The contracts allow professionals with a strong track record in clinical and/or translational research in these two areas to undertake three-year projects at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and a stay of one year in another leading center or centers (with a minimum of 6 months in a center outside Spain). The program bears the names of doctors Joan Rodés and Josep Baselga, in recognition of two exceptionally innovative and transformative figures in biomedicine, whose many contributions remain present today in numerous facets of the best clinical practice and advanced translational research.
The evaluation committee of the BBVA Foundation-Hospital Clínic de Barcelona Joan Rodés-Josep Baselga Advanced Research Contracts 2022 met on May 29, 2023 to assess candidates against the criteria set out in the call conditions of November 2022 and resolved to award the contracts to:
Selected project in Clinical Neuroscience:
'Detection of synuclein and other biomarkers of neurogenerative disease in patients with idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder'
The aim of this project is to diagnose neurogenerative diseases through alpha-synuclein protein deposit (which are very prevalent, such as Parkinson's disease) in a very early phase, with a greater reliability, and with a procedure as simple as a nasal swab. The project could also improve the understanding of the physiopathology of these diseases and help design future therapeutic trials.
Researcher: Gerard Mayà Casalprim, clinical researcher and neurology specialist, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.
Amount of funding: 300,000 euros (an annual 100,000 euros over three years)
Selected project in Respiratory, Cardiovascular and Renal Pathobiology and Bioengineering:
'Early assessment of atrial cardiomyopathy by non-invasive diagnostic tools to set up preventive medicine for atrial fibrillation'
Atrial fibrillation physiopathology is not fully understood, leading to suboptimal patients' management. Atrial cardiomyopathy (ACM) plays a crucial role, but its assessment is limited because of the lack of diagnostic tools. A translational research project seems mandatory to validate the value of novel ways to assess ACM.
Researcher: Jean-Baptiste Guichard, research fellow in the Arrhythmia Unit, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.
Amount of funding: 300,000 euros (an annual 100,000 euros over three years)
Evaluation committee
The evaluation committee was chaired by Antoni Castells, Medical Director of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Remaining members were: Teresa Estrach, emeritus professor at Universitat de Barcelona and Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; Ramón Estruch, principal investigator of the PREDIMED study at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; Pilar Luque, assistant director of Teaching at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; José M. Mato, general director of CIC bioGUNE and CIC biomaGUNE; Francesca Pons, director of Teaching at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; Mariano Provencio, head of the Oncology service at Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro; Eugenio Santos, director of the Cancer Research Center, CSIC-Universidad de Salamanca; Isabel Varela, Research professor at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols (CSIC - UAM); and José Luis Zamorano, head of the Cardiology Service at Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal.
