The Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) has secured funding for 16 health research projects in the Health Research Projects (PI25) call of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII). These grants will make it possible to carry out competitive research over the next three years in different areas of biomedicine and clinical research, consolidating the institute’s research activity and strengthening its translational orientation.
The funded projects address relevant clinical problems and unmet medical needs, combining basic, clinical, and applied research. As a whole, they incorporate the study of biomarkers, new therapeutic approaches, clinical prediction tools, and strategies aimed at improving decision-making in healthcare delivery and public health.
The PI25 call includes several projects in the field of neurosciences, addressing neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular pathology, visual pathway disorders, and mental health from a translational perspective, integrating biomarkers, advanced neuroimaging, and new therapeutic approaches.
Within this framework, Dr. Daniel Alcolea leads a project focused on the pathological aggregation of alpha-synuclein, a key protein in synucleinopathies. The study will analyze this aggregation both in cerebrospinal fluid and in neuronal extracellular vesicles isolated from blood, with the aim of improving the in vivo diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies and mixed Alzheimer–Lewy forms. Correlating these biomarkers with cortical neuropathology and clinical profiles will make it possible to move toward more precise and less invasive diagnostic tools.
Research in stroke and brain injury is represented by two projects that address this area from different but convergent perspectives. Dr. Cristina Gallego Fabrega, through the TIME-ICH project, studies the temporal evolution of cerebral edema after intracerebral hemorrhage and its relationship with epigenetic mechanisms, particularly DNA methylation, with the aim of identifying prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. For her part, Dr. Jara Cárcel Márquez leads the NeuroG3n project, which integrates three-dimensional genomics and chromatin accessibility analysis to identify genetic and regulatory mechanisms involved in post-stroke neurological deterioration.
In this same area, Dr. Elena Muiño Acuña is developing a project focused on CADASIL, a rare hereditary cerebrovascular disease with no specific treatment. The study aims to identify molecular biomarkers associated with disease progression and to evaluate drug repositioning strategies in cellular models to advance toward new therapeutic options for these patients.
In the field of autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system, Dr. Angela Vidal-Jordana coordinates a multicenter project focused on acute optic neuropathies, integrating serum biomarkers, neuroimaging techniques, and functional assessment of the visual pathway to improve etiological diagnosis between optic neuritis and non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathies, as well as to predict visual prognosis from early stages of the disease.
The call also includes a project in mental health, led by Dr. Joaquim Soler Ribaudi. This project evaluates the effectiveness and feasibility of a psychotherapeutic intervention based on increasing non-comparative self-esteem for the secondary prevention of suicidal behavior in individuals with multiple previous attempts. The study proposes an approach that addresses the reduction of suicidal ideation by fostering improvements in baseline psychological well-being and quality of life, rather than solely responding to the acute crisis that precipitates a suicide attempt.
This section brings together projects focused on autoimmune diseases, with particular attention to neuromuscular disorders in which diagnosis and clinical stratification remain challenging.
In this context, Dr. Eduardo Gallardo Vigo leads a project focused on seronegative myasthenia gravis, a subgroup of patients without specific diagnostic biomarkers. This project will also be co-directed by Dr. Elena Cortés. The research aims to identify new immunological targets, validate their pathogenic role, and develop animal models that will allow a more profound understanding of disease mechanisms and optimization of therapeutic approaches.
Within this same framework, the team led by Dr. Luis Querol is developing a project aimed at the identification of new clinically relevant autoantibodies in autoimmune neuropathies, redefining the node of Ranvier as an immunologically active structure. This approach contributes to a more in-depth understanding of the immunopathogenic mechanisms involved and opens new avenues for the development of more precise diagnostic and therapeutic tools in autoimmune neuropathies.
In the cardiovascular field, the PI25 call includes projects that analyze risk from a molecular and systemic perspective, integrating genetic, metabolic, and inflammatory factors.
Dr. Teresa Padró Capmany leads a project focused on the molecular composition of lipoprotein(a) in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Using a systems biology approach, the study analyzes the relationship between the molecular characteristics of this lipoprotein, the progression of atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular risk, incorporating an analysis of biological sex differences.
Along these same lines, Dr. César Díaz Torné is leading a project that evaluates the clinical, inflammatory, and cardiovascular benefits of reducing monosodium urate crystal deposition in patients with gout. The study analyzes the impact of intensive urate-lowering therapy not only on joint symptoms but also on systemic inflammation and overall cardiovascular risk, a frequent comorbidity in these patients.
The PI25 call includes projects that share a precision medicine approach, based on the integration of clinical data, molecular analysis, and advanced technologies to address complex and heterogeneous diseases.
This section includes the project led by Dr. Astrid Crespo Lessmann, together with Dr. Vicente Plaza Moral, which combines metabolomics, microbiota, radiomics, clinical data, and artificial intelligence techniques to develop a predictive model of asthma exacerbations. The aim is to identify biomarkers in the context of an exacerbation that enable early identification of patients at risk of severe episodes and optimization of clinical follow-up.
Likewise, Dr. Lorena Alba Castellon leads a project focused on the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer, analyzing the role of PDGFRβ+ fibroblasts in drug response and immunotherapy and evaluating innovative strategies, such as the use of targeted nanotoxins, to overcome mechanisms of therapeutic resistance.
In the area of women’s health, the call funds projects focused on highly prevalent conditions with a significant impact on maternal health and quality of life.
Dr. Elisa Llurba Olivé coordinates the Late-CARE project, co-led by Dr. Carmen Garrido, aimed at improving the prediction of late-onset preeclampsia through the integration of cardiovascular, angiogenic, inflammatory, and metabolomic biomarkers, with an approach oriented toward clinical practice.
In this same area, Dr. Taisiia Melnychuk Mykhaylevska leads the ENDO-GUT project, which evaluates the impact of a group dietary intervention in women with endometriosis. It analyzes its effect on quality of life and pain through improvements in systemic inflammation and the resulting changes in the microbiota. This provides evidence on non-pharmacological interventions that are easy to implement.
The call also includes projects with a population health approach, aimed at improving clinical and public health decision-making in real-world settings.
Dr. Carlen Reyes Reyes, together with Dr. Carlos Brotons Cuixart, leads a project that combines population analysis and a clinical trial to develop a risk scale for adverse events associated with the prescription of potentially inappropriate medication in older adults. the goal is to evaluate the effect of a deprescribing intervention based on shared decision-making in primary care.
In the field of environmental health, Dr. Marta Roqué Figuls is developing a project focused on the impact of heat waves on health, especially in vulnerable populations. It also focuses on improving public health decision-making through the formulation of a methodological framework for synthesizing scientific evidence on environmental exposures related to climate change.
Overall, the 16 funded projects reflect the diversity of research lines at IR Sant Pau and its capacity to address health problems from different approaches—biomedical, clinical, population-based, and health systems—with a clear orientation toward knowledge transfer and the improvement of healthcare practice and public health.
