Morant got a close look at the research being carried out at the institute in the different areas of metabolic diseases and nutrition; infection, immunity and the environment; oncology and neurosciences; and mental health
The Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, travelled today to the Hospital Sant Joan de Reus to meet with researchers at the Pere Virgili Institute for Health Research (IISPV). The head of this ministry wanted to see first-hand the research being carried out at the IISPV and was specifically interested in the projects that have recently received funding from this central government body, such as the one that will allow the development of a screening protocol for mental illnesses based on the detection of the most frequent major genetic alteration, the 22q11 deletion. The minister assured that ‘1 out of every 4 jobs created in recent years is in the field of science’.
Taking this genetic aspect into account when diagnosing this type of pathology will make it easier for the treatments to be more effective and personalised, and will help to reduce the personal, socio-economic and health costs involved for both the people who suffer from them and their families. This project is coordinated by Elisabet Vilella, deputy director of the IISPV and researcher at the Pere Mata Institute.
The minister also got a close-up look at other projects led by IISPV professionals which, like the previous one, have received funding from this central government body. Some of these are based on the multi-omic approach (i.e. they analyse data from the whole genome or the expression of all genes) of oncological and metabolic diseases. ‘We are the leading country in trials,’ says Diana Morant.
Others focus on researching tools to support the diagnosis of metabolic diseases and on investigating the application of artificial intelligence to improve the diagnosis of a type of cancer.
Other IISPV research projects that the minister was able to see during her visit to the IISPV focus on the study of dietary and lifestyle interventions that improve the quality of life of the elderly, children and adolescents and adults who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness.
Diandra Morant considers that ‘talent cannot only be in Barcelona or Madrid’.
The meeting with the Minister of Science and Innovation was also attended by 3 researchers with permanent contracts (Miguel Servet and Ramón y Cajal contracting programmes of the Ministry), and 2 researchers and 2 researchers with non-permanent post-doctoral contracts (Miguel Servet contracting programmes of the Ministry).
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