The Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) has awarded a Juan de la Cierva grant to Dr. Gerard Muñoz Pujol. He will carry out his scientific activity at the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) within the DNA Repair Syndromes and Cancer Predisposition research group, led by Dr. Jordi Surrallés. This funding will enable him to consolidate his postdoctoral stage and strengthen a line of research focused on the application of advanced genomic medicine technologies to improve the diagnosis and molecular characterization of hereditary genetic diseases.
The Juan de la Cierva grant is one of the most prestigious funding calls within the Spanish R&D&I system, designed to promote the incorporation of early-career researchers with outstanding scientific trajectories into leading research groups. Its award recognizes both the candidate’s research profile and the scientific and training capacity of the host institution, and it helps reinforce the role of centers such as IR Sant Pau in generating high-impact biomedical knowledge.
Within the framework of this grant, Dr. Gerard Muñoz Pujol will develop projects focused on the integrated analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data and on the functional validation of genetic variants of uncertain significance. This will be achieved through strategies based on molecular biology and gene editing. These approaches are particularly relevant in the field of rare diseases and cancer predisposition syndromes, where the accurate interpretation of genetic variants remains one of the main diagnostic challenges and a key element in advancing toward precision medicine.
With this new Juan de la Cierva grant, IR Sant Pau strengthens its commitment to the recruitment and consolidation of research talent and to advancing strategic lines in genomic and precision medicine. This has a direct impact on improving the diagnosis and management of hereditary genetic diseases.
