2023/09/15

CIC bioGUNE hosts the presentation of BRTA's personalized health research agenda

The presentation event of the personalized health research agenda, organized by the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), brought together on Wednesday, September 6th, professionals from technological and cooperative research centers within the alliance. The purpose of the event was to address society and business challenges.

CIC bioGUNE had the honor of hosting this highly significant event for the scientific and business community, marked by the unveiling of the research agenda of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA) in the field of personalized health.

Innovation serves as the backbone of the activities carried out by the BRTA centers, an alliance comprised of leading research and technology centers in their respective fields, dedicated tirelessly to innovation and seeking solutions to society's and businesses' most pressing challenges. At the core of their mission is the promotion of research and technological development in strategic areas such as health, food, and energy.

The inaugural act featured the presence of Jon Kepa Gerrikagoitia, manager of Scientific and Technological Transfer at BRTA, and Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, scientific director of CIC bioGUNE and Ikerbasque Professor. On this occasion, Jiménez-Barbero presented the white paper on personalized health, defining the context and the development trends on research and technology focused on maximizing effectiveness in disease prevention and treatment, considering individual variability in genes, the environment, and lifestyle.

The event continued with the participation of experts from technological centers and researchers who visually presented the ongoing research and development (R&D) projects aimed at addressing society's and businesses' needs in these critical areas. These projects were categorized based on the research agenda's established challenges, which were presented by experts in each field, covering aspects such as samples, scientific and technological methodologies and tools, applications in prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and finally, digital health.

To discuss and delve deeper into the topics addressed, a roundtable discussion was held, highlighting the importance of prevention and diagnosis in establishing essential foundations for efficient and agile healthcare systems.

"If we truly want to undertake profound projects, it is impossible to do so in isolation. Instead, we must be capable of bringing together specialists from various areas, from basic research to technology, to define objectives, create realistic projects and ensure their impact", emphasized Dr. Jiménez-Barbero.

The event concluded with remarks from Ricardo Bueno Zabalo, managing director of the Basque Scientific and Technological Consortium - BRTA, emphasizing the importance of the event in promoting mutual understanding among professionals and fostering collaboration among the various alliance stakeholders for quality technological development.

The technological and cooperative research centers that are part of this alliance and participated in this event include: AZTI, AZTERLAN Metallurgy Research Center, CIC biomaGUNE, CIC bioGUNE, CIC energiGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, CEIT Technological Center, CIDETEC, GAIKER Technological Center, IDEKO Technological Center, IKERLAN, Leartiker, LORTEK, NEIKER, TECNALIA Research & Innovation, Tekniker and Vicomtech.

About CIC bioGUNE

The Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), located in the Bizkaia Technology Park, is a biomedical research organisation conducting cutting-edge research at the interface between structural, molecular and cell biology, with a particular focus on generating knowledge on the molecular bases of disease, for use in the development of new diagnostic methods and advanced therapies.

About BRTA

BRTA is an alliance of 4 collaborative research centres (CIC bioGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, CIC biomaGUNE y CIC energiGUNE) and 12 technology centres (Azterlan, Azti, Ceit, Cidetec, Gaiker, Ideko, Ikerlan, Lortek, Neiker, Tecnalia, Tekniker and Vicomtech) with the main objective of developing advanced technological solutions for the Basque corporate fabric.

With the support of the Basque Government, the SPRI Group and the Provincial Councils of the three territories, the alliance seeks to promote collaboration between the research centres, strengthen the conditions to generate and transfer knowledge to companies, contributing to their competitiveness and outspreading the Basque scientific-technological capacity abroad.

BRTA has a workforce of 3,500 professionals, executes 22% of the Basque Country's R&D investment, registers an annual turnover of more than 300 million euros and generates 100 European and international patents per year.

Spanish version