The work will allow the development of an optical sensor for the precise identification of tumour margins.

Researchers from the Cell Signalling and Therapeutic Targets in Cancer Group of the Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) and the Optics Group of the University of Cantabria (UC) are collaborating in the development of an optical sensor to aid in the surgical intervention of glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive tumours with a very low life expectancy (5% at 5 years).

Glioblastoma accounts for half of all primary malignant tumours of the central nervous system in adults and standard treatment for patients currently consists of surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy.  The challenge facing neurosurgeons today is to accurately identify tumour margins for effective surgery to remove only malignant tissue.

The work developed by the researchers will allow a neurosurgeon, in real time, to map the surgical site of a glioblastoma with an optical sensor and distinguish the tumour tissue from the surrounding brain parenchyma (peritumoural tissue). This study could be a breakthrough given that current techniques such as conventional neuronavigation and fluorescence-guided resection with 5-ALA and fluorescein still have some drawbacks that by their nature are insurmountable.

The sensor, based on plasmonic technology, is based on the optical sensitivity of a nanostructured metal surface when it comes into contact with biological material. Its main advantage is that its information comes exclusively through light, it does not need any external chemical agent for its effective operation and can be operated without any previous experience.

Currently, ex vivo tests are being carried out in the laboratory and a pilot system is being assembled that can be taken to the operating theatre and can be manipulated and its results interpreted by the surgeon himself.

So far, two utility models of a possible device have been presented and several articles have been published in high impact scientific journals.

This project has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation in the call “Proyectos De Generación De Conocimiento 2021” with an execution period of 36 months from 2022 to 2025 and whose principal investigators are Fernando Moreno Gracia on behalf of the Optics group (UC) and José Luis Fernández Luna on behalf of IDIVAL.

The scientist considers that “this recognition should serve as an incentive to promote, even more, the interest in research among the professionals of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital”.

Julio Pascual Gómez, head of the ‘Clinical and Genetics of Headaches’ group at the Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) and head of the Neurology Service at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV) has been awarded the Juan María Parés 2023 Research Prize, which the UC Social Council grants in the category of ‘Research Activity’.

This award is endowed with 7,000 euros, which recognizes a meritorious scientific career, carried out by a professor or researcher linked to the University of Cantabria, of which he is a professor in the Department of Medicine and Psychiatry of the Faculty of Medicine.

“I am particularly excited since this is the first time that this award has gone to a clinician and I believe that this recognition should serve as an incentive to promote, even more, the interest in research among the professionals of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital. As a neurologist, I believe that this award recognizes the great advances made in the last decade in clinical neurology, which allow us to successfully treat many diseases that until recently had very serious sequelae,” he added.

“The recognition by the Social Council of the University of Cantabria has an enormous significance for me for several reasons. Firstly, because of its prestige, which not only lies with the awarding entity, but also with the scientific quality of the previous winners,” Pascual emphasized.

“It comes at a time in my professional career, when I have just turned 65, in which such a prestigious recognition more than compensates for all the efforts of four decades combining care, teaching and research.”

On this point, Pascual – managing director of HUMV from 2015 to 2019 – highlighted feeling “especially happy that this award goes to a researcher in headache and, specifically, in migraines, because this disease so disabling for the activities of daily living has always been the great forgotten as it settles mainly in young women and from the University of Cantabria we have contributed to the development, for the first time, of the first specific treatments for this headache.”

“Finally, this recognition allows me to pay the moral debt I have with my teachers, who taught me everything, and with my family, who in some way have suffered my interest in neuroscience,” he concluded.

BRIEF CV JULIO PASCUAL

Julio Pascual graduated in Medicine in 1975 at the University of Salamanca, and subsequently completed his doctoral thesis at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the University of Cantabria, on brain neurochemistry, with an Extraordinary Prize. The line of neurochemistry dedicated to the study of receptors for neurotransmitters in the normal and pathological human brain resulted in multiple publications in basic neuroscience journals.

His main line of research for 3 decades has been that of headaches, making relevant contributions in practically all fields, so that his contributions could be considered an example of Translational Medicine. Thus, for example, he has described the epidemiology of chronic primary headaches (Harry Kaplan Award for the best article of the year, from the American Headache Society) and the clinical manifestations of various headaches (for these contributions the European Headache Federation awarded him its most prestigious prize, the Enrico Greppi, in 2008).

In addition, this research activity has been recognized in different national and international fields. For example, he has been editor-in-chief of ‘Revista de Neurología’ (official publication of the Autonomous Societies of Neurology) and associate editor of ‘Neurología’ (official journal of the Spanish Society of Neurology) for 8 years and for 15 years the first non-North American associate editor of ‘Headache’ (official publication of the American Headache Asociation), in addition to having 5 six-year research periods recognized by the ANECA.

Among his distinctions, he holds the Career Achievement Award granted by the Organización Médica Colegial in 2018 and this year the Board of Directors of the Spanish Society of Neurology has selected him to deliver the plenary lecture ‘Ramón y Cajal’ of its Annual Meeting, which is a recognition of a research career, in general, reserved for foreign speakers of recognized prestige.

JUAN MARÍA PARÉS RESEARCH AWARDS

The Social Council of the University of Cantabria has been awarding the Juan María Parés Research Prizes since 2001 with the aim of annually highlighting the research activity carried out by active researchers who are or have been linked to the University of Cantabria. This award may also be granted to a meritorious scientific career, carried out by a professor or researcher linked to the University.

Photo caption: Julio Pascual, in his office at IDIVAL

The initiative is formed by a consortium between IDIVAL, the Ámbar Group and the University of Cantabria

The scientific director of the Marqués de Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL), Marcos López-Hoyos; the rector of the University of Cantabria (UC), Ángel Pazos; and the president of Grupo Ámbar, Pablo Gómez, presented yesterday, together with the researcher and professor in Photonic Engineering, José Miguel López-Higuera; and the director of Ámbar Telecommunications, Roberto García, the MIES project, a platform for the monitoring and improvement of cognitive functions of elderly people.

This is an initiative that will work over the next 36 months to design and develop a non-invasive technological platform to monitor and evaluate the executive functions of elderly people living in geriatric residences.

Financed by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and by the European Union through the NextGeneration Funds, the initiative is the result of the public-private collaboration between the University of Cantabria, IDIVAL and Grupo Ámbar, and has a budget of 1.94 million euros.

López-Hoyos pointed out that “this project has an enormous transfer, sustainable for the healthcare system because, if it achieves the expected results, we will obtain a non-invasive platform integrating data to be applied to the healthcare system”.

The Rector recalled that this is an initiative “of general interest because it is an example of transfer and collaboration with the private sector and other public sectors, and of specific interest because we are working and developing methodologies in such a sensitive field as health, dependence and aging”.

The researcher from the Photonics Engineering Group (UC-IDIVAL) López-Higuera, explained that this project “will provide objective measures to evaluate the physical and cognitive capacity of patients, with which to prolong the autonomy of the elderly and facilitate the healthiest possible aging.

In this sense, Pablo Gómez explained that the result of the work of the three institutions will be a “new platform that will improve the evaluation and monitoring of various characteristics related to the aging process. In particular, the new detection devices will complement data-driven management tools based, in turn, on artificial intelligence. This will make it possible not only to measure aspects related to the health of each person, but also to generate a large volume of information that will enable progress in personalized medicine and healthy aging.”

The project foresees the hiring of 26 professionals.

PILOT TEST AT THE SAN CANDIDO RESIDENCE

MIES thus aims to transform the current models for monitoring and caring for the elderly and, to this end, the third phase of its development will consist of validating the approach at the San Cándido de Santander Residence.

The possibility of monitoring the daily routine of elderly people living in controlled environments will reduce the need for face-to-face testing and allow a higher quality service to be offered with the same volume of resources. In fact, according to project estimates, current monitoring costs could be reduced by more than 50%.

Moreover, from a social perspective, the proposed tools for the early detection and mitigation of physical or cognitive impairments will make it possible to prolong the autonomy of residents, by anticipating a significant reduction in the risk of falls, preserving cognitive functions for longer and helping to improve both their bone health and their muscular functions.

Finally, from the scientific point of view, the development of the project will try to show that it is possible to use technological tools to provide objective information for the evaluation and stimulation of physical and cognitive functions using gamified activities, as pointed out by José Miguel López-Higuera. The implementation of sensors in elements such as push buttons, pieces to be assembled or game cards will make it possible to monitor the patient in the background and eliminate the bias introduced in clinical scenarios. This will make it possible to obtain objective measurements of aspects such as attention, motor speed, visual memory or strength.

Thus, it will contribute to the state of the art of knowledge, providing a set of tools that, once validated by the international scientific community, could become a standard for the early detection of frailty at different levels, as well as cognitive impairment.

GAMIFICATION FOR NON-INVASIVE ASSESSMENT

The ability to communicate, manage, store and interpret data is an important aspect of the project, since it is planned to create interfaces that facilitate the integration of different types of data and are user-friendly for healthcare personnel.

The information will be presented to healthcare personnel in a convenient way and within an interoperable system that provides the data required for patient care. In that sense, by recognizing the patterns that govern these care processes, a more efficient management of resources could be achieved.

THE CHALLENGE OF AGING

The MIES project thus aims to become a reference tool for managing the challenge of an aging population, a global trend. In fact, the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics indicate that Cantabria is the fourth most aged region in Spain, with 178 people over 64 years of age for every 100 under 16. Furthermore, practically 8% (7.89%) of the Cantabrian population is 80 years of age or older.

Photo: From left to right, Roberto García, director of Ámbar Telecomunicaciones; José Miguel López-Higuera, head of the Photonic Engineering research group (UC-IDIVAL); Ángel Pazos, rector of the UC; Pablo Gómez, president of the Ámbar Group and Marcos López-Hoyos, scientific director of IDIVAL.

An informative webinar will be held on March 12, open to all interested parties.

The second call of the joint European initiative THCS (European Partnership on transforming health and care systems) of Horizon Europe was published last February 23rd.

Under the title Innovate to Prevent: Personalised Prevention in Health and Care Services, funding will be provided for collaborative translational research projects aimed at implementing innovative models of person-centered healthcare that address prevention strategies with the key help of digital and information technologies and services.

The call will be co-funded by the European Commission and different national and regional entities. In the case of Spain, the funding bodies participating in this call are the Consejería de Salud y Consumo de la Junta de Andalucía, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (Cantabria).

The projects in which Cantabrian researchers participate may be financed by IDIVAL, the Carlos III Health Institute and the State Research Agency, as long as they comply with the eligibility requirements established by them.

IDIVAL has a funding of 150,000 euros for the financing of the Cantabrian groups participating in the transnational projects, with a funding of up to 100,000 euros for groups participating as partners and up to 150,000 euros if the Cantabrian group is the coordinator of the proposal.

Those interested in participating in the call must form a consortium consisting of a minimum of three and a maximum of nine partners belonging to at least three countries participating in the initiative and submit their interest in participating in the call before April 16 at 14:00 hours.

For more information, an informative Webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 12, in which the main characteristics of the call will be announced.

LINK TO THE CALL: https://www.thcspartnership.eu/funding/pre-announcement-of-the-second-joint-transnational-call.kl

One hundred students from four schools and high schools in Cantabria learn about the role of hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry in the development of a drug or how a patient can participate in a clinical trial.

Bringing science closer to schools, the program promoted by Farmaindustria in collaboration with research centers since 2016 has held this Friday a new meeting at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, in Santander, with a hundred students from four schools and institutes to learn about the process of research and development of new drugs in our country.

Students from IES José María Pereda, IES Cantabria, IES Santa Clara and Colegio Castroverde were able to learn first hand what the clinical research process consists of, from the scientific work until the drug reaches the patient.

Marcos López Hoyos, head of the Immunology Department at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital and scientific director of the Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL), explained why biomedical research is carried out in hospitals, while the director of Clinical and Translational Research at Farmaindustria, Amelia Martín Uranga, explained the process of developing, testing and marketing new drugs.

The Regional Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Universities, Sergio Silva, highlighted the “extraordinary pedagogical value” of this initiative to disseminate biomedical research.

The second objective of this program is to awaken vocations, and Enrique Ocio, head of the Hematology Department of the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital and head of the Hematological Neoplasms and Hematopoietic Progenitor Transplantation Research Group of IDIVAL, spoke to the young people about this issue and the trajectory of the researchers.

The Value of Clinical Trials, Hope for Patients

The cornerstone of the research process is the clinical trial. This is the process used to test the safety and efficacy of new drugs and, on many occasions, the only therapeutic option for patients with serious diseases or for those who do not yet have treatment.

It is a complex process that requires 6-7 years of work and involves, together with the pharmaceutical company, authorities, researchers, hospitals and, of course, patients,” summarized Blanca Sánchez Santiago, coordinator of the Clinical Trials Unit at the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital.

“Spain has become an international reference in clinical trials. And this leading position brings value to the Spanish healthcare system and society as a whole, since it attracts investment for hospitals, places healthcare professionals at the scientific forefront and provides opportunities for present and future patients, who can benefit from early access to new drugs through participation in trials,” said Martín Uranga.

Clinical trials are a source of hope for patients and their families and are studies conducted under strict regulations and rigorous ethical criteria, which ensure the protection of the patient at all times. Virginia Calderón, a patient participating in a clinical trial, told the students about her experience and the value of participating in these studies.

Bringing science to schools, which was created to contribute to the dissemination of biomedical research among high school students, visited the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital for the second time after IDIVAL and Farmaindustria launched the program in this community just a year ago. After eight years in operation, the program has established itself as an activity of interest between the autonomous communities and the schools and institutes.

Registrations are open for the seminar that will delve into the types, uses and ethical issues of generative artificial intelligence.

Next Monday March 11 will be held the training course called ‘How to improve your workflows with generative AI in basic and/or clinical research’ which will take place in the afternoon (16h to 20h) in the conference room third floor of IDIVAL.

The objectives of the workshop will be focused on obtaining resources to use artificial intelligence on a daily basis, knowing when to use it, as well as learning how to obtain efficient and satisfactory answers or knowing its limits and strengths of the different types.

The workshop will be limited to 25 students who will have to bring their laptop computer and answer an anonymous survey in this link: https://shre.ink/rQoq

Registrations are already open and can be made at the following link: https://forms.gle/1JhktYeHXMvQ43xm6

The course will be taught by Álvaro Díaz, Assistant of the Digestive Service of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV), Javier Pazó, IA Expert of the Spanish Foundation for the Study of the Liver (FEEH) and Juan Turnes, Head of the Digestive Service. University Hospital of Pontevedra.

Programme:

Clinical trials, industrial property or human factor engineering will be key topics to be discussed with the students.

The Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL) participates in the Master’s Degree in Health Services Management of the University of Cantabria (UC), whose objective is to train professionals capable of leading processes of change and innovation in health systems.

The postgraduate course is made up of seven different modules and IDIVAL leads the block focused on health research within the module ‘Health Research. Public Health’. Classes will be held from February 16 to March 1 on a wide variety of topics.

Firstly, IDIVAL will talk about human factor engineering and medical technologies showing their current relevance in the bio-health field. The block will continue to delve into the role of scientific-technical platforms within health institutes, research with human biological samples and the role of hospital biobanks.  Clinical trials will also be a key topic to be dealt with by Valdecilla’s Clinical Trials Unit, which will detail the steps involved in managing the clinical trial approval process and the necessary contracts.

The IDIVAL Management Department will also explain the IDIVAL model, the framework and sources of funding, as well as the institute’s research and innovation management. It will also address the national science and technology strategy, health innovation strategies and the strategic plan of a health research institute such as IDIVAL.

With regard to scientific activity, there will be a discussion on its evaluation, the good clinical practices that are necessary, in addition to dealing with concepts such as innovation and industrial protection in the healthcare environment.

With an eye on Europe, emphasis will be placed on the general framework of health policy in the European Union, with special mention of the Horizon Europe program with some practical cases and showing IDIVAL’s experience in this field.

Blended and cross-disciplinary training

The Master in Management and Administration of Health Services of the University of Cantabria (MADGS) is aimed at university graduates, graduates and university graduates, students in their final years, health professionals, as well as people interested in specializing in this professional field. It is also aimed at non-health professionals with an interest in this field.

The postgraduate course takes place between October 2023 and June 2024 and is compatible with the professional activity as it is blended learning. The face-to-face classes are held at the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies on Fridays (16:30 to 21:00 hours) and Saturdays (9:00 to 14:00 hours). Virtual classes are available through the Virtual Classroom Moodle of the University of Cantabria.

The complete master’s degree consists of seven modules plus the Final Project, although it is also possible to obtain the University Diploma of Specialization by taking only the last three modules plus the final project.

The modules are offered and can be taken individually and independently as Expert University Diplomas.

Modules and dates:

1. Health Economics and Economic Evaluation Applied to Health and Socio-Health Services. 20/10/2023 to 03/11/2023
2. Health and Socio-Health Law. 10/11/2023 to 16/12/2023

III. Public Management, Contracting and Competence Framework of Health Care Managers. 12/01/2024 to 10/02/2024

1. Health Research. Public Health. 16/02/2024 to 15/03/2024
2. Health Management, Pharmacy and Inspection. Planning and user relations. 03/16/2024 to 04/20/2024
3. Digital transformation. Health Care. 04/26/2024 to 05/18/2024

VII. Management of Health Services Provision. Primary Care Management and Hospital Management. 24/05/2024 to 07/06/2024

Final Program Work

On the occasion of the World Day for Rare Diseases on February 29th, the Valdecilla Institute for Health Research (IDIVAL) will hold an event entitled ‘Update day on Rare Diseases and the need for a multiprofessional approach (360)´.

It will be a day where they will talk about rare diseases nowadays, the different treatments available and the perspectives to be taken into account such as rehabilitation, the expectations and aspirations of patients and the future vision of the Regional Ministry of Health of Cantabria.

It will take place in the Dr. Gómez Durán Assembly Hall of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital. Admission will be free, although for logistical reasons it is suggested to send an e-mail before February 20 to enfraras360@gmail.com expressing interest in attending.

It is organized by José A. Riancho, Domingo González-Lamuño and José L. Fernández Luna, researchers from the Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Genetics Services of HUMV and also IDIVAL researchers.

In addition, It has the collaboration of the companies Sanofi, Nutricia and Takeda.

Previous hypertension, diabetes and renal insufficiency could alter plasma markers

A multidisciplinary research team belonging to the Neurodegenerative Diseases Group of IDIVAL and the Cognitive Impairment Unit of the Neurology Service of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV) has conducted a study aimed at understanding how different physiological variables and previous diseases could influence the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The Clinical Analysis and Biochemistry Service and the Immunology Service of the HUMV have also collaborated in the research.

The research was carried out on 208 cognitively healthy volunteers from the Valdecilla Cohort by analyzing different markers in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. This procedure is a simple, reliable and minimally invasive way to identify variables prior to observing the first memory failures characteristic of the disease.

The markers are two proteins called β-amyloid (forms β-40 and β-42), the ratio between them that biologically defines the disease and, finally, the protein called phosphorylated tau (p-tau181). In addition, these markers have been related to multiple variables such as blood pressure, liver enzymes, renal filtration or different cardiovascular risk factors.

Likewise, prior diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes may also have an effect on plasma amyloid and tau protein levels.

The aim is to understand the dynamics of plasma markers in the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease with the intention of using them in the future as a population screening tool and to be able to look for preventive treatments. This is especially important now that the first disease-modifying drugs are in the process of being approved in Europe.

The study has been published in the prestigious International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Reference: Martínez-Dubarbie, F.; Guerra-Ruiz, A.; López-García, S.; Irure-Ventura, J.; Lage, C.; Fernández-Matarrubia, M.; Pozueta-Cantudo, A.; García-Martínez, M.; Corrales-Pardo, A.; Bravo, M.; et al. Influence of Physiological Variables and Comorbidities on Plasma Aβ40, Aβ42, and p-tau181 Levels in Cognitively Unimpaired Individuals. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 1481. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031481

portal point to a high visibility of IDIVAL authors with more than 62,000 citations of articles published in the period 2018-2022. In this way, the Valdecilla brand exceeds 280,000 citations since its creation.

Of note in the period 2018-22 are the citations of papers published in the areas of Immunology (1,383 citations), Pharmacology (1,307 citations) and Oncology (1,134 citations) and as the origin of the citations Spain, United States, Italy and England.

The IDIVAL researchers most cited in the publications of this period have been:

The 5 articles published in this period 2018-2022 most cited have been collaborative studies conducted on patients, published in high impact journals:

• Kunkle, B. W., Grenier-Boley, B., Sims, R., Bis, J. C., Damotte, V., Naj, A. C., … & Rotter, J. I. (2019). Genetic meta-analysis of diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease identifies new risk loci and implicates Aβ, tau, immunity and lipid processing. Nature genetics, 51(3), 414-430.

• André, T., Shiu, K. K., Kim, T. W., Jensen, B. V., Jensen, L. H., Punt, C., … & Diaz Jr, L. A. (2020). Pembrolizumab in microsatellite-instability–high advanced colorectal cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(23), 2207-2218.

• Galván Casas, C., Catala, A. C. H. G., Carretero Hernández, G., Rodríguez‐Jiménez, P., Fernández‐Nieto, D., Rodríguez‐Villa Lario, A., … & García‐Doval, I. (2020). Classification of the cutaneous manifestations of COVID‐19: a rapid prospective nationwide consensus study in Spain with 375 cases. British Journal of Dermatology, 183(1), 71-77.

• Loriot, Y., Necchi, A., Park, S. H., Garcia-Donas, J., Huddart, R., Burgess, E., … & Siefker-Radtke, A. O. (2019). Erdafitinib in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. New England Journal of Medicine, 381(4), 338-348.

• Brainstorm Consortium, Anttila, V., Bulik-Sullivan, B., Finucane, H. K., Walters, R. K., Bras, J., … & Avbersek, A. (2018). Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain. Science, 360(6395), eaap8757.