Mariona Cid, the head of IDIBAPS research group Systemic vasculitis, has been awarded the Roger Demers Award by the Canadian Rheumatology Association in recognition of her contributions to the international rheumatology community. She received the award during the Laurentian Conference of Rheumatology, which featured symposiums, presentations and discussions on clinical cases, research and fundamental rheumatology.
The Laurentian Conference of Rheumatology is the largest meeting on rheumatology in eastern Canada. The Roger Demers Award is named after one of the original promoters of the event.
Mariona Cid’s research focuses on finding out the mechanisms responsible for the inflammation and modelling of the blood vessels that characterise vasculitis to identify therapeutic targets and biomarkers that are useful in clinical practice. Cid and her team employ functional models, including primary patient cells, co-cultures, models of adhesion, migration and angiogenesis and ex-vivo 3D cultures. The researchers also work on describing clinical cohorts by collecting clinical data, imaging data and biological samples and conduct clinical trials with innovative therapies.