Programme - Health Meeting - Fundación ”la Caixa”

TECHNOLOGIES
Research tools and technologies. Cutting the edge with a Swiss knife

In the opening session several researchers will explain the tools (technologies, techniques and experimental models) they use within their CaixaResearch Health projects. The session will gather these tools as examples to discuss on what they offer us and whether they can be easily extrapolated to other areas of research. The concept of cooperation between people with different backgrounds and expertise to get the utmost out of enabling technologies will also be discussed.
- Rodrigo Cunha, Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular (CNC), Portugal
  Project: Adenosine A2A receptors as a new opportunity to manage and detail the neurobiology of emotional distress
- Adelino Leite-Moreira, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
  Project: Sequential Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
- Leopoldo Petreanu, Fundação Champalimaud, Portugal
  Project: Optical dissection of cortical circuits for sensory expectations
- Carlos Ribeiro, Fundação Champalimaud, Portugal
  Project: Identifying and testing the metabolites generated by two psychoactive gut bacteria to alter brain function and behavior
- Francisco Sánchez Madrid, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Spain
  Project: Readying immune cells prior to disease-inducing encounters
- Miquel Vila, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Spain
  Project: Modulation of age-dependent neuromelanin accumulation as a novel therapeutic strategy for Parkinson’s disease and brain aging
Moderator: Quentin Cooper
INNOVATION
Innovation and knowledge transfer. Is there any carrot beyond the sticks?

The objective of this session is to get to know the vision of researchers at different stages of their translational projects: from those who have become entrepreneurs, who are planning to venture into innovation projects, or who even do not know yet if there are willing to do so. Topics discussed, amongst others, will include whether the results of research can reach the patients without a business orientation, or what incentives can we put in place to foster entrepreneurship in Spain and Portugal.
- Ruben Artero, Universidad de València (UV), Spain
  Project: Therapeutic targeting of MBNL microRNAs as innovative treatments for myotonic dystrophy
- Roger Gomis, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona), Spain
  Project: Metastasis Cell Fate Mapping
- Rubèn López Vales, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain
  Project: Activation of the resolution programs of inflammation as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Almudena R. Ramiro, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Spain
  Project: The antibody immune response during vascular remodeling
Moderator: Maribel Berges
CLINICAL RESEARCH
Clinical and fundamental research. It takes two to tango

This working session will discuss how to build up from fundamental research to clinical research and vice-versa, addressing issues such as patient and data availability, the shift to prevention based on global and individual habits, or sustainability and equity of access of new treatments. Researchers from both fields (fundamental and clinical) will exchange views on how the two worlds fit together.
- Arkaitz Carracedo, Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias (CIC bioGUNE), Spain
  Project: Eradicating prostate cancer metastasis before clinical manifestation
- Agostinho Carvalho, Universidade do Minho (UM), Portugal
  Project: A Transdisciplinary Approach to the Identification of Personalized Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets for Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis
- Josep Dalmau, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain
  Project: Neuronal circuits, and the mechanisms of memory loss and recovery
- Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG), Spain
  Project: Exploiting post-transcriptional regulation to uncover novel vulnerabilities of metastasic cells
Moderator: Quentin Cooper
IBERIAN CHALLENGES
Health research challenges in Iberia. Grow out together

Talent and funding are two accelerators of the transformative potential of research to meet major health challenges. Spain and Portugal have talented research centres and teams with great potential for the future. Funding, on the other hand, is one of the factors that limits us in what we can do and most specifically when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. The session will analyse how is Iberia performing within the international research context, and will discuss on potential strategies and actions to promote health research in Spain and Portugal.
- Elías Campo, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Spain
  Project: Genomic and epigenomic drivers of disease evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Valentí Fuster, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Spain
  Project: Somatic mutation-driven clonal hematopoiesis in atherosclerosis
- María Mota, Instituto de Medicina Molecular JLA (iMM)
  Project: Plasmodium exploitation of liver-specific methionine metabolism
Moderator: Quentin Cooper