The Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) is organising the Focused Rheumatology programme as part of the International Precision Medicine Forum from 14 to 24 February.

This course aims to address the keys in research for the advancement of Rheumatology linked to the understanding of diseases from a pathophysiological and clinical point of view as a basis for a better definition of risk factors, predictors of disease, biomarkers that allow to refine the prognosis and to refine the therapeutic individualisation adjusted to the characteristics of each patient.

The programme includes 16 lectures given by leading speakers in their field, from various centres of reference in Spain, who will review the main challenges and aspects in the field of rheumatology.

From an applied point of view, they will review the immunological bases, the epidemiology of rheumatic diseases from the point of view of clinical trials, their pharmacological bases, the state of the art in research into biological therapies and small molecules, and the keys to progress in the approach to the main diseases and syndromes addressed by this disease, such as vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. It will also review the new keys to the approach of these diseases in paediatric patients.

The course is free of charge and is aimed at clinical, research and support staff with an interest in the field of rheumatology who wish to study in depth aspects related to research and precision medicine. 

The duration of the course is 16 hours from Monday to Thursday from 16:00 to 18:00, taught through the Zoom platform.

IDIVAL would like to open this course to any professional interested in taking it, but please register through the following link by completing the form.

Registration link:

https://aplicacionesidival.idival.org/ConvocatoriasPropias/es/Convocatorias/VerConvocatoria?Id=885

If you have any doubts or queries, please contact us by e-mail: proyectos1@idival.org

Brochure (pdf)

"We are Scientists, get us out of here!" is an outreach activity that, thanks to the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and Gallomanor Communications, puts research staff in contact with students from 14 to 18 years old through the Internet.

The FECYT Foundation is looking for researchers who would like to participate in this activity. This is an opportunity to show the research work you are doing to students. Are you up for it?

The activity will take place from 28 February to 26 March 2022. For four weeks, 50 scientists will answer questions from thousands of students from all over the country and communicate with them through Whatsapp-style chats. Students will then vote for their favourite to win €500 and create their own outreach project.

Registration until 23 January.

By taking part you will develop your communication skills, gain new insight into your work and find out what young people think about science and those who work in it. And all this… without leaving your desk!

Participating research staff will have the opportunity to access training on science communication, given by the FECYT Education Unit, a unique opportunity to acquire training and experience in science communication aimed at younger audiences!

And if you have any questions about the activity, send an email to ayuda@somoscientificos.es. You can also contact us via Twitter, @S_Cientificos or using the hashtag #SomosCientíficxs.

Have you registered? Send an email to innovacion3@idival.org indicating your registration for the activity.

More information (link)

Somos Científicos, ¡sácanos de aquí! en 60 segundos from I'm a Scientist on Vimeo.

On the 4^th of january 2022, the autonomous plan for the revitalisation of bio-health 2022 was published, which includes 11 research support programmes with an estimated grant amount of more than 1.4 M€, aimed at the promotion of research, innovation and intra-entrepreneurship in the bio-health field in cantabria.

The 11 programmes as a whole prioritise talent, internationalisation and innovation: contracts and promotion.

A support programme for research groups (support).

This line of contracts includes the following 2 programmes:

• Tec-val: internship contracts for technicians to support research platforms to be developed in the idival central support unit.
• Ges-val: internships in research management to be carried out at the idival central support unit.

This line of promotion includes the following 5 programmes:

• Next-val: aimed at emerging researchers.
• Inn-val: for the development of research projects.
• Prim-val: for primary care projects.
• Trans-val: for transition of national plan projects.
• Dtec-val: to finance technological development projects.

The talent attraction and support line includes 3 programmes

• Mentoring: junior programme for new residents.
• Innplant: senior programme for new heads of service or section who come to the marqués de valdecilla university hospital from other centres.
• Intensification programme for clinical researchers

It should be noted that the idival pre-doctoral contract programme will be announced separately in 2022.

The application deadlines for the different programmes will be as follows:

The International Precision Medicine Forum organised by IDIVAL will begin on 14 February and will review the main aspects related to clinical research and precision medicine from the point of view of different specialities and fields of knowledge.

The first phase of the programme currently has almost a hundred presentations planned, given by leading national and international speakers in their field, who will review the main challenges and aspects of clinical research.

The Forum is aimed at clinicians, researchers, managers and support staff in the different thematic areas it reviews. In the first cycle, internationally renowned speakers will review the main challenges of precision medicine in relation to rheumatology, genomics, health economics, transplantation, robotic surgery, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, clinical psychology, biobanks and biological samples. 

Each module has content spread over 10 to 20 hours, distributed over one or two weeks, in a virtual presence format via the zoom platform. The programmes will include expert sessions, and round table discussions focusing on questions and answers. Some aspects that will be reviewed in the different modules are related to advances in pathophysiology and technology, new targets, epidemiology, diagnostic systems, biomarkers, imaging, molecular imaging, other scans, study design, clinical trials, cohorts, questionnaires, scales, new drugs depending on the type of pathology, molecules in development, pipeline.

Forum programme:

Módule I. Focused Rheumatology. 14 al 24 de February. Registration open (link)

Módule II. Genomics oriented medicine. 28 Febrero al 11 March. Registratio (link)

Módule III. Transplantation: individualizing basis. 14 al 18 March. Registration (link)

Módule IV. Health Economics to move forward precision medicine. 21 al 31 de March. Registration (link)

Módule V. Robotic Surgery: not for all.  5 al 7 de April. Registration (link)

Módule VI. Precision Psychology. 18 april al 4 de May. Registration (link)

Módule VII. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) updated. 9 al 18 de May. Registration (link)

Módule  VIII. From biomedical samples to precision medicine. 23 al 31 de May. Registration (link)

Módule IX. Translational and clinical research towards precision medicine in mental health. 6 al 17 de June. Registration (link)

With this multidisciplinary forum, IDIVAL aims to bring together the latest news and developments of interest in the various specialities and disciplines in collaboration with international reference centres. Participation will be free of charge, subject to prior registration.

We hope that this programme will offer a qualitative leap in the training of precision medicine and clinical research, thereby offering advanced knowledge of the research process and the ways in which it can be applied.

Information on each module and access to registration can be found HERE

The IDIVAL Strategic Plan is the planning document that sets out the Institute's strategic objectives and action plans. During the year 2021, work has been done on the preparation of the new Strategic Plan, which is valid for the period 2022-2026. A significant number of members and staff of the Institute participated and collaborated in tdrafting of the document.

The previous plan (2017-2021) ended on 31 December and the new IDIVAL Strategic Plan 2022-2026 is now available for consultation on the Institute's website at the following link: Strategic Plan

The Institute will officially present the most relevant aspects of this new Plan on Monday 24 January from 17:00 to 18:00. Given the circumstances due to the pandemic, the presentation will be online through the Zoom platform.

In order to access the session, registration is required to obtain the access link.

Click here for registration and registration

An online study visit was hosted by the Health Research Institute Marqués de Valdecila (IDIVAL). The sessionwas attended by the INTENCIVE partner countries, some members of the regional stakeholder working groups as well as other people interested in the topics covered. In total, there were more than 40 attendees.

This meeting was focused on our ecosystem in e-health, and three good practices implemented in Cantabria were presented.

During the meeting, the following good practices developed in Cantabria were presented:

SCS Apps

Presented by Santiago García Blanco, General Director for Digital Transformation and User Relations at Cantabria’s Regional Health Department.

Corporate health applications for mobile devices. Tools created to improve accessibility to health services. The Apps presented are available for free download on the Apple Store and Google Play. Thanks to a double verification system (health ID + cl @ ve), citizens can access their health data (reports, tests, waiting lists, electronic prescription, etc.), as well as information on health centres and pharmacies of the area, or other matters of interest.

Jailfree-C / HONEST

Presented by Joaquín Cabezas. MD. Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department. University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla.

JailFree C is an initiative that seeks to eradicate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in El Dueso prison by diagnosing, treating and following patients through a teleconsultation program between the prison doctor and the patient, in cases where it is needed, and the Digestive System of the HUMV. In addition to the consultation, access from El Dueso has been facilitated to the results of the necessary tests (laboratory, imaging, etc.) and to the hospital pharmacy, since the drug treatment is exclusively for hospital use.

It involves collaborative work between digestive and infectious disease professionals, social services, nurses, and prison doctors. Once the project was completed, the collaborative work continued until it became part of the usual clinical practice.

The HONEST project has the same objective as the JailFree C, aimed this time at a non-institutionalized population in the José Hierro Center for Penitentiary Institutions (CIS).

Hospital at home model at HUMV

Presented by Juan José Parra. Hospital at Home Service. University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla.

Collaborative work with other HUMV cross-sectional units and changes in the surgical and care approach: minimally invasive surgery, early recovery programs, or the use of telemonitoring devices, have allowed patients to visit the hospital on an outpatient basis daily. The results of this change in the organizational model are mainly reflected in the patients who go through the hospital at home service, who value this mode of hospitalization very positively since they feel safe, less stressed and more involved in their recovery process.

Agenda 5^_th Study Visit

For further information visit the INTENCIVE website: www.interregeurope.eu/intencive