The La Caixa Foundation promotes research in biomedicine and health in Spain and Portugal through a call endowed with 25.3 million euros. A total of 33 new research projects receive aid of up to 500,000 euros or up to one million euros within the framework of the sixth edition of the CaixaResearch call for Health Research.
The objective is to support basic, clinical or translational research projects of scientific excellence and social impact in the areas of study of cardiovascular and infectious diseases, oncology and neurosciences, as well as projects that develop facilitating technologies in these areas.
Among those selected, for example, there are projects aimed at fighting against antibiotic resistance in superbugs. Other research is also included to identify new biomarkers to predict the risk of relapses in acute lymphoblastic leukemia; to generate red blood cells for the treatment of patients with sickle cell anemia; to create a low-cost and easy-to-use device that allows mass malaria detection tests to be carried out in developing regions, or to design a digital tool to prevent suicide among people at risk, among others.
The general director of the La Caixa Foundation, Antonio Vila Bertrán; the president of the scientific committee of the La Caixa Foundation, Javier Solana; and the director of the Area of Relations with Research and Health Institutions of the La Caixa Foundation, Ignasi López, presented the aid in a ceremony held at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum.
"Scientific research is fundamental for social progress and the well-being of citizens. Science not only helps us build the knowledge society, but is key to improving the quality of life of those who need it most," Antonio recalled. Vila Bertran.
In addition, researchers Mariona Graupera (Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute) and Carlos Ribeiro (Champalimaud Center for the Unknown), representing the 33 projects selected in this 2023 edition, participated together with Ignasi López in a round table where they discussed the challenges and opportunities of research in Spain and Portugal.
One of the challenges described is to achieve greater financial support for research so that it can be carried out in a stable manner. Precisely to help at this point, the call from the La Caixa Foundation is endowed with a total of 25.3 million euros allocated to these 33 projects - 22 of them, led by Spanish centers, and 11, Portuguese -, which will be developed for the next 3 years. The grants provide financial support of up to 500,000 euros for projects presented by a single research organization and up to one million euros for projects presented by consortia of between 2 and 5 research organizations.
The initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, which provides 3.7 million euros to subsidize 5 of the 11 Portuguese projects selected in this edition . The call is also supported by the Luzón Foundation, which subsidizes, together with the La Caixa Foundation, a project on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
