCIII. She also has many acknowledgements and awards: Alberto Rábano National Prize for the best thesis in neuroscience from the Romanillos Foundation (2011), in 2018 she was named an Honorary Member of the European Council of Doctors, TELVA Prize for sciences 2018 and ranking Top 100 Leading Women in Spain 2021.

Mendioroz takes over from the UPNA Professor of Microbiology and Navarrabiomed researcher Inigo Lasa Uzcudun, who had been the director since November 2015 combining this work with the leadership of the Microbial Pathogenesis Unit of Navarrabiomed. 

About Navarrabiomed
Navarrabiomed is a public research centre created in 2012, promoted by the Department of Health of the Government of Navarra. Its mission is to promote, facilitate and conduct biomedical research to implement and develop therapies that improve the quality of the public health system.  Since 2016 and thanks to an agreement with the Public University of Navarra, Navarrabiomed has been developed as a joint centre with the aim of promoting biomedical research and enhancing the competitiveness of the bio-health sector of the region.

Currently, the centre is divided into 18 research units and 6 scientific-technical services for the promotion of scientific research and technological development, which bring together a total of 120 researchers. Through its support units, Navarrabiomed facilitates and promotes the research carried out by more than 250 health professionals from other public centres in the region.

The Miguel Servet Foundation is the body that manages the activity of the Navarrabiomed biomedical research centre since its creation. In parallel, the Foundation also acts as a scientific and technical support platform for Public health administration professionals for the development of research, innovation and training activities.
 

María Iranzu González-Borja, predoctoral researcher at the OncobionaTras Unit of Navarrabiomed-IdiSNA (current Oncobiona), will sit her viva for her doctoral thesis from the Public University of Navarra next Monday, May 23rd at 12:00 pm in the assembly hall of Navarrabiomed.

The doctoral work, which is entitled "Novel insights in biomarker discovery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma”, has been developed at Navarrabiomed under the direction of the Dr. Joaquín Fernández Irigoyen, and Dr. Antonio Viúdez Berral.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is considered one of the most aggressive types of cancer, and represents, approximately, 90% of pancreatic tumours. It is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide*, with a 5-year survival rate of 10.8%, largely due to its late diagnosis. Therefore, it is essential to identify new biomarkers that allow, on the one hand, early diagnosis of the disease and, on the other, to predict the response of these patients to different types of treatment in order to improve their prognosis.

This doctoral thesis is part of a multicentre study led by the University Hospital of Navarra (HUN), in which the hospitals La Paz, Marqués de Valdecilla, Miguel Servet and Reina Sofía have also participated. A total of 64 patients and 22 age and sex-matched healthy subjects. The research can be divided into 4 types of study: specific proteins present in serum (cytokines and growth factors); immunological cell populations present in blood and tumour tissue; differential proteomics studies in serum; and the study of the methylation of the CHFR gene promoter. The results obtained show that the use of serum levels of certain cytokines can help in the early diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, as well as predict the evolution of patients and their response to the different available treatments. Findings further show that the use of the levels of immune cell populations, in combination with the levels of CHFR gene expression in the tumour, can also help to identify those patients with a poorer prognosis.
 
Financing and disclosure

 The work carried out has led to several scientific publications. Among them, “Omics Approaches in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma”, published in Cancers, and “Deciphering CHFR Role in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma”, published in Frontiers in Medicine-Gastroenterology.

In addition, it has been disseminated in several national and international congresses, such as the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology, the European Society for Medical Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology ASCO- Hub.

For the development of the thesis, María Iranzu González has received several grants for the recruitment of doctoral students by companies and research and knowledge dissemination organizations: industrial doctoral students 2018-2020, Grants awarded by the Government of Navarra for the completion of doctoral theses, Grants for the Mobility of doctoral students from the Public University of Navarra (2018) for the completion of a stay at the Centre for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER) in Seville, Grants for the International Mobility of doctoral students from the Public University of Navarra (2019 ) for the completion of an international stay at the Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence (PMC) at Queens University (Belfast-Northern Ireland), and a scholarship to attend the European Pancreatic Club 51st Congress in Bergen (Norway).
 

*1. Rawla P, Sunkara T, Gaduputi V. Epidemiology of Pancreatic Cancer: Global Trends, Etiology and Risk Factors. World J Oncol. 2019;10(1):10-27.

2. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68(6):394-424.

The results of these projects, fronted in the Foral Community by Navarrabiomed in collaboration with the HUN, have been presented during the Scientific Conference “New horizons in aging and health”.

The teams of the Cross-border APTITUDE and OPTIMAGE projects have disclosed the results during the scientific conference “New horizons in aging and health”, held this morning in Pamplona. Both projects, 65% co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra Program (POCTEFA 2014-2020), have made it possible to deploy, in the cross-border area of the Pyrenees, dependence prevention actions for the elderly, through the creation of a network of experts that promote care, training, research and innovation in gerontology. 

Identifying fragility

The APTITUDE project is an initiative aimed at the creation of a cross-border structuring framework for cooperation in the care of the elderly.  Dr. Nicolás Martinez Velilla, head of the Geriatrics Research Unit of Navarrabiomed and Head of the Geriatrics Service of the University Hospital of Navarra, leads these initiatives the challenge being “not to live longer but to live better by preventing dependence and improving the quality of life of our elders.” Martinez has stressed the importance of putting the focus on the elderly: "aging is an outdated concept that encompasses very heterogeneous and complex realities. Depending on the degree of dependence, there are several concepts of frailty that we have to address globally thinking about the affected person, not the disease.” 

For this purpose, a network of experts that promotes gerontological care, training, research and innovation has been created. “It is essential to identify the fragile person so that, among all the different health professionals, we focus on them.” In this regard, with the aim of more accurately diagnosing the status of this sector of the population in our region and improving multidisciplinary cooperation between geriatricians and other health professionals, a screening of frailty exists in which 105 Navarreses with an average age of 78 years have participated. 

As he explained by Fabricio Zambon Ferraresi, researcher of Navarrabiomed, “the actions undertaken within the framework of the projects have been developed in the midst of the COVID health crisis, a particularly difficult situation for the elderly, who needed us more than ever.” Proof of this are the online training sessions of the Vivifrail Promotion of Physical Exercise or videos with practical tips to face the negative effects derived from confinement, aimed at older people during the months of lockdown.  
In addition, at the University Hospital of Navarra itself, an image tour of Navarra has been created to promote the physical and cognitive activity of hospitalized elderly people and work has also been done on the prevention of disability in rural areas.

Preventing pharmacological iatrogenesis

The objective of OPTIMAGE, which emerged as a result of APTITUDE, focuses on the optimization of pharmacotherapy in the elderly - stage in which some people are polymedicated taking up to 10 or 12 different drugs simultaneously - to avoid unintentional harm to the patient that leads to more hospital admissions and a poorer quality of life. These risks are technically called “pharmacological iatrogenesis". 

Victoria Roncal, regional coordinator of the OPTIMAGE project in Navarrabiomed, reveals that the project has allowed a more intense collaboration between the Geriatrics and Pharmacy services of the University Hospital of Navarra, within a specific consultation formed by a multidisciplinary team that addresses the challenges of polypharmacy. The specific incorporation of a specialist pharmacist to the Geriatrics team has meant a greater monitoring of the patient's pharmacotherapy, in the context of comprehensive geriatric assessment in all its facets: clinical, cognitive, social and functional, with the aim of achieving pharmacological optimization of both outpatient and inpatient geriatric patients. Specifically, between December 2020 and April 2022, the treatment of 1,025 hospitalized patients has been evaluated and, between May 2021 and April 2022, the pharmacotherapy of 317 people who have made a first visit to this specific service has been reviewed. 

Also within the framework of OPTIMAGE, good practices have been exchanged between health professionals from the different territories and a training cycle has been organized for community pharmacy professionals to transmit practical knowledge on the review of treatments in elderly people. 
On the other hand, Optipharm has been developed, a “game” in which a clinical case on pharmacological optimization in elderly people is recreated virtually. This application offers a safe simulation environment to make decisions and put into practice help tools for the optimization of pharmacotherapy in elderly people. 
Pharmacological iatrogenesis has been the focus of debate in a round table with the participation of María Javier Ramírez, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Nutrition - University of Navarra, Maite Sarobe, Head of the Pharmacy Service of the HUN- SNS-O and Javier Garjón, Head of the Drug Advisory and Information Service- SNS-O. All three have emphasized the safety of medicines and the tools or methodologies especially focused on the safety and prevention of this problem. 

Globalization of public health research

Both cooperation projects are clear examples of Navarrabiomed - Miguel Servet Foundation's commitment to globalize research in the public health system. Coinciding with the program of events organized and coordinated by the General Directorate of External Action of the Government of Navarra on the occasion of the European Week in Navarra, Marisol Fragoso, management director of Navarrabiomed, has stressed the importance of participating in European projects for the internationalization of research in the public health system of Navarra: "In addition, being an important source of funding, it further qualifies our researchers by increasing their competitiveness and allows access to other agents of the research system such as companies and universities, developing collaborations that consolidate and remain over time”. 
International meeting and workshops for the elderly.

During the conference, aging was also addressed by leading experts from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Chile.  Felipe Prosper, specialist in Haematology and Cell Therapy of the Navarra University Clinic and deputy director of IdiSNA has concluded this first block entitled "From molecules to patients". The scientific conference was closed by María Pilar Gayoso, deputy director general of Research in Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine of the Carlos III Health Institute.
In parallel, in Rincón de la Aduana, workshops have been organized that encouraged citizens to "take care of themselves and be a healthy senior”. Those interested have participated in seven activities: dance with Lorea Esparza, olfactory stimulation techniques within the framework of the Innolfact project, the Vivifrail physical exercise program promoted by Navarrabiomed and the University Hospital of Navarra, healthy habits and nutrition, new technologies and cognitive stimulation managed by the Red Cross. In addition, the Official Association of Pharmacists of Navarra, COFNA, has made available an information point on therapeutic adherence. 

Imanol Arozarena, principal investigator of the Cancer Signalling Unit of Navarrabiomed, leads one of the three projects awarded in the IdiSNA intramural call.

The CHOLANGIOMEL project, in which CIMA researchers collaborate, is one of the three projects awarded in the IdiSNA intramural call. It will be developed over the next two years and will receive a grant of € 25,000 for the study of lipid metabolism as a therapeutic target against metastatic cancer. 
According to Imanol Arozarena, as published in the Diario de Noticias "this project is going to focus on studying cholangiocarcinoma models, on whether drugs that block the tumour’s ability to use fats can prevent those cholangiocarcinoma tumour cells from forming metastases in the viscera, which is ultimately what kills patients." It is also about "generating more knowledge and better understanding why tumours use fats to form metastases" and, secondly, to achieve drug therapy that attempts to prevent the onset of metastases.

Lab manufacturing mini heart valves

Another project involving Navarrabiomed will obtain financing through the one granted in the IdiSNA intramural call. It is the study of the influence of anti-cancer treatments on valvulopathies that seeks to manufacture mini heart valves in the laboratory to study what effects chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments produce. It is led by Manuel Mazo Vega, from the University of Navarra Clinic/University of Navarra and has the collaboration of Navarrabiomed researcher Natalia López Andrés, head of the Navarrabiomed translational Cardiology unit. 

Read this news in Diario de Noticias

• The exhibition "From the cell to the patient. 10 Years moving forward together" was inaugurated this morning at the biomedical research centre

President Chivite launches the events for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of Navarrabiomed by inaugurating the exhibition "From the cell to the patient. 10 Years moving forward together ". Navarrabiomed, a joint centre of the Government of Navarra and the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), has been promoting, facilitating and conducting biomedical research for 10 years to develop therapies that improve the quality of the public health system.

This is an exhibition that highlights, with an informative approach, the challenges and opportunities posed by the integration of biomedical research in the clinical practice of the public health system over the last ten years. Currently, the exhibits are located in Navarrabiomed's entrance hall and during 2023 it will become a travelling exhibition scheduled to be located in different exhibition spaces around the Foral Community in order to reach the Navarrese citizenship. It will also be at the Pamplona Planetarium from mid-January 2023.

During the inauguration, the President highlighted the role of research: “Your work is essential to turn research into tangible results beneficial to citizens and the territory, as well as to strengthen our public health system“. On the other hand, she highlighted the commitment of the Government of Navarra to health research that guarantees the effective application of the results in terms of benefits for the health of citizens. “It is an essential mission that we have to promote from the public health systems. In recent years, the budget allocated to the Miguel Servet Foundation has been consolidated, with 2.7 million in 2017 reaching 3.5 million in 2020. And the preliminary draft budget 2023 proposes an increase of 12.5% compared to the previous year.”

Also present at the event were the Minister of Health, Santos Induráin; the Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Juan Cruz Cigudosa; the dean of UPNA, Ramón Gonzalo; the director of Navarrabiomed, Maite Mendioroz; and members of the board of trustees of the Miguel Servet Foundation, Navarrabiomed's managing body.

 
10 years moving forward with Navarrabiomed

Maite Mendioroz recalled that the mission of the research centre “is to promote, facilitate and conduct biomedical research to implement and develop therapies that improve the quality of the public health system.” Promoted 10 years ago by the Department of Health of the Government of Navarra, it became, in 2016, a joint centre with the Public University of Navarra, with the aim of promoting biomedical research and enhancing the competitiveness of the bio-health sector of the region.

In this regard, she stressed that "the presence of Navarrabiomed on the HUN campus for 10 years is not a coincidence. This convergence of research centre, hospital and university is essential for the knowledge generated by the three institutions to be transferred to healthcare practice.” 
Currently, the centre is divided into 20 research units and 6 scientific-technical services for the promotion of scientific research and technological development: Biobank, Clinical Trials, Methodology-Evaluation of health services, Proteomics, Animals, Experimental operating room and Clean Room of advanced therapies, CellMa, which bring together a total of 120 researchers. Through its support units, Navarrabiomed facilitates and promotes the research carried out by more than 250 health professionals from other public centres of the Navarra public health system. The director has rated the evolution of the centre of “extremely solid. It is curious to observe how a research centre evolves from being a very small centre with few research groups. In 2012, there were 49 of us, today we are 165. At the level of scientific output, it should be noted that, in 2013, Navarrabiomed published seven articles in journals indexed in JCR, five years later, 41 and in 2021, there were 181”. 

She concluded by saying: “We have fulfilled the fundamental objectives of the Strategic Plan and today, we are working on the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. After 10 years of work and now analysing what has happened, we can launch a new stage with many perspectives. We have great challenges ahead of us and we face them with enthusiasm and responsibility.”

Sustainable sculptures with augmented reality

Then those participating visited the exhibition "From the cell to the patient. 10 Years moving forward together / Zelulatik pazientera. 10 urte elkarrekin lanean". It involves 9 scientific exhibits in sustainable cardboard sculpture format that expose progress in biomedical research, as well as the challenges for health research. It is aimed at health personnel and the general public, and seeks to bring science closer to society through new interactive formats with augmented reality. To enjoy all the contents, the Navarrabiomed app can be downloaded for free (for Android and for iOS).
This project has received funding from the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of Navarra in the call for Grants for the Promotion of Scientific Culture, the dissemination of R&D&i carried out in Navarra and the promotion of COSMOS 2022 STEM vocations. The conceptual and visual design and the contents of the exhibition have been carried out by the Communication and Design Unit of Navarrabiomed. The company iAR (Industrial Augmented Reality) has been in charge of carrying out the programming in augmented reality and Tresatres, the printing of the exhibits.

Visits to the exhibition and scientific conference

Coinciding with the Science Weeks, visits to the exhibition will be organized to bring biomedical research closer to the public and promote scientific vocations. Each session includes a guided tour of the exhibition "From the cell to the patient. 10 Years moving forward together" and of the centre’s laboratories. The capacity is limited in all of them and those interested must book through the Navarrabiomed website www.navarrabiomed.es/en.
The program will end on Thursday, November 24, at 13:00 in the auditorium B of the University Hospital of Navarra, with the scientific conference entitled "The integration of biomedical research in clinical care practice: challenges and opportunities". It is a dialogue between Marina Berenguer Haym and Jesús Prieto Valtueña, both medical professionals and researchers with recognized careers. Those interested in attending should register previously.

Navarrabiomed se suma un año más a la programación de las Semanas de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación de Navarra 2022. Entre el 4 y el 19 de noviembre este ciclo de divulgación científica ofrece en la Comunidad Foral una gran variedad de actividades para acercar la ciencia a la ciudadanía. Ver programa completo. 

El eje central de la programación de Navarrabiomed incluye una exposición interactiva, titulada "De la célula al paciente.10 Años avanzando juntos / "Zelulatik pazientera. 10 urte elkarrekin lanean", accesible en castellano y euskera, que supone una retrospectiva de la última década en investigación biomédica e introduce los desafíos actuales. El proyecto cuenta con tecnología de visualización 3D y realidad aumentada, y ha recibido financiación del Departamento de Universidad, Innovación y Transformación Digital del Gobierno de Navarra en la convocatoria de Ayudas al Fomento de la Cultura Científica, la difusión de la I+D+i realizada en Navarra y al fomento de las vocaciones STEM COSMOS 2022.

A continuación, se detallan las acciones programadas desde Navarrabiomed para acercar la investigación biomédica y fomentar las vocaciones científicas. El aforo es limitado en todas ellas y las personas interesadas deberán reservar plaza a través del formulario de inscripción correspondiente. 
 

> Jornadas temáticas de puertas abiertas a Navarrabiomed 17, 18 y 21 de noviembre.
Cada sesión incluye visita guiada a la exposición "De la célula al paciente. 10 Años avanzando juntos / Zelulatik pazientera. 10 urte elkarrekin lanean" y también se visitarán los laboratorios del centro. 

• Jueves, 17 de noviembre. 18:00 h. "Medicina de precisión: del ADN a la inmunoterapia". Inscripción.
• Viernes, 18 de noviembre. 10:30 h. "Enfermedades del corazón, ejercicio físico y salud". Inscripción.
• Lunes, 21 de noviembre. 10:30 h. "Desafíos de la investigación en neurociencias". Inscripción.
   

> Visita para estudiantes de ciencias a Navarrabiomed. Martes, 22 de noviembre. 16:30 h. Inscripción.
Sesión sobre salidas profesionales en investigación biomédica y posterior visita a los laboratorios del centro en grupos reducidos. Edad orientativa: 16-19 años; estudiantes de Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y primeros cursos de grados universitarios.
¡Importante! El alumnado de modelo D deberá especificarlo en el formulario con el fin de facilitar la organización de la visita a los laboratorios en euskera. 


> Conferencia. Jueves, 24 de noviembre. 13:00 h. Salón de actos B - Hospital Universitario de Navarra. "La integración de la investigación biomédica en la práctica clínica asistencial: retos y oportunidades". Inscripción. 
Dos referentes internacionales del ámbito médico e investigador invitarán a la reflexión sobre la importancia de la investigación traslacional. Un diálogo inspirador entre Marina Berenguer Haym y Jesús Prieto Valtueña. 
Las personas interesadas en asistir deberán inscribirse previamente. Se confirmará la plaza por riguroso orden de inscripción al email facilitado. 
 

Protocolo COVID-19. En cumplimiento con las medidas sanitarias vigentes para los recintos hospitalarios será obligatorio llevar mascarilla durante todas las actividades. Si surgiera algún caso COVID-19 Navarrabiomed contactará con los y las asistentes a través de los datos facilitados el formulario de reserva de plaza.

• Cancers: Immune Profiling Uncovers Memory T-Cell Responses with a Th17 Signature in Cancer Patients with Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection Followed by mRNA Vaccination

The Oncoimmunology Unit of Navarrabiomed, headed by Drs. Grazyna Kochan and David Escors in collaboration with the Oncobiona Unit, headed by Drs Ruth Vera and María Alsina, have characterized the memory T-cell responses against SARS in solid-tumour patients with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection followed by mRNA vaccination.

The study demonstrates that patients with solid tumours vaccinated with Bnt162b2 exhibit proficient antibody, T-cell and myeloid responses against the S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Furthermore, patients with previous COVID-19 generate a potent memory T-cell response against S1 and M viral proteins. This indicates that the incorporation of the M protein in vaccine formulations could increase the efficacy of vaccines in cancer patients. 

In addition, vaccination followed by a previous infection was also reported to markedly increase the immune response to the S1 protein. The study also highlight the exacerbated Th17 response after infection and vaccination in solid tumour patients, who already have baseline inflammation due to the disease. This suggests the requirement of further research in novel mRNA vaccine adjuvants to avoid this inflammatory response.

These results are part of the thesis by Miriam Echaide, PhD student of the Oncoimmunology Unit, and are included in the scientific production of the Navarra Health Research Institute (IdiSNA), a public-private group for the promotion of biomedical research in Navarra, of which Navarrabiomed is a member.

The research is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Science and Innovation programme. The Oncoimmunology group has the additional support of other institutions such as the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), the Carlos III Health Institute, the Department of Health and the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of Navarra and the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
 

The departments of Citizen Relations and Health bring together health research professionals from the Regional Community at the HUN in the Meeting "Public health: research and progress with Europe", organized by Navarrabiomed.

Through the departments of Citizen Relations and Health, health research professionals from the Foral Community at the University Hospital of Navarra (HUN) gathered this morning at the meeting "Public Health: research and progress with Europe", to promote the health strategy of the European Union, its implementation in the Foral Community and its impact on the well-being of the population. 
The conference was organized by the Navarrabiomed biomedical research centre and funded by Citizen Relations, through the call for aid for the dissemination of EU policies and strategies.

Research priorities and challenges go from research in patient care, to prevention and health promotion. All aspects of healthcare have been analysed from the perspective whereby the European strategy will translate into tangible and beneficial results for citizens and the region. 
During the institutional opening, the Ministers of Citizen Relations, Ana Ollo, and of Health, Santos Induráin, accompanied Isabel de la Mata, senior advisor for Health and Crisis Management of the Directorate General of Health of the European Commission. 
 

“Public health is a priority”

Minister Ollo recalled that “health is an investment and, with a budget of 5,300 million euros for the period 2021-2027, the UE pro Salud program involves unprecedented financial support from the European Union in the healthcare area. The clear message of this program is that public health is a priority and it is one of the main instruments to pave the way towards a European Health Union.” “It is undoubtedly a great opportunity that we should take advantage of, but not the only one.” 

“We must not forget the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and, in this regard, from the European Projects Office, we monitor all the opportunities it offers and research programs such as Horizon Europe or POCTEFA for cross-border cooperation, are examples. But Europe is much more than money and financing. Europe is the defence of human rights, diversity and plurality. Europe is the democratic consultation of the Conference on the Future of Europe and Europe is the joint response to the energy crisis situation. In short, with its hits and misses, Europe is the best territory in the world to live”, continued Ollo.

“Quality healthcare system, with coverage without distinction”

In this context, the Minister of Health has added that “Europe's most differentiating feature with respect to the rest of the continents in the world is its quality and supportive health system offering extensive coverage to any citizen without distinction.”

She also encouraged participation in European projects. She explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has fostered an enormous sensitivity in the European institutions about the need to complement national health policies. “We cannot miss this chance and must continue working to increase our community's participation in European projects aimed at improving disease prevention, equal access to modern efficient healthcare for all Europeans, and coordination in the face of serious health threats affecting more than one EU country”, noted Minister Induráin.

Towards a European Health Union 

In this regard, the attendees were able to learn about the European health strategy from Isabel de la Mata, senior advisor for Health and Crisis Management of the Directorate General of Health of the European Commission. De la Mata has highlighted “the need and the steps to follow to build the European Health Union". 

“EU health policy focuses on the protection and improvement of health, equal access to modern efficient healthcare for all Europeans, and coordination in the face of serious health threats affecting more than one EU country. Europe must build a stronger European Health Union. To do this, it relies on a EU4Health program, endowed with future guarantees and adequate financing, a strengthened European Medicines Agency (EMA) and a strengthened European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).”
From the perspective of the regional development of the strategy, Carlos Artundo, Director General of Health of the Government of Navarra has insisted that “we have to keep working harder and better with Europe. We must continue betting on research because it is the only way to progress and improve people's health”. 

From Europe to the region: four round tables with experts from the Regional Community 

Experts from the different health areas have presented the work carried out in Navarra and the existing challenges, both in Europe and in Navarra, in different areas: Disease prevention and health promotion, cooperation, improvement of medicines and therapies; use of health data, are all priorities 
During the “Health promotion and research" roundtable, participants pointed out that new areas are emerging such as mental health, environmental pollution or social determinants that have a direct impact on health inequality. Therefore, these should be taken into account both in research and in health promotion actions.

As for cooperation, experts have stressed that the challenge of involving all stakeholders who may have a key role in health care from all points of view is enormous. We are talking about cooperation at the regional, European and international levels. It is about positioning our territory as a reference for the implementation of new health strategies and cooperating internationally to go forward.

At the roundtable "Anticipating changes in the pharmaceutical field”, the focus was placed on the context of strategic, legislative and technological (genomics) changes characterizing the sector. Pharmaceutical policy is very necessary due to the social value of biomedical innovation both from the point of view of its important impact on people's health and quality of life results and its impact on the economic development of the territory.
The last roundtable focused on the secondary use of health data: “Sketching the future of health research in Navarra with Europe”.  Data science, artificial intelligence and other technologies are changing healthcare and participating in the economic development of our community and the well-being of our society. 

The trend in the health field is to incorporate more and more data that come from very diverse sources, making available information that can be of great relevance for researchers, health professionals and, above all, for patients. 

One of the main impacts of incorporating data in the health field is the development of precision personalized medicine. So it is essential to be able to share data - genomic data in particular - “homogeneously” and anonymously for the benefit of patients.

The role of research

Iñigo Lasa, Director of Navarrabiomed, was in charge of drawing the conclusions of the meeting. “Throughout today's conference, it has become clear how important it is that research permeates all areas of the health system against that widespread idea in society that research is something that happens only in laboratories. Research, as we have seen, is also developing information systems that allow access, analysis and interaction with patient data in a dynamic and secure way, research is also to prepare the infrastructures to host new health methodologies or new pharmaceutical treatments. Research is to have a strong and agile epidemiological surveillance system that participates in the development and use of epidemiological analysis methodologies to analyse health situations.” 

According to Lasa, a health system that is aware and active in research is a health system that is more critical of the procedures it uses, it is a more versatile health system to accommodate new methodologies, it is a more rigorous health system in the use of resources, it is a more competent health system, and it is a health system in which its staff, its great asset, is happier.

 
Photo from left. to right. Iñigo Lasa, director of Navarrabiomed; Carlos Artundo, director general of Health; Santos Induráin, Health Minister; Isabel de la Mata, senior advisor for Health and Crisis Management of the Directorate General of Health of the European Commission; Ana Ollo, Minister for Citizen Relations; Sergio Pérez, director general of External Action; and Marisol Fragoso, management director of Navarrabiomed.