The fourth conference of the Santander Biomedical Lectures program organized by IDIVAL, the University of Cantabria and IBBTEC will take place on the 21^st of December. The session will be given by Luis M. Liz-Marzán and will be about “Engineering Nanomaterials for Biosensing and Bioimaging”.

Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzán is Ikerbasque Professor and Scientific Director of the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials – CIC biomaGUNE since 2012. He obtained a Ph. D. Degree in Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela and carried out post-doctoral work at the Van’t Hoff Laboratory of Utrecht University (The Netherlands). He joined the University of Vigo in 1995, where he became Full Professor in 2006, and has been visiting professor at Tohoku University (2005), University of Michigan (2008), University of Melbourne (2010), University of Hamburg (2010), Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (2011), and King Saud University (2014-2015). He received numerous research awards and honors, including an ERC Advanced Grant (2011-2016), and holds several editorial responsibilities.

The conference, that will take place on the 21^st of December , will be open to the general public and it will be at Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital, Salon Tellez (Pavilion 16) at 8.15am.

Dr. Liz-Marzan will be in Santander throughout the day, to exchange experiences with members of the scientific and clinical community. Furthermore, he will visit the Research Centers of our community to talk with all the interested scientists.

Those professionals who would like to meet with Dr. Liz-Marzan during his stay can contact with the department at gesval1@idival.org

The Valdecilla Innovation and Development Conference that took place on November 29 and 30, celebrated its fifth year under the slogan “New times, new solutions: Innovating in Care”. The objective of these conferences is to continue fostering spaces of encounter between professionals who want to join the management of change.

This edition has had a scientific program that has addressed issues of great importance such as leadership and innovation in health institutions and clinical practice, patents and usability models, among others. Within this scope, the prizes of the 19th National Call for Research Projects “Enfermería Valdecilla” have been awarded.

This National Call for Nursing supported by Caja Cantabria, is pioneer in this field and aims to encourage the participation of nursing professionals in research studies. This year, a total of 35 projects have been submitted for the two categories of awards, best project and best project to develop in Valdecilla, of which 18 projects have passed to the final evaluation. It is worth pointing out the high level of the projects presented. The research projects awarded are the following:

BEST PROJECT

Universitarios controlando riesgos: liderazgos participativos frente al consumo colectivo de alcohol entre los jóvenes.

Sonia Herrera Justicia, Manuel Amezcua Martínez, Cesar Hueso Montoro, Araceli Plaza Andrés.

Fundación Index. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad de Granada. Agencia de Servicios Sociales y Dependencia de Andalucía.


BEST PROJECT TO DEVELOP IN VALDECILLA

Retorno social de la inversión en lactancia materna en Cantabria. Impacto económico en la reducción de enfermedades infecciosas.

Carolina Lechosa Muñiz, Elsa Cornejo del Río, María Sáez de Adana Herrero, María Madrazo Pérez, Mª Jesús Cabero Pérez.

Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla. Servicio Cántabro de Salud. Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería. Universidad de Cantabria.

Carolina Lechosa, Gaspar Laredo, Sonia Herrera, Nuria Martínez, Juan Muñíz y Galo Peralta.

The second session of the program of lectures Valdecilla Progress Reports will take place on December 13 and it will be given by Maria Kislikova and Arantza Onaindia who will present their scientific advances of their current projects. 

Maria Kislikova is a specialist in nephrology at the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla and she gained a Post-MIR Contract Wenceslao López Albo.

Her conference will be about: “Changes of elastic fibres and epigenetic changes of vessel smooth muscle cells in chronic kidney disease” and is briefly summarized below:

The primary cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the cardiovascular disease (CVD). In CKD-related CVD, structural and morphological changes occur in the blood vessels leading to arterial stiffness and calcification. These changes are underlined by the activation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), which proliferate, migrate, and alter the extracellular matrix (ECM) within the blood vessel wall. More than 200 differentially methylated regions were identified. These regions include genes related to ECM production (eg. LOXL1), atherosclerosis (eg. APOB), and signalling mechanisms involved in fibrosis and vascular remodelling (eg. SMAD3). With the 2-dimensional approach of elastic fibres was seen the geometric mean fibre width was 5.9µm (95% CI: 4.9-7.0) and fibre length 6.7µm (95% CI: 5.5-8.0). Dialysis patients demonstrated both thinner and shorter length fibres in the sections analyzed.

The second part of the program will be given by Arantza Onaindia, specialist in the Pathological Anatomy Unit of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital and she gained a Post-MIR Contract Wenceslao López Albo.

The title of the conference: “A Next-generation sequencing approach for direct and definitive determination of Biallelic Cebpa mutations” and is briefly summarized below:

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with biallelic mutations of CEBPA represents a new entity acknowledged in the 2016 update of the World Health Organization classification of acute leukemia, however, definite determination of monoallelic versus biallelic nature in routine clinical testing is challenging due to distance between the N-terminal and C-terminal mutations. We developed a simple and clinical workflow-ready assay for direct and definitive determination of biallelic CEBPA mutations in 70% of double-mutant CEBPA cases in our dataset. The assay is predicted to cover 86% of reported mutations in key publications representing 50 AML cases with CEBPA double mutants. Additional refinement of the protocol is in progress to improve coverage for codons 1 to 138.

Each speaker will talk about 15 minutes followed by a small debate and at the end, coffee will be served to continue the conversation and encourage interaction between participants and attendees.

The meeting will take place on December 13, in lecture room 4-5, pavilion 16 of the HUMV (1^st floor) and has a capacity of 30 people. 

Researchers who attend 80% of the meetings throughout the academic year will receive a certificate of assistance.

For any questions regarding Progress Reports sessions, please contact the department at gesval1@idival.org

Once again, the Valdecilla Research Institute has opened its doors to the students of Cantabria during the Science Week, held from November 6 to 17. Science Week is an activity of scientific and informative nature that is carried out simultaneously in all Research Centers and the University of Cantabria.

IDIVAL's microbiology laboratory has received more than 120 students from IES Cantabria school, Cacicedo School, IES Escolapios, IES Valle de Camargo and IES Las Llamas that had the opportunity to know the Microbiology and Molecular Biology laboratories, the Biobank and the Advanced Microscopy Unit. In addition, the researcher José Ramos Vivas went to the IES La Marina in Bezana, to offer the students a talk about the research that is being carried out at the IDIVAL institute in their line of research: bacterial resistance to antibiotics, a an increasingly worrisome problem that affects to all of us.

The 2017 edition is the fourth in which the Photonic Engineering Group (GIF) participates in the Science Week activities. This year 190 students have been received, in addition to the 670 students who have already passed in previous editions. This year, the group has participated with 2 workshops related to the sciences and technologies of light, in order to transfer to students the current needs of society and thus encourage future vocations. The workshops given have been related to light and its influence on our current communication systems such as the internet; with understanding the physical phenomenon behind common devices in our leisure such as 3D glasses based on the phenomenon of polarization of light that also has a great impact on biomedical applications and highlighting other practical applications of light based in fiber optic sensors and the infrared thermography technique to solve industrial, civil and biomedical problems.

The Anatomical and Molecular Pathology Group has participated for the first time in the Science Week with the sample diagnosis workshop, in which they have shown to the students the diagnostic process of the samples obtained from each patient with the most advanced techniques for the detection of molecular alterations on cells. This workshop has been a success to all the students who have visited the Hospital's laboratory.

These activities developed during the science week are complemented by the activities carried out in “The European Night of Researchers” and with visits to the research institutes.

This experience is always satisfactory both for the student and for researchers, since it allows them to tell what they do in their day-to-day lives and to transfer to society the real and tangible importance of researching.

For several reasons, Prof. Jordi Vila cannot attend to Santander Biomedical Lectures conference tomorrow, November 30^th.

The occasion will be used to present the results obtained from Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) during this year and offer perspectives for the future. The conference will be given by the Management Director, Galo Peralta Fernández and the Scientific Director, Benedicto Crespo Facorro.

Within this session there will be a presentation of the results of the year in the field of R&D, the results obtained from the Valdecilla Biosanitary Strategic Enhancement Program, whose purpose is the promotion and recruitment of talent for the health environment of Cantabria, and the bases of the next IDIVAL aid program for 2018.

The conference that is open to all the public of Santander who wants to participate, will take place on Thursday, November 30 at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, in Téllez Plasencia Hall (Pavilion 16) at 8.15am.

The “La Caixa” Banking Foundation is launching a new call for applications for biomedicine and health research project grants with a view to identifying and promoting the most promising initiatives of scientific excellence with the greatest value, potential and social impact. The research projects may be basic, clinical or translational.

This new call will take place annually, will select about 20 projects and a maximum amount of 12 million euros has been set aside for the first year. 

Projects led by researchers from universities and not-for-profit research centres and carried out in Spain or Portugal may be submitted.

Two types of grants: 

• Category A: for 3-year projects submitted by just one institution or a consortium with a maximum budget of 500.000 €.

• Category B: for 3-year projects submitted by transdisciplinar consortiums with a maximum budget of 1.000.000 €.

Priority will be given to projects carried out in four specific areas: oncology, neuroscience, infectious and cardiovascular diseases. There will also be a fifth area, which will allow for support to cross-cutting biomedical projects.

A rigorous selection process will be carried out in accordance with the highest standards of quality, impartiality, objectivity and transparency.The process will also follow the recommendations of the European Science Foundation, among other organisations.

Application process:

It will consist of an initial peer review phase to shortlist projects and a second selection phase to be carried out by committees comprising relevant international experts for each of the research areas.

Submit your applications and additional documents from November 29, 2017 to March 16, 2018. The application must be completed in English.

Website

Rules for Participation (pdf)

Application Form (pdf)

Evaluation process guide (pdf)

Code of Conduct for Evaluators (pdf)

Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital and the Biomedical Research Institute (IDIVAL) have set in motion a brain bank to collect, process, store and transfer biological samples donated by patients and individuals without neurological pathology to be used in research projects.

This brain bank is coordinated by Dr. Nuria Terán, from the Pathological Anatomy Unit, and is integrated into the Valdecilla Biobank, whose scientific director is Dr. Pascual Sánchez-Juan.

Valdecilla Biobank has all the necessary means to guarantee the quality and good use of these samples in scientific research projects of proven quality, will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the ethical and legal standards with human samples, as well as the data protection of donors and the confidentiality of their data.

In fact, anyone can be a brain donor, even if they do not suffer from a nervous system disease. Scientific research needs samples of patients with and without brain disease to compare brains and to study the evolution of neurological tissue during aging.

Inaugural conference

On the occasion of the inauguration of this brain bank, Dr. Gabor Kovacs from the Medical University of Vienna spoke about the indispensable role of brain banks for the advancement in the knowledge of neurological and psychiatric diseases, their early diagnosis and the development of new and better treatments with the ultimate goal of achieving healing.

Due to human brain cannot be studied in living people, the advance of knowledge about these diseases is only possible thanks to the study of brain of post-mortem donors, which gives an invaluable value for researchers to have samples of brain tissue human.

Professor Kovacs is director of the neuropathology unit at Vienna University Hospital, one of the largest hospital centers in Europe, and is one of the main references in the field of neuropathology in Europe. He is also one of the leading experts in degenerative pathology, highlighting his work in the field of prion diseases and taupathies. Among the main contributions of Dr. Kovacs to highlight the recent discovery of a new pathological entity: the aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG).

The European Commission  has announced how it will spend €30 billion of the EU research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020 during 2018-2020. The working programme detail the research priorities that will be financed in the calls for proposals.

In the Participant Portal, you can consult the Working Programs and the detail of the calls for proposals that are currently open.

Competitive European funding opportunities in the health sector can be found in the Societal Challenge 1: Health, demographic change and wellbeing

We remind you that the IDIVAL European Projects Area is at your disposal to advise you in the preparation of proposals and to inform you about the participation rules. You can contact us through the following telephone number and email: 942202857, innovacion4@idival.org 

The Biomedical Research Institute Marqués de Valdecilla (IDIVAL) organizes the II edition of the course “Guidelines in Good Clinical Practice” directed to all the medical personnel of Cantabria that are interested in clinical investigation. The course will take place from the 27^th of November to the 1^st of December.

With this training activity, IDIVAL is intended to give to professionals all the necessary tools for their participation in clinical research, offering them to know the principles of Good Clinical Practice according to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) required to participate in clinical research projects.

Location: Assembly hall of IDIVAL.

Duration: 10 hours, 2 hours per session, from 27 to 1 December 2017, from 16:00 to 18:00.

Number of places: 30.

Accreditation: Teaching activity accredited by the Commission for Continuing Education of the Health Professions of the Community of Cantabria with 2.1 continuing education credits.

The course is free however, it is necessary to register through the IDIVAL website prioritizing applications by order of registration. 

Registration period: from November 7 at 8:00 a.m. to November 15 at 3:00 p.m.

Link for registration:

http://aplicacionesidival.idival.org/convocatorias/contenido/convocatorias.asp?TipoBeca=CURSOS&TituloTipoBeca=CURSOS

For any doubt or clarification you can contact us through the email gesval1@idival.org.

Program of the Course (PDF)

Gabor G. Kovacs is Associate Professor in the Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. After receiving his MD degree, his work has been devoted to neurology and neuropathology, i.e. the study of tissue alterations in diseases of the nervous system for diagnostic and research purposes. Gabor G. Kovacs is working on the Surveillance of human prion diseases since 1994.

Summary of the session:

Neurodegenerative diseases are disorders characterized by progressive loss and dysfunction of neurons associated with deposition of proteins showing altered physicochemical properties in the brain and in peripheral organs. Molecular classification of neurodegenerative disease is protein-based. The most frequent proteins involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases are amyloid-ß, prion protein, tau, a-synuclein, TAR-DNA-binding protein 43kDa, and fused-in sarcoma protein. There are further proteins associated mostly with hereditary disorders such as proteins encoded by genes linked to trinucleotide repeat disorders, neuroserpin, ferritin, and familial cerebral amyloidoses. Hierarchic involvement of anatomic regions is commonly seen in neurodegenerative diseases, which supports the notion of presymptomatic phases of disease. Overlap of neurodegenerative diseases and combinations of different disorders, including cerebrovascular lesions, is frequent. The clinical presentations are defined by the distinct involvement of functional systems and do not necessarily indicate the molecular pathologic background. Either cognitive decline or a spectrum of movement disorders predominate the clinical picture in early phases, however, convergence and combinations of symptoms are seen in later stages of disease. Translation of neuropathologic categories of neurodegenerative diseases into in vivo detectable biomarkers is only partly achieved. Intensive research, in particular correlation of neuroimaging, biomarker, clinical-neuropsychological observations with neuropathological findings should be performed to reach this goal.

At the beginning of the conference, Nuria Terán, neuropathologist at Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital and coordinator of the Node of neurological tissues will offer an introduction on the start-up of the brain bank.

The session will take place on Thursday, November 16 at 8:15 at the Tellez Plasencia Hall located in the Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital.