"We do not want the research to remain in a paper, but to reach the patient"
María José Sánchez Pérez received her doctorate in Medicine from the University of Granada (UGR) and, a year later, she joined the Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP). Since 2020 she has held the position of scientific director at the ibs.GRANADA, which she combines with her role as main researcher in three - three! - research groups. "The keys are work, passion and perseverance" he adds.
Sánchez had already been research director at EASP, the center where she works, but the scientific direction of the ibs.GRANADA is an even greater challenge. Not surprisingly, the center - accredited by the Carlos III Health Institute - is one of the largest in Spain (and the largest in Andalusia), with 983 researchers and 70 research groups.
Question. - What is the ibs.GRANADA?
Answer. - The ibs.GRANADA is a biosanitary research institute that encompasses all health scientists in the province. We pivot mainly on the two hospitals in Granada, the Virgen de las Nieves University and the San Cecilio Clinic, but we also integrate researchers from the UGR, the EASP and the province's primary care centers. We are also one of the 32 health research institutes accredited by the Carlos III Health Institute, and we have just renewed our accreditation for another five years, until 2025.
Q.- What does it mean for the ibs.GRANADA to be a center accredited by the Carlos III?
A.- Health research institutes were created with the aim of promoting clinical research and integrating research carried out in hospitals and primary care centers. Being an accredited center allows ibs.GRANADA to participate in specific research calls, while maintaining a character that is as multidisciplinary as possible, with healthcare professionals but also with basic, clinical and epidemiological research.
P. - Basic and epidemiological research, but also translational research. What's that?
R. - What we want is for research to reach the patient: the ultimate goal is to improve the health of citizens. We do not want the investigation to remain in a paper, but to make clinical practice guidelines based on the best evidence and, above all, to innovate and be able to transfer the knowledge that we generate to the patient's bed, so that they can benefit from what we do.
The ibs.GRANADA is a multicenter institute: its infrastructure (material and human) is distributed in the centers that compose it. The institute has four major research areas: oncology, epidemiology and public health, precision medicine and advanced therapies and biomedical technologies. Each group is assigned to a single area although, in reality, many could be in several: “we always try to work in collaboration; not only within the same area, but also between them. We do not want them to be closed areas, but rather we encourage collaborative work and multidisciplinary approach ”, explains Sánchez.
The Institute has also participated in the research on COVID-19 through competitive calls. “There have been publications, but also specific projects at the hospital level and collaborations with other national and international centers. The two microbiology services have had an immense capacity to work in healthcare, but there has also been research into the mechanisms by which the virus was affecting us and we have tried to find therapeutic alternatives ”.
Q- What are you working on at the moment? What are some of your latest research?
R. -An example is the recent work of two oncology groups in identifying new biomarkers in blood to diagnose colorectal cancer in the metastasis phase, as well as predicting their response to treatment. Wave identification of new genes associated with Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear with a strong hereditary component. On the other hand, the tissue engineering group is working on the optimization of biomaterials, which has allowed them to manufacture artificial skin with antibacterial properties within the European project NanoGSkin. In addition, the preclinical characterization of an artificial palate model for newborns with cleft palate is being finalized.
Q. - What are your scientific goals for the future?
R. - One of our objectives at the research level is to promote precision medicine from all lines (to do precision medicine in oncology, for example). In fact, we participate in the Precision Medicine Infrastructure of the National Health System (IMPACT) and we are working on the implementation of a cohort of 200.000 people nationwide that will be launched as of next year. But we not only have an important role in the recruitment of the cohort, but also in the analysis of genomic data and in data science.
Q. - You also want to promote cynical essays, don't you?
R. - Today we have 189 clinical trials (several of them related to COVID-19, in addition). Most are in phase 3, but there are also in phase 1. In fact, as a result of the creation of the clinical trials unit in early phases of the Institute (at the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital) we hope that from now on we can increase the number of early-stage trials and independent clinical research.
Q. - What are the challenges facing the center for the future? What lines do you want to work on?
R. - We believe that we have met our first objectives and we have good indicators of research and scientific excellence. Now we want to improve clinical trials, have more of our own trials, and increase international projection: that when we make calls to attract talent, people compete to come to the ibs.GRANADA. It is also important to consolidate and give stability to researchers. In addition, we want to promote research in primary care and emerging groups; as well as involving the public in the investigations we carry out.