From now on, the largest population cohort in southern Europe will integrate genomic and proteomic analysis into the clinical data of 50,000 volunteers from Cantabria, enabling it to truly attract investment and talent.
‘Cohorte Cantabria’ takes a crucial step today toward a model of medicine based on “precision, prevention, and anticipation,” which will make it possible to “define, stratify, and evaluate” the risk of multiple diseases among the population of Cantabria, as well as among people worldwide. It represents a “unique opportunity” to strengthen the healthcare system’s ability to anticipate disease.
This was explained by the Regional Minister of Health, César Pascual; the director of ‘Cohorte Cantabria’, Javier Crespo; and the scientific director of the Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), Marcos López Hoyos.
“This marks the beginning of the most transformative phase of ‘Cohorte Cantabria’, in which real results will be obtained and far more significant research processes will begin,” said César Pascual.
For this reason, the Government of Cantabria designated it as a “regional strategic project,” ensuring its financial viability and long-term continuity, and turning ‘Cohorte Cantabria’ into a “structural scientific infrastructure” within the region’s biomedical research ecosystem.
With more than 50,000 participants—20% of the reference population—‘Cohorte Cantabria’ has already become the largest cohort in southern Europe. From now on, it will integrate high‑resolution biological information (genetic and molecular) into the clinical data it already holds.
As Crespo explained, combining more than 1,500 variables—including health, geographic, demographic, and even cadastral data—with highly refined molecular analysis will allow researchers to better understand why some people develop certain diseases, how risk evolves over time, and which biological factors influence that evolution.
All of this will be done through a platform open to international scientific collaboration, enabling researchers “to anticipate disease development.” Ultimately, it is precision medicine aimed not only at treating patients more effectively, but also at maintaining health for longer.
For this reason, ‘Cohorte Cantabria’ will progressively contribute to developing more accurate risk models, optimizing preventive strategies, and planning healthcare resources more efficiently. It does not replace universal prevention policies, but it can make them more effective and better grounded.
After five years of development and more than 50,000 volunteers, ‘Cohorte Cantabria’ is now beginning to “bear fruit” with the “analysis of the complete exome—the part of DNA that determines our phenotype, in other words, what we are genetically,” Crespo explained.
The “incalculable” value of incorporating genomic data
According to Marcos López Hoyos, no precision‑medicine project can be understood without genomics, proteomics, and other “omics” that will emerge in the future.
Genomics and proteomics are complementary fields: genomics studies the structure, function, and evolution of DNA (the genome), while proteomics analyzes the full set of expressed proteins (the proteome) and their interactions at a given moment.
Over the next two years, a high‑resolution biological characterization will be completed, including the study of the functional part of DNA—the exome—and the analysis of thousands of proteins present in blood. This information will be integrated with the clinical and longitudinal follow‑up data already collected by the cohort.
Integrating these omics data—“hundreds of thousands of data points per person”—will “modulate risk,” meaning it will allow the establishment of risk profiles and risk predictions, Crespo noted.
López Hoyos added that work is underway to establish collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s leading genetic research companies and the creator of the largest genomic bank in the Western world. Regeneron also contributed to the creation of the UK Biobank, which holds more than 500,000 genomic samples.
Cantabria thus positions itself among the “elite” of population cohorts, as very few have a living population with long‑term follow‑up and the added value of genomic and proteomic data. This is possible, the Health Minister said, because it is a “public project based on citizens’ trust and aimed at improving health,” seeking to consolidate and expand its scientific reach. “A major leap we must take,” he added.
Building a health hub capable of competing internationally
‘Cohorte Cantabria’ is already one of the most important cohorts in Europe and is now beginning to compete with major global cohorts—an asset that will attract real investment and talent to build a high‑level precision‑health hub.
From a strategic perspective, Crespo said, opening this window of opportunity positions Cantabria within the international ecosystem of major population infrastructures such as the UK Biobank or the All of Us Research Program.
“This methodological alignment places the region at scientific standards comparable to the main international precision‑medicine programs, strengthening scientific competitiveness, facilitating the attraction of specialized talent, and expanding opportunities for high‑level collaboration.”
“Cantabria has decided to play in this league,” Pascual emphasized, “and we are entering a new stage in which ‘Cohorte Cantabria’ will also be at the forefront, entering the world of omics.”
The positive consequences of this new phase are “multiple,” Crespo noted. For volunteers, their participation now takes on an even more significant scientific dimension, directly contributing to positioning Cantabria among the European regions with the greatest capacity for advanced population research.
“The commitment of the people of Cantabria who make up ‘Cohorte Cantabria’ strengthens a model in which the knowledge generated can, over time, improve prevention and healthcare planning.”
“Cantabria is committed to anticipating, to integrating science and the healthcare system, and to turning knowledge into a tool for collective improvement. That is the true scope of this step.”
