This Monday, the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) welcomed Glòria Oliver Rodríguez, Deputy Director General of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, and Joan Vives i Tomàs, Administrative Director of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG). During their visit to IDIVAL’s headquarters in Santander, they held a meeting with Galo Peralta Fernández, Managing Director, Marcos López Hoyos, Scientific Director of the Institute and Félix Rubial, Managing Director at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (HUMV) with the aim of sharing experiences and exploring potential synergies for collaboration in the field of health research.
Eloy Rodríguez, principal investigator at the HUMV in the area of Alzheimer’s disease, also joined the meeting. He shared with the Pasqual Maragall Foundation the progress being made in Alzheimer’s research at Valdecilla and expressed interest in their proposal for future joint initiatives.
IDIVAL also presented the progress of the Cantabria Cohort, an ambitious population-based project that gathers clinical, biological, and epidemiological data from over 45,000 participants and is now nearing completion. This cohort represents a valuable resource for current and future research in population health, personalized medicine, and early disease detection, and is already serving as the foundation for numerous scientific studies.
The Pasqual Maragall Foundation, in turn, shared insights from the ALFA Study, a research platform with a cohort of 2,700 cognitively healthy individuals, focused on the early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. This pioneering study is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and reflects the Foundation’s strong commitment to science as a means to defeat neurodegenerative diseases.
The meeting also highlighted the strategic collaboration between the Pasqual Maragall Foundation and CRG through the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), the Foundation’s scientific institution. Both entities work together to study the genetic modulation of brain phenotypes through genomic analyses and neuroimaging data, as part of BBRC’s clinical research program on Alzheimer’s. This alliance, supported by funding from the Strategic Plan for Health Research and Innovation (PERIS) of Catalonia, strengthens the link between basic and applied research to advance the understanding of this disease.
The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), represented by Joan Vives, also emphasized its internationally recognized organizational model and its multidisciplinary approach to understanding the genetic foundations of life and disease. Based in Barcelona and part of the CERCA research centers system in Catalonia, CRG promotes cutting-edge biomedical research through collaboration with both public and private institutions, with a strong commitment to scientific renewal and the social impact of knowledge.
This meeting reinforces the shared commitment of all three institutions to advancing biomedical science through a collaborative approach focused on societal benefit.
Photo caption: From left to right, Galo Peralta, Glòria Oliver, Eloy Rodríguez, Marcos López, and Joan Vives.
