21 November at 1 p.m.: European Networks: COST
Learn more about COST networks, their opportunities for collaboration and how to participate in these European initiatives. This session is essential for those who want to connect with participants involved in a topic and boost their career at European level.
Registration: You can register via the following link.

For any queries you can contact the IDIVAL European projects office (link) and via telephone 942 20 28 57

The Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), in collaboration with EIT Health, held the Innovation Days (i-Days), a competition that challenges students to solve challenges in the field of innovation applied to health. The free and open event brought together more than 50 registered participants from diverse backgrounds with a common interest in technology and innovation to improve the quality of life in the community.

This year’s edition of i-Days has become a key space to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs in the field of health, encouraging them to overcome barriers, challenge convention and put in the hands of society innovative products and services that respond to real needs in the field of health.

Throughout the day, participants were supported by specialised mentors who guided them in their projects. In addition, ‘training pills’ were offered, short sessions designed to inspire and motivate participants, providing them with tools and strategies to improve and strengthen their proposals.

The event was attended by high-level speakers: Patricia Zorrilla, Head of the Office of Transfer of Research Results of Idival, Carmen Martín, Director of the Cantabrian Association Against AIDS (ACCAS), Fernando Quevedo, Head of the 3D prototyping unit of IDIVAL, Ana Ye, CEO founder of Ownmed Innovation, and Ana de Diego, Psychologist, Executive Coach and University Professor of HR Management.

The winning team of Santander i-Days 2024 has qualified for the European final of EIT Health i-Days (Innovations Days), which will take place on 28-29 November in Budapest, at the Health Career Path event. There, they will compete against the best projects from other countries, in an international platform that highlights and rewards innovation in health and wellness.

The team, formed by Carla Ferrer, Laura García, Marina Huaying and Gisselle Contreras, presented the project ‘ISAAC’, a proposal for assistance intelligence applied to the consultation.

This type of initiative strengthens the collaboration between technology and health, promoting solutions that respond to the current challenges of society and betting on the growth of young entrepreneurs committed to the welfare of their community.

On September 19-20, Paloma Lanza from the Health Economics Research Group and Rosa María Cazalilla, representing the IDIVAL working team led by Dr. David Cantarero and Dr. María Jesús Cabero, attended the progress meeting for the European Health4EUkids project.

The Health4EUKids Joint Action began in December 2022 with the goal of transferring the experience of best practices from “Grunau Moves” (WP5) and “Smart Family” (WP6) to other contexts. During this meeting, held at the facilities of the Menorca School of Public Health in the Lazareto of Mahón, participants reviewed the status of each of the best practices implemented at the 18-month mark. The attendees of both initiatives shared their implementation experiences and discussed and explored solutions or alternatives to any barriers encountered.

Health4EUkids Project
The Joint Action for the application of best practices and research findings on healthy lifestyles to promote health and prevent non-communicable diseases and risk factors (Health4EUkids) aims to develop policies that encourage public health investment at the community level in each member country. The focus is on health promotion, disease prevention, and managing non-communicable diseases.

The project’s scope includes promoting actions among participating Member States to encourage healthier habits in families with children, aiming to prevent childhood obesity, increase physical activity, and improve healthy eating. These actions aim to change social norms, strengthen recognition, and improve self-esteem, particularly in disadvantaged districts.

The expected outcomes of the research will focus on identifying specific challenges to prevent non-communicable diseases and proposing policy solutions, including best practices and innovations that allow for joint action between Member States and the Commission.

Health4EUkids Project: Pilot in Torrelavega, Cantabria
The intervention replicating and contextualizing Grunau Moves consists of a community-based intervention in vulnerable neighborhoods. Through community networks, it seeks to bring about environmental changes to make healthy behaviors easier by offering activities and resources to children and families, promoting a more active and healthy lifestyle.

In Torrelavega, the project is being developed in the Covadonga and La Inmobiliaria neighborhoods. An environmental assessment that influences obesity in these areas is underway, also involving local schools in these neighborhoods, with the aim of organizing actions geared toward health promotion.

The “Health4EUKids” project is co-financed by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101082462.

Cover photo: Participants of the Health4EUkids Joint Action at the Menorca meeting.

IDIVAL (Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute) is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Iridia Inc., a leading technology company based in California. This collaboration aims to bring to market an innovative DNA encapsulation technology developed by the esteemed research team led by Dr. Mónica López Fanarraga at IDIVAL. The technology has the potential to redefine data storage, enhance supply chain security, and open new frontiers in the treatment of complex diseases.

A Fusion of Expertise to Drive Innovation

Iridia Inc. is at the forefront of integrating DNA biochemistry, nanotechnology, robotics and computer science. By combining their expertise with IDIVAL’s cutting-edge research, the partnership is set to deliver revolutionary solutions across multiple industries.

“We are excited to collaborate with IDIVAL on this transformative technology,” said Dr. Murali Prahalad, CEO of Iridia Inc. “The encapsulation of synthetic DNA in silica nanoparticles holds immense potential not only for advancing data storage and life sciences but also for enhancing supply chain traceability, and ensuring authenticity across various sectors.”

Revolutionizing Data Storage with DNA Encapsulation

The licensed technology from IDIVAL marks a major advancement in data storage. By encapsulating synthetic DNA in silica nanoparticles, it provides a secure, efficient, and sustainable solution for long-term information storage, surpassing the limitations of traditional magnetic media. Unlike conventional methods, this technology can potentially extend data longevity for millennia without requiring constant maintenance and frequent remastering of data as necessitated by traditional magnetic media. It also allows for massive data storage in minimal space, addressing challenges related to space, energy use, and durability. The DNA-based system enhances data security and traceability, offering a disruptive alternative to current storage technologies.

Enhancing Supply Chain Security and Product Authenticity

Beyond its impact on data storage and life sciences, the DNA encapsulation technology holds immense potential in securing supply chains and safeguarding critical resources. By embedding encoded DNA into products or materials, companies can verify authenticity, track goods throughout the distribution process, and prevent counterfeiting.

This molecular-level authentication can significantly improve transparency and trust in industries such as luxury goods, and critical infrastructure components. The ability to securely store and authenticate information within the very materials of a product offers a novel solution to longstanding challenges in supply chain management and resource protection.

Advancing Personalized Medicine and Therapeutic Applications

In the biomedical field, the technology paves the way for targeted therapies by enabling the delivery of genetic material at the cellular level. This approach is especially promising for treating diseases that are unresponsive to traditional treatments, aligning with the global movement towards personalized medicine.

IDIVAL’s nanomedicine research group, comprising experts in biology, health sciences, physics, and chemistry, is dedicated to exploring these therapeutic applications. The team’s interdisciplinary efforts underscore IDIVAL’s commitment to translational research and clinical innovation.

Catalyzing Industry Transformation Through Collaboration

The partnership between IDIVAL and Iridia Inc. exemplifies the power of academia-industry collaboration in accelerating technological advancement. By joining forces, the two organizations are poised to bring this revolutionary technology from the laboratory to the global marketplace, impacting key industries and improving lives.

This agreement also reinforces IDIVAL’s role in transferring advanced technologies to the private sector, ensuring that scientific discoveries translate into real-world solutions. The synergy between IDIVAL’s research excellence and Iridia’s commercialization prowess sets the stage for a new era of innovation in data storage, supply chain security, and biomedicine.

Looking Ahead: Seeking Partners for Therapeutic Development

While the current focus is on bringing the technology to market across various sectors, IDIVAL is actively seeking expressions of interest from potential partners to develop the therapeutic applications of DNA encapsulation. The institute aims to collaborate with organizations that share its vision of advancing personalized medicine and tackling complex diseases through innovative solutions.

The alliance between IDIVAL and Iridia Inc. marks a significant milestone in the journey towards revolutionizing data storage, enhancing global security, and advancing healthcare. By harnessing the power of DNA encapsulation, this partnership not only addresses pressing technological challenges but also opens new horizons across multiple industries.

Researchers from the Nanomedicine Group (IDIVAL-UC) have been recognised with the ‘V Prevencionar Award’ in the Research category, for their pioneering work in the study and training in Nanoprevention.

This award highlights the work started in 2010 by the Nanomedicine Group, when its researchers began to explore applications of nanomaterials in various areas. Throughout their research, they detected a clear lack of information on the effects of these materials on health and the appropriate protective measures. As a result, they produced a manual that in 2017 gave rise to the University Expert Course on Nanoprevention.

This course, directed by Professor Rafael Valiente Barroso, member of the nanomedicine research group, and coordinated by Ciro L. Salcines, UC occupational risk prevention technician, is the only one in Spain and Latin America that offers 6 ECTS credits in this subject. The training is supported by the Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), FREMAP and the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM).

The course covers a wide range of topics, from individual and collective protection systems to the correct characterisation of nanomaterials, and has been instrumental in transferring knowledge from academia to various sectors of society. According to Valiente, this training allows professionals such as prevention technicians, researchers and businessmen to acquire the necessary tools to apply good practices in their work environments.

Prevencionar Awards

The Prevencionar Awards, organised by Prevencionar.com, aim to recognise and promote good practices in health, safety and well-being at work. They are held every two years and are based at the University of Oviedo, with the mission of making society aware of the importance of prevention and its application in various fields.

Photo source: University of Cantabria

The goals of JACARDI are to increase healthy life years, improve health equity, and reduce premature deaths in Europe.

IDIVAL’s representation at this forum was led by Lorena Madrigal and Sara Barbero from the nursing research group, who presented the pilot projects they are working on as part of the initiative.

The IDIVAL Health Research Institute participated this week in the Annual General Assembly of the Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes (JACARDI) in Paris. This event, which concluded last Friday at the Santé Publique France building, brought together key stakeholders from across Europe to strengthen collaboration in the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

These conditions pose a significant threat to people’s health and well-being, as well as burdening healthcare systems and hindering social and economic development. In response to this challenge, JACARDI was created a year ago with the mission to increase healthy life years, improve health equity, and reduce premature deaths in Europe.

The initiative is implementing 142 pilot projects aimed at testing evidence-based practices to prevent and manage cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, involving 76 partner institutions from 21 European countries.

Education, prevention, and coordinated management
The JACARDI General Assembly began last Wednesday with a plenary session inaugurated by Caroline Semaille, Director of Santé Publique France, and Christine Jacob-Schumacher, a representative from the French Ministry of Health. During this opening day, JACARDI’s first year of activities was reviewed, with contributions from experts such as Stefan Craenen from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Maria Vasile from the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), who shared insights and updates on European legislation.

JACARDI aims to offer solutions throughout the patient care continuum, from prevention and early detection to treatment and self-management, with the goal of achieving specific, effective outcomes in improving population health.

Thursday saw the start of parallel sessions, which concluded on Friday. These meetings focused on specific work packages, addressing topics such as health literacy, integrated care pathways, data accessibility, and patient self-management. In these sessions, project manager Lorena Madrigal and psychologist Sara Barbero presented the pilot projects they are working on with their teams at IDIVAL.

IDIVAL’s role in JACARDI
IDIVAL’s nursing group is leading three important initiatives within the European JACARDI project, aiming to improve health literacy for both patients and the general public, as well as providing self-care tools and practices to patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. These actions aim to empower patients to adopt healthy lifestyles and improve their quality of life.

Two of the pilot projects focus on the creation and implementation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), building on previous successful experiences with this format. The courses feature mini-videos and interactive forums, aimed at teaching self-care techniques, raising awareness of diseases, promoting early diagnosis, and encouraging positive lifestyle changes.

The third project focuses on the implementation of Responsible Care Workshops, facilitated by expert patients. These workshops foster a community where participants share valuable experiences and knowledge. Through these courses, patients not only receive health education but also reinforce their self-management skills, improving their overall well-being.

The pilots involve nurses from the Primary Care Service of Cantabria, patients from the Active Patient Program of the Cantabrian Health School, and nursing professors from the University of Cantabria, who collaborate in the development and implementation of the courses.

These pilots will be evaluated to collect data demonstrating the effectiveness of the results in improving treatment adherence and promoting healthy lifestyle habits, empowering patients to become agents of change within their communities as expert patients.
According to Dr. Carmen Sarabia, principal investigator of the project, one of the key factors that will make a difference in the outcomes of these pilots is that “the projects are committed to accessibility and inclusivity, as well as their sustainability and scalability, so that these initiatives can reach a wider audience and have a lasting impact on public health in the region.” This approach will allow the courses to be adapted to different contexts and populations, ensuring that more people can benefit from this training in the long term.

Together, the three projects aim to promote greater patient engagement in their own care, improve their quality of life, and reduce the burden these diseases represent both for healthcare systems and the affected individuals.

Cover image: Lorena Madrigal and Sara Barbero with other JACARDI project partners at Santé Publique France.

The European Care4Diabetes project aims to improve the quality of life of people with type 2 diabetes by focusing on 4 key elements (nutrition, physical activity, relaxation and sleep). To this end, it is looking for volunteers to participate in the “C4D-Cuido Mi Diabetes” program, designed to improve the quality of life of these people.

The team responsible for Care4Diabetes is made up of professionals from the Cantabrian Health Service (SCS) and the IDIVAL Health Research Institute.

In the first phase, lasting six months, the nursing, family medicine and endocrinology professionals will work intensively with the participants, and then follow them for another six months to evaluate the results. Both phases, intensive and follow-up, will be carried out in person and/or online.

In the face-to-face format, the intensive phase will begin with a two-day coexistence (October 26 and 27, 2024) with the group and the multidisciplinary team that will accompany them throughout the project.

The requirements to participate as a volunteer in this project are the following:

Motivation for lifestyle change.
Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes for a maximum of 10 years.
Body Mass Index (BMI) between 25 and 35 kg/m².
Handling of digital devices.
Learning how to use glucose sensors and meters.

If you are interested in participating, you can contact Natalia at 651704340 or Lourdes: 686 37 73 62.

Care4Diabetes:

Care4Diabetes is a European project with a duration of three years, supported by a consortium of 30 partners from 12 countries and a budget of 4 million euros, (80% is funded by the European Commission). The aim is to implement the Reverse Diabetes2 Now Best Practice, developed by the Dutch NGO Voeding Leef over a decade.

In Spain, project partners include the public health services of Cantabria (SCS), Andalusia (SAS), Galicia (Sergas), the Regional Government of Extremadura, the Andalusian Public Foundation for Progress and Health, as well as the Aragonese Primary Care Research Group and IDIVAL.

The Principality of Asturias has been chosen by the Spanish Ministry of Health to lead this European program, thanks to the experience acquired by the Regional Ministry of Health in international projects funded by the European Commission, EFFICHRONIC such as IDEAHL.

The ‘Luchamos por la Vida’ association has presented the Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL) with a donation of 30,000 euros, raised during its popular solidarity race, held in April in Los Corrales de Buelna. This initiative, which has been supporting the fight against cancer for more than 14 years, has earmarked the funds for two research projects.

The amount has been divided equally between the projects led by Dr. Alfonso Bolado, from IDIVAL’s research group on skeletal, metabolic and environmental diseases, and Dr. José Pedro Vaqué, from the clinical and translational research group on digestive diseases.

Dr Bolado’s project studies how breast cancer cells acquire the ability to spread throughout the body, which is often associated with a worse prognosis. The focus is on a protein that is normally involved in defence against infection, but which the cancer uses to become more aggressive. The aim is to find weak spots in the tumour that can be targeted by new therapies.

Dr Vaqué’s project studies cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare cancer affecting the skin that, in advanced stages, can spread with a poor prognosis. The team has completed a clinical trial to treat the early stages of the disease and is now focused on understanding how these malignant lymphocytes spread, in order to develop treatments for more advanced stages.

The ‘Luchamos por la Vida’ race is the largest solidarity walk in northern Spain and, in its fourteenth edition, brought together nearly 5,000 participants, along with a hundred volunteers and another hundred collaborating companies. This non-competitive event aims to promote healthy lifestyle habits, in addition to supporting people with cancer and their families. The day included activities for all ages, such as raffles, popular food and prize-giving.

The initiative was started 15 years ago by Almudena Ruiz, a resident of Los Corrales de Buelna who was fighting cancer. After her death, friends and colleagues continued to organise the walk, consolidating its success.

The president of the association, Ricardo Martínez Portillo, highlighted the commitment and participation of the volunteers and collaborators, pointing out that it is exciting to see how people from all over Spain come together for such an important cause. For his part, Dr. Vaqué highlighted the social and economic value of this donation, thanking the participants who contributed with their registration for the opportunity to explain their work. IDIVAL’s Director of Management, Galo Peralta, underlined the importance of these initiatives to raise awareness in society about health research and the advances that are being made for the benefit of patients and their families.

Finally, Ricardo Martínez encouraged the entire IDIVAL team, as well as society in general, to participate in the next edition, on Sunday 27 April 2025, where they will try to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest human bond formed to date.

Researchers from the IDIVAL nursing research group and the University of Cantabria together with the Rey Juan Carlos University and the Pneumology Service of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV), have published a new study in the journal Pathogens that addresses the relationship between biological biomarkers and the symptoms of persistent COVID, such as fatigue and dyspnoea.

The paper is part of a series of papers arising from the NVAL21/26 project, which investigates the prevalence of pain in patients who have experienced COVID-19, its impact on quality of life, and its relationship with other post-hospitalisation conditions. ‘From this project, the idea arose to explore whether certain biomarkers could be related to interstitial disease and persistent COVID,’ says Paula Parás, IDIVAL researcher and Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing at the University of Cantabria and one of the authors of the study.

In the analysis, the researchers observed that markers such as creatine phosphokinase (CPK) could be linked to common symptoms of persistent COVID. ‘The results suggest that CPK may be involved in fatigue and dyspnoea, although further studies are needed to confirm its role in this pathology,’ Parás adds.

Patients were recruited for this study through the HUMV’s Pneumology department, and the data obtained to date have allowed the researchers to advance in the understanding of persistent COVID. ‘Our line of research on pain is helping us to find new connections, and we plan to continue deepening in this field, especially in diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis,’ concludes Parás.

The IDIVAL team remains committed to unravelling the mechanisms behind the sequelae of COVID-19 and improving care for affected patients.

Link to the publication: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/8/641

Cover image: IDIVAL’s Nursing Research Group