The Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL) is reinforcing its commitment to useful, results-oriented innovation through the INNVAL program. Its latest call for proposals has supported projects with a common denominator: responding to real needs within the healthcare system through applicable, measurable solutions with high potential for transferability.
The selected initiatives range from the development of new diagnostic tools and risk stratification models to disruptive technologies and improvements in healthcare organization. All share a translational approach and a clear commitment to impacting clinical practice, system efficiency, and patients’ quality of life.
From the laboratory to clinical practice
One of the cornerstones of these projects is improving clinical decision-making through more precise and objective tools. “The main hypothesis is that we can begin to use biomarkers to detect which patients will benefit most from respiratory rehabilitation,” explains pulmonologist Carlos Amado, reflecting the move toward more personalized medicine.
In this same vein, Raquel López emphasizes the applicability of research: “We want to provide minimally invasive tools that allow for improved diagnosis and prognosis of the disease from a simple blood sample.”
Also from the field of care, Paula Paras underlines the importance of generating common instruments: “We want any professional, wherever they are, to be able to use a common tool and speak the same clinical language.”
Innovation with economic, technological, and environmental impact
Beyond the strictly clinical sphere, the projects address key challenges such as the sustainability and efficiency of the healthcare system. César González-Blanch highlights the importance of incorporating a long-term vision: “Reducing the time to access specialized treatment not only lowers costs for the healthcare system but also significantly improves patient well-being.”
In the technological field, the proposals explore innovative solutions for biomedical data management. “We want to verify if this technology is effective for storing medical images and all associated data,” notes María Isabel Martínez, regarding the use of DNA as a storage medium.
For her part, Mónica López Fanarraga focuses on sustainability: “Storing DNA at room temperature represents enormous energy and emissions savings,” demonstrating the potential of these initiatives to reduce the environmental footprint of the healthcare system.
INNVAL: A key catalyst for making innovation a reality
Researchers agree on the decisive role of the INNVAL program as a catalyst for these initiatives. “This funding is essential because, for projects like this, it makes the difference between an idea falling by the wayside and it being successfully developed,” states Carlos Amado.
A vision shared by other teams: “The program forces us to think about how to actually translate what we do in the lab into daily clinical practice,” highlights Raquel López. In the same vein, Mónica López Fanarraga emphasizes that “these programs give us the initial push,” while Paula Paras notes that “without this initial impulse, it would be very difficult to move forward.”
In addition to financial support, researchers highlight the importance of the ecosystem promoted by INNVAL, which fosters collaboration between healthcare professionals, universities, and companies. “Coordinating a multicenter project is complex, but collaboration greatly facilitates networking,” points out Carlos Amado, reflecting the value of these synergies.
With this call, IDIVAL consolidates an innovation model based on collaboration, applicability, and real impact, bringing research closer to clinical practice and contributing to the transformation of the healthcare system from within.
