Noticias

Lara Matilla Cuenca, predoctoral researcher at the Translational Cardiology Unit from Navarrabiomed - IdISNA will be reading her doctoral thesis from the Public University of Navarra next Monday, October 30th, at 11:30 am, in the Navarrabiomed auditorium.

The doctoral thesis is entitled ‘Sex differences in aortic stenosis. A role for the aldosterone/mineralocorticoid receptor axis and its biotarget Galectin-3’; it has been developed at Navarrabiomed under the direction of Natalia López Andrés MD, Principal researcher of the Translational Cardiology Unit. 

 
Research development and results

Severe aortic stenosis is the most common valve disease in the Western world and has an increasing prevalence due to the progressive aging of the population. Currently, the only possible treatment is aortic valve replacement, which, although effective, is associated with high risks and costs. In the search for a more personalized medicine, this work focuses on the investigation of the existing sex differences in aortic stenosis. 

The manuscript of the present doctoral thesis consists of a compendium of four scientific articles in which three cohorts of more than 200 patients undergoing valve replacement surgery were studied. The valve tissue obtained from surgeries was used to perform a histological, molecular and cellular approach. 

Based on a translational approach, this work aims to study the main pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease (inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis, matrix remodelling, calcification, apoptosis and angiogenesis) both in aortic valves and in valve interstitial cells derived therefrom. In addition, the potential role of the Aldosterone/mineralocorticoid receptor pathway and its target Galectin-3 in the disease was investigated, as well as the beneficial use of specific inhibitors of both, in order to describe new possible therapeutic targets.

 
Financing and dissemination of results

The development of this thesis has been made possible by the funding of the Carlos III Health Institute and its pFIS predoctoral contract program. In addition, Lara Matilla has completed two international stays in 2022 and 2023 at the laboratory of Prof. Frederic Jaisser at the Centre de Reserche des Cordeliers in Paris, thanks to a travel fellowship from the Public University of Navarra and another from the Carlos III Health Institute (M-AES). 

During the development of the doctoral thesis, the researcher has published 17 scientific articles, eight of which as first or co-first author. She has also disseminated the results in various national and international congresses, two of them as an oral session: European Section of the Aldosterone Council (ESAC) in Rome in 2019 and Artery Congress, Nancy, 2022.
 

Marta Redondo Muñoz, pre-doctoral researcher at the Navarrabiomed-IdiSNA  Cancer Signalling Unit will read her doctoral thesis from the Universidad Pública de Navarra on Wednesday 20 December, at 11:00 am, in the Navarrabiomed assembly hall.

The doctoral thesis, entitled “Fatty acid metabolism as a therapeutic target in melanoma-like skin cancer", was presented at Navarrabiomed under the auspices of the doctors Imanol Arozarena Martinicorena, Principal Investigator of the Cancer Signalling Unit at Navarrabiomed and Florencio Marzo Pérez, Professor at the Universidad Pública de Navarra.

Their work is based on the observation that melanoma patients in most cases respond well to therapies directed against one of the key genes in tumour progression: the BRAF gene. However, they soon develop resistance to these therapies and the tumours start to grow again. In addition, recent clinical studies suggest that these patients do not respond so well to immunotherapy.

During her doctoral thesis, Marta Redondo Muñoz investigated the role fatty acid metabolism has in the development of resistance to BRAF inhibitors and demonstrated how ranolazine, a drug for heart conditions, acts to slow tumour progression. Even more importantly, the research emphasises that the application of this drug makes melanoma cells more visible to the immune system by improving the response to immunotherapies and increasing the ability of lymphocytes to control tumour growth.

Funding and dissemination of results

The research was funded by the Government of Navarra, through grants for the recruitment of doctoral students by companies, research centres and technology centres "Industrial Doctorates 2020" and by the Spanish Multidisciplinary Melanoma Group (GEM) through the "Grants for Doctoral Theses” programme.

The results of the doctoral thesis were published in the magazineNature Metabolism “Metabolic rewiring induced by ranolazine improves melanoma responses to targeted therapy and immunotherapy”. See related news. 

With the aim of promoting excellence in biomedical research and development, this morning, the managing director of ADItech, coordinator of the Navarra R&D&I System, SINAI, Diego Garrido Vidal and Maite Mendioroz Iriarte, director of Navarrabiomed, announced a strategic alliance, which aims to consolidate Navarra's position as a benchmark specifically in the field of research with a gender dimension, a fundamental aspect to classify research as excellent.

Therefore, since 2019, thanks to the strategy set by the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of Navarra, ADItech has been supporting and promoting the inclusion of the gender dimension in the content of research. Likewise, the Department of Health's commitment to more inclusive biosanitary research that responds to the reality of citizenship and results in better patient care continues. 

Including the gender dimension means taking into account the sex variable, understood as biological characteristics, and gender analysis, a concept of social construction, when approaching research. Through this alliance, ADItech intensifies its collaboration with the SINAI Navarrabiomed representative, a public reference centre in biomedical research, in order to go forward in this aspect together.
Although all research should be considered from a gender perspective, it is in the field of biomedical research where it is most necessary to incorporate this analysis, so that the result of research benefits both women and men equally.

In this regard, Navarrabiomed has launched a cross-sectional research area focused on the differential effect of gender and sex on the pathologies commonly studied at the centre. The aim is to better understand the biological and clinical effects that gender and sex exert in different areas of biomedicine, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, digestive diseases, physical activity, aging, the immune system and infectious diseases or neurodegeneration. This area will help to understand why men and women get sick differently and what are the reasons and genetic, molecular, cellular and pathological bases of these divergences.
 
Some of the main objectives of this alliance between ADItech and Navarrabiomed include:
•    Promotion of excellent research: ADItech will provide support for the development of a cross-sectional line of research that considers the sex variable and gender analysis in all biomedical research projects of Navarrabiomed.
•    Generation of new scientific knowledge in unexplored areas: development of research programs and projects on topics that specifically affect women, since they represent 50% of the population.
•    Awareness-raising, education and training: so that all research staff are familiar with the basic concepts and good practices in research with a gender dimension, ensuring cutting-edge excellence in biomedicine.
•    Establishment of a network of national and international reference contacts: it will be supported by identifying and talking to experts, research groups and entities, which have been developing excellent research through the incorporation of the gender dimension for some time. 
 
Both entities have committed to work on the development of specific actions to achieve the central goals in the next four years. The Managing General of ADItech, Dr Diego Garrido Vidal, said that "this alliance represents a unique opportunity for Navarra. By combining ADItech's knowledge of the gender dimension and Navarrabiomed's capacity for practical application in research, we are laying the foundations for a more excellent future in biomedical research." For her part, the director of Navarrabiomed, Dr Maite Mendioroz Iriarte, has pointed out that "our vision has always been to become a benchmark in biomedical research of excellence for the public health system. With the support and collaboration of ADItech, we are one step closer to achieving this.” This agreement is in line with the work carried out by the regional government, which has been implementing specific policies that have contributed to promoting and boosting the role of women in all areas and, specifically, in science, technology and innovation. 
 

Further information:

• ADItech's research initiative with a gender dimension
• Cross-sectional research area - Effect of gender/sex on health, Navarrabiomed.

• The Neurosurgery service incorporates this novel technique after testing the process previously in biomodels of the Navarrabiomed experimental Operating Room, within the framework of the Health Department's Teaching Plan

 
The Neurosurgery service of the University Hospital of Navarra (HUN), together with the Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology services of the same centre, have recently carried out two interventions to remove brain tumours using an endoscopic procedure through the eye socket, after making a small incision in the upper eyelid. This is a novel technique tested at Navarrabiomed's experimental operating theatre within the training activity of the Health Department's Teaching plan

This minimally invasive procedure offers several advantages over the traditional technique consisting of performing a craniotomy, since the possible complications associated with performing the latter are avoided, because the incision in the skin and the amount of skull bone that must be removed to access the lesion are much smaller. The technique also means a reduction in surgery time, less postoperative pain and a faster recovery for the patient.
 
The transorbital endoscopic approach, initially described by an American surgeon, is performed in very few centres in the world. In Spain, published interventions using this procedure have only been conducted at the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona. It is a technique that requires very specific training, often at international centres, as well as important coordination between the different surgical teams. Dr Idoya Zazpe, head of the Neurosurgery service of the HUN, recently took a course in Naples organized by the Italian Society of Neurosurgery and which was attended by the neurosurgeon with the most experience in this type of surgery, Dr Kong, from the Samsung Hospital in Seoul. 

The transorbital approach is indicated mainly in brain tumours at the base of the skull that invade the orbit or that are located behind the eye. The two operations carried out in the HUN took place on October 26 and November 9. The first case was a patient with a brain tumour that secondarily invaded the orbit and caused exoltaphs (protrusion or displacement of the eyeball). The second patient had undergone surgery nine years earlier on a tumour in the area using the classical technique, through an open approach via craniectomy. However, the tumour had recently reappeared, and a new intervention was necessary. Both patients, young women, progressed without complications after the intervention and were quickly discharged from hospital.
 

Further information:

• Full press release disclosed at www.navarra.es
• Activity and services of the Animal Hospital and experimental Operating Theatre

Pablo Iturbe Sanz, predoctoral researcher at the Microbial Pathogenesis Unit from Navarrabiomed-IdiSNA will be reading his doctoral thesis by the Public University of Navarra on Friday, December 1st, at 10:00 am, in the Navarrabiomed auditorium.

The doctoral thesis, which is entitled "Atlas of non-contiguous operons of Staphylococcus aureus", has been developed at Navarrabiomed under the direction of Iñigo Lasa Uzcudun MD, Principal Investigator of the Microbial Pathogenesis Unit of Navarrabiomed. Pablo Iturbe Sanz's research seeks to map the non-contiguous operons (NcOs) present in the genome of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

 
Research development and results

In a previous study carried out by the Microbial Pathogenesis Unit of Navarrabiomed, the existence of a new transcription structure was documented, which was called the non-contiguous operon (NcO). NcOs are sets of genes that are transcribed into a single RNA molecule, despite being separated by genes that are transcribed in the opposite direction. This discovery opened a new paradigm in the study of gene expression in bacteria.
During the doctoral thesis, Pablo Iturbe has focused on establishing the number of non-contiguous operons (NcO) present in the genome of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, in order to determine the frequency of these transcription structures, the existence of common characteristics or a functional relationship between the genes involved. Using Nanopore's direct RNA sequencing methodology, which allows the sequencing of long RNAs, the presence of 18 NcOs has been detected in the genome of Staphylococcus aureus. It has also been noted that this transcription architecture is not unique to bacteria and is also present in phages (bacterial viruses). In particular, a phage characteristic of Staphylococcus aureus contains four NcOs.
In conclusion, this thesis reveals the existence of a new transcription architecture to coordinate the expression of genes in bacteria.

Financing and dissemination of results

The research has been funded by an FPI grant obtained through the call for Grants for R&D&I projects 2017 from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.

As a result of the results of the thesis, two publications are under review: one in the journal Microlife and another one in the journal Nature Microbiology. On the other hand, the results have been disseminated at two national scientific congresses by the Spanish Society of Microbiology and the Spanish Society of Genetics (both in 2021). Also at an international Microbiology congress (The new Microbiology, 2022) organized by the EMBO, where there was an oral presentation and a prize for best poster was awarded. 
 

• The Government of Navarra and Navarrabiomed - Miguel Servet Foundation have launched the Preliminary Market Consultation, the first phase of the Public Procurement process of Innovation.

The Government of Navarra, through the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation and the Department of Health, and Navarrabiomed – Miguel Servet Foundation held a Preliminary Market Consultation on Tuesday in the auditorium of the research centre where the challenge for the development of an ‘Innovative platform for purification and production of small molecules in research environments’ was announced. This is the first phase for the implementation of a Public Procurement project for Innovation in health in Navarra. 

The event, chaired by the Regional Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Juan Cruz Cigudosa, and in which the Director General of Health, Antonio López, also participated, has gathered several companies interested in covering the challenge presented. Entities that still want to join the challenge can view the conference and the technical documentation on the Navarrabiomed website. Watch the full video of the conference. 

 
Background in Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI)

The Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) is a process of promoting innovation aimed at enhancing the demand-driven development of new innovative markets, through the instrument of public procurement. This tool is identified by the European Commission as one of the main methods of technology development and implementation in public administrations, expressly supported by national and supranational programs.

Since the last legislature, the Government of Navarra, through the Innovative Public Procurement Section of the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, has been seeking to incorporate this methodology into its usual functions, with the aim of meeting the needs of Navarra, improving in the process the public services provided to citizens.

"The Public Procurement of Innovation is a tool to promote the development of innovative solutions from the public sector and integrate the analysis and identification of lines of action to promote and continue taking steps in health. Now, as a preliminary step, we have launched this Preliminary Market Consultation, an instrument that will allow us to establish the maturity level of existing solutions, as well as their capacity and viability,” said Cigudosa during the event. 

 
Details of the technological challenge to be addressed 

The Oncoimmunology Unit of Navarrabiomed has detected a need during research whereby those small molecules detected by the study groups and that have been successful in preclinical phases can be tested through clinical trials.  This would be achieved through the development of a platform enabling the purification and production of small molecules at the clinical level in sufficient quantity to be able to access clinical research. To do this, the platform must allow the preparations to meet the appropriate characteristics of purity, quality and safety required for approval by the EMA (European Medicines Agency) as a medicine, through minimum contamination protocols (“green” protocols) and with an acceptable quality/price ratio.

 
Why is this preliminary market consultation (PMC) conducted? 

The main aim is to gather information from economic operators, social agents and knowledge brokers, to establish the state of the art and identify and specify the characteristics of possible innovative solutions that best suit the requirements of the challenge posed. This information will be used to prepare the future tender of the platform. The second main objective of the PMC is to inform the market that a tender for this platform will be published in the near future so that interested economic operators can get ready.
 

Next steps

This PMC is articulated within the framework of the possible application for a Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) project to the FID line (Fostering Innovation from Demand) of the Ministry of Science and Innovation which will be developed within the framework of the Pluri-regional Operational Program of Spain (POPE) 2021-2027 of the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).

If the aid is granted, the contracting process for the development of this platform would be carried out in 2024, through a pre-commercial purchase. A type of public procurement in which Navarrabiomed-Miguel Servet Foundation would share with companies the risks and benefits of the research needed to cover the technological challenge posed.

The director of Navarrabiomed Maite Mendioroz has expressed the centre’s strategic interest in the initiative: "Having this platform would mean a great competitive advance for Navarrabiomed's research groups, since it would allow increasing and speeding up the translation of the results of experimental research into clinical trials. Ultimately, it would result in a greater benefit for patients. 
Interested entities will have until November 20th, 11:59 pm to submit their proposals and the enquiry period will be open until November 13th, 2023.

Full information about the consultation is available on the Navarra recruitment portal: Navarra Procurement Portal. All information related to the project is available on the Navarrabiomed website, PPI section. Further information: unidad.innovacion.salud@navarra.es

El acceso a toda la información de la consulta está disponible en el portal de contratación de Navarra: Portal de Contratación de Navarra. Toda la información relacionada con el proyecto se encuentra disponible en la página web de Navarrabiomed, sección de CPI. Más información: unidad.innovacion.salud@navarra.es

Navarrabiomed organiza el evento “Salud pública: investigar y mejorar con Europa - Avances científicos que salvan vidas”, el lunes, 30 de octubre a las 18:00 h, en el Palacio del Condestable de Pamplona. Realizará la apertura institucional del acto Ana Ollo, vicepresidenta segunda y consejera de Memoria y Convivencia, Acción Exterior y Euskera. Entrada libre previa inscripción. Si quedan plazas, se podrá recoger entrada en el mismo Palacio del Condestable una hora antes de la Conferencia, hasta completar aforo.

Una conferencia para conocer los hitos de la ciencia médica  Con un enfoque ameno y divulgativo, el médico, escritor y divulgador científico y profesor de Historia de la Medicina, Pedro Gargantilla realizará un recorrido por la historia de la medicina repasando los hitos de la ciencia médica a lo largo del tiempo y su importancia decisiva en el avance de la Humanidad.  Pedro Gargantilla es jefe de Medicina Interna del Hospital Universitario de El Escorial, además de ejercer la docencia impartiendo clases de Historia de la Medicina en la Universidad Francisco de Vitoria. Es también colaborador habitual de RNE y de los periódicos digitales ABC, Hufftington Post y Cinco Noticias. Dirige y presenta el microespacio radiofónico «Ciencia por un tubo» (RNE). Es autor de varios ensayos histórico-médicos, entre los que se encuentran Enfermedades que cambiaron la historia (2016), Historia curiosa de la medicina (2019) o Historia de la medicina: un recorrido por los hitos de la ciencia médica a lo largo del tiempo (2023).

Mesa redonda sobre Salud pública: investigar y mejorar con Europa 

Tras la ponencia de Pedro Gargantilla, Laura Sesma, líder del área de Salud en Proyectos Europeos de Zabala Innovation, explicará las políticas y las herramientas que la Unión Europea pone a disposición de los países comunitarios para favorecer estos avances científicos en salud. A continuación, se abrirá un debate con Antonio López, Director general de Salud del Gobierno de Navarra y Berta Ibáñez, investigadora en Navarrabiomed y responsable de la Unidad de Metodología - Evaluación de Servicios Sanitarios para analizar la situación, avances y retos en la Comunidad foral. 

La característica más diferenciadora que tiene Europa con respecto al resto de los continentes en el mundo es la de poseer un sistema sanitario de calidad, solidario y que persigue ofrecer una amplia cobertura a cualquier ciudadano sin distinción. La investigación biomédica y en ciencias de la salud es un instrumento clave para garantizar el acceso a una atención médica innovadora, sostenible y de alta calidad. 

Evento financiado por el Departamento de Memoria y Convivencia, Acción Exterior y Euskera a través de la convocatoria 2023 de Ayudas para la difusión de políticas y estrategias de la UE.
 

Ester Blanco Palmeiro, predoctoral researcher at the Oncoimmunology Unit from Navarrabiomed-IdiSNA, will be reading her thesis by the University of Navarra on Friday, November 3rd, at 10:00 am, in the auditorium of the Cima University of Navarra.

The doctoral thesis, which is entitled "Reprogramming of tumour-associated myeloid cells by immunomodulatory agents to improve anti-PD-1 therapies", has been developed at Navarrabiomed under the direction of  Grazyna Kochan MD and Cristian Smerdou MD from Cima University of Navarra.

 
Research development and results

 Therapies based on PD-1/PD-L1 blockade have shown clinical results and lasting responses, but they are not effective in a significant number of patients. Several approaches have been proposed to enhance immunotherapy. These include in particular the modulation of the tumour microenvironment by reprogramming the immunosuppressive myeloid populations that are an important component and are responsible for inhibiting the effector activity of T lymphocytes. Reprogramming towards immunogenic populations could reverse that strong immunosuppression associated with cancer. 

During her doctoral thesis, the researcher has focused on identifying cancer-associated molecular signatures that are induced in these immunosuppressive populations. Using high-throughput proteomics, the phenotype and the proteome of immunosuppressive populations has been established: myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) Monocytic MDSCs, granulocytic MDSCs and tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) generated ex vivo in melanoma and lung adenocarcinoma models.  With these proteomics analyses, Ester Blanco has identified their proteomic signatures. In addition, the pathways and interactomes that can be modulated to reprogram the functions of these cells have been identified. 

Based on these results, compounds capable of altering the differentiation, maturation and immunosuppressive activity of MDSCs and TAMs have been selected. These compounds have been evaluated in mouse myeloid suppressor populations and cells isolated from peripheral blood of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Among the compounds analysed, oleuropein was identified as a molecule capable of reprogramming tumour-associated suppressor myeloid populations towards immunostimulatory populations capable of activating T lymphocytes. In fact, its use in combination with anti-PD1 immunotherapy in a lung cancer model intrinsically resistant to immunotherapy has shown a promising anti-tumour effect. 

 
Financing and dissemination

The research has been funded under the ISOLDA European project and resulted in several scientific publications. Ester is the co-author of 23 publications, eight original works and 15 scientific reviews. In addition, the results have been disseminated in several national and international congresses (10 communications).
It should be noted that Ester Blanco has received a travel fellowship from SETGYC to attend the ESGCT congress (Edinburgh, 2022). She was further finalist at an international congress KSMO 2022 as best oral presentation, as well as at the 3rd ASEICA Educational symposium 2021. In 2023, Ester Blanco completed a three-month stay in the laboratory of Dr Clare Bennett at the University of London, UCL, thanks to an EACR Travel Fellowships and an EMBO Short Term Fellowship.
 

• Initiative funded by the Department of Health with the aim of improving health from early childhood, while avoiding overweight and obesity in the child population

The  ELIKUME project started last October with the aim of knowing the dietary habits and nutritional condition of the children who attend the municipal nursery schools of Pamplona / Iruña, which already have healthy and sustainable school menus. 

This is an initiative funded by the Department of Health of the Government of Navarra, through its call "Research Projects in Health Sciences 2022", and which is based on the hypothesis that training and awareness campaigns offered to families will contribute to reducing the rate of childhood overweight and obesity and to improving the health of our population.

Specifically, ELIKUME will develop an intervention program that will involve the families of 18 to 36-month old children at the municipal nursery schools of Pamplona during the 2023-2024 and the 2024-2025 academic years. The families will be assessed at baseline and then later at the end of the program, and they will have access to online training designed exclusively for the project on healthy living habits and active lifestyles that includes, among others, cooking workshops. This training is voluntary and free and can have a positive impact on children's health from early childhood and throughout their lives. 

People interested in participating can register through the project website, www.elikume.com, where further information is also provided.  
The research team includes professionals from the Navarra Paediatrics Association, the autonomous organization "Municipal Nursery Schools of Pamplona", and the Public University of Navarra (Faculty of Health Sciences), with the collaboration of the Navarra Institute of Health Research (IdiSNA) and the Navarrabiomed biomedical research centre. 

The project is led by Edurne Ciriza, a paediatrician at the Ansoain /Antsoain Health Centre, in collaboration with the nutritionists Izaskun Berasategi (nutritionist at the municipal nursery schools of Pamplona), Isabel Juániz (nutritionist and researcher of the project) and María Medrano (physical educator and researcher and professor at the Public University of Navarra).
 
 

• Further information:
  • See the full press release published at www.navarra.es 
  • See the  ELIKUME project website.

• Professionals from Navarrabiomed and the University Hospital of Navarra have participated in this multicentre project led by the Cima of the University of Navarra

The Department of Economic and Business Development has subsidized, through the call for Grants for Strategic R&D Projects for the period 2020-2022, the Linterna project, which seeks to advance immunotherapy techniques to fight cancer. Specifically, the project has managed to identify a biomarker that may be effective in stopping the progression of lung cancer. In addition, genomic analysis techniques have been used in subjects with tobacco-induced lung cancer under this project. This has allowed both to advance in the identification and to develop new therapeutic approaches. 

The main objective of the Linterna project (Leadership and INnovation in Cancer immunoTHErapy from NAvarra) is to bring together the work of different institutions that are developing immunotherapy strategies to fight cancer. This technique is based on enhancing the body's own defences versus, for example, techniques that are based on supplying chemicals outside the body.

The whole development has been carried out by a consortium led by the Cima - University of Navarra and in which  University Hospital of Navarra (Medical Oncology Service), the University of Navarra Clinic, Navarrabiomed (Units of Oncoimmunology and of Translational Medical Oncology), ADItech and the pharmaceutical company Medibiopharma have also participated.

During the development of the project, non-cellular markers have been searched for in plasma samples from patients. For this, high-performance analytical techniques have been used. Thanks to this work, fractalkine has been identified, which is a small protein that helps control the growth and activity of other cells, as a biomarker of response to immunotherapy. This discovery will make it possible to develop new, more effective treatments by combining this protein with current therapies.
 

• See project video (spanish)