Grant for two professionals from Lleida's Arnau de Vilanova Hospital to devote themselves exclusively to research at IRBLleida

Two doctors from the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital in Lleida (HUAV) have received a grant to dedicate themselves exclusively to research at the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida) for 36 months. During this period, the hospital will receive financial support to hire or appoint substitutes to carry out the clinical duties from which they are released.

They are Jessica González, a specialist in the Lleida Pneumology Service and head of the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, who is also part of the Translational Research in Respiratory Medicine group, and Sònia Gatius, a specialist in the Department of Anatomical Pathology and a researcher in the Oncological Pathology group.

Both professionals submitted a research proposal to the 2025 call for the granting of subsidies from the Department of Health for the financing of contracts for the intensification of the research activity of health sciences professionals, within the framework of the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan for Health Research and Innovation.

This call aims to facilitate the dedication to research of staff from SISCAT (Catalonia's Public Health Care System) centres and public health services, through the hiring of staff for a period of 36 months. This initiative strengthens the critical mass of clinical professionals who carry out research activities to translate knowledge to patients and to generate research hypotheses from clinical practice.

In Jessica González's case, she will be developing the project "Longitudinal recovery trajectories after acute respiratory distress syndrome: a new understanding. The TENACITY study". 'COVID-19 has generated the largest cohort of critical survivors in history, increasing awareness of the importance of respiratory sequelae after acute respiratory distress syndrome. With advances in the acute management of the syndrome, it is unknown whether there are differences in recovery trajectories between patients,' the researcher explained. For this reason, the main objective of the study is to identify risk factors for pulmonary sequelae (pulmonary diffusing capacity) in the long-term follow-up of survivors of the syndrome.

In Sonia Gatius's case, the project she will lead is "Homologous Recombination Deficiency in High-Grade Endometrial Carcinomas: Biomarkers and Impact of Tumour Heterogeneity". In this case, the research will analyse cases of high-grade endometrial carcinomas to establish new treatments. "In the Western world, endometrial carcinoma is the fourth most common cancer among women. The prognosis is favourable for most patients with low-grade, early-stage tumours, but 20% of patients with endometrial carcinomas will experience recurrence or metastasis, and in these cases, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is less effective. For this reason, identifying effective drugs is crucial to treat these tumours and improve the survival of these patients," Gatius has stressed.