IIBM Hearing and Myelinopathies group celebrates World Hearing Day World Hearing Day was celebrated on 3 March, an initiative of the World Health Organization under which hundreds of activities related to hearing health care are carried out all over the world. This year, the theme of the campaign was "Ear and Hearing Care for All: Let's make it a reality!   The Hearing and Myelinopathies group of the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols, IIBM (CSIC-UAM) together with Unit U761 of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Rara (CIBERER), both led by CSIC Research Professor Isabel Varela-Nieto , have been involved in this initiative for several years. To commemorate this day, outreach activities are organised for the general public, which are joined by associations of deaf patients. This year we are...

The IIBM celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science with a multitude of activities Workshops for children, conferences, wine and neuroscience, meetings with scientists, interviews, and social networks have been the proposals of the IIBM for the 11F 2023 campaign. Nineteen activities have been carried out throughout the month of February. Twenty-four researchers belonging to 13 research groups have participated this year to raise awareness of the role of women in the different stages of a scientific career and to promote interest in science among the younger public. T he Scientific Communication and Culture Unit of the Alberto Sols Institute for Biomedical Research (IIBM) has once again promoted the celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science . A multitude of...

IIBM celebrates World Rare Disease Day Since 2008, the World Day for Rare Diseases has been celebrated on February 28th with the purpose of raising awareness and helping all people suffering from any of the so-called "rare" diseases, so that they can receive the proper diagnosis and treatment and thus be able to lead a better life. This date was chosen because the month of February is very particular, "rare", as some years it has 28 days and others 29. Therefore, the World Day for Rare Diseases is celebrated every February 28 or 29, depending on whether or not we are in a leap year. Lluis Montoliu pointed out that the translation of the English "rare" has been very unfortunate. "Rare diseases" should have been translated as " uncommon diseases ". The adjective "rare" could be hurtful, negative, and even discriminate and separate the affected...

The Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, visited the IIBM to meet scientists from Ukraine who are currently working in four CSIC research centers in Madrid Dr. Carmen Delgado Canencia of the IIBM has hosted Dr. Raisa Fedichkina, a postdoctoral researcher from Kiev, to work on heart failure In March 2022, the Vice-Presidency for International Relations of CSIC promoted the "CSIC Program for Scientific Cooperation with Ukraine" with the aim of announcing 30 grants for research projects with 30 associated contracts for Ukrainian PhDs. The purpose was to facilitate the participation of the Ukrainian scientific community in CSIC research projects in which there was mutual interest, so that the research work of Ukrainian scientists would not be frustrated by the situation in the country. Finally, twenty scientists were recruited...

Alberto Muñoz Terol, CSIC Research Professor at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols, IIBM (CSIC-UAM) has been appointed new president of the HM Hospitales Research Foundation (FiHM) FiHM is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote and manage the development of translational biosanitary R+D+i that contributes to the clinical application of new technologies for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases Dr. Alberto Muñoz , head of the "Colon cancer: organoids, microenvironment and vitamin D" research group at the IIBM Cancer Department, has just been promoted to the position of new president of the HM Hospitales Research Foundation (FiHM) . The FiHM is a non-profit organization, established in 2003 with the main purpose of promoting and managing the development of biosanitary R+D+i and...

Numerous researchers, including scientific and technical staff, from the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols, IIBM (CSIC-UAM) have participated in this year's edition of the Science and Technology Week at the CSIC (SCT2022). The activities offered between November 8 and 21 consisted of: two scientific routes, two experimental workshops and four conferences. All the initiatives were fully booked and many schools were on the waiting list. As every year, in November the doors of the Research Centers in our country open to commemorate the Science and Technology Week. The CSIC encourages its Institutes to organize outreach activities for the general public in order to promote society's interest in science and to help them achieve a greater scientific culture. A society educated in scientific culture will be more easily able...

  Researchers from the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols (IIBM) CSIC-UAM and CIBERdem, led by Dr. Ángela Martínez-Valverde, have shown that olanzapine, an antipsychotic drug widely used in clinical practice, regulates body weight and energy balance in male mice. The results of this study, published in the journal Metabolism, could be relevant in clinical practice to attenuate the adverse side-effects associated with chronic treatment with this second generation antipsychotic drug. Second-generation antipsychotic drugs are the mainstay choice for the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. However, numerous studies have shown a variety of metabolic side-effects such as obesity, insulin resistance as well as dysfunctions on glucose and lipid metabolism. These alterations from the beginning...

Prof. Isabel Varela-Nieto , group leader of the Neuropathology of Hearing and Myelinopathies research group at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Alberto Sols, IIBM (CSIC-UAM), has been awarded with the " Honor plaque " of the Spanish Association of Scientists (AEC), a distinction that this association delivers annually to scientists, entities and companies for their contributions to the development of knowledge in various fields. Professor Varela-Nieto receives this award for her scientific contributions to the characterization of the embryonic development of the inner ear and to the bases of sensorineural syndromic hearing loss, which have provided potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets, as well as for her management activities, in particular in the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM). The...

The FERO Foundation has awarded the prestigious Beca FERO to the researcher Alicia González Martín of the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols, IIBM (CSIC-UAM) in its XXIII Edition on the basis of her scientific career and the quality of the project presented The project deserving the Beca FERO aims to explore the potential use of microRNAs (miRNAs) as new targets to enhance cancer immunotherapies The award was presented on Monday, November 14, in Madrid, during a gala presided over by the president of the Foundation, Sol Daurella, which included a charity dinner attended by 400 people. The FERO Foundation has awarded the prestigious Beca FERO, sponsored by ANDBANK, to researcher Alicia González-Martín in its XXIII Edition based on her scientific career and quality of the proposed research project. This grant...

  Researchers from the Thyroid Hormones and Central Nervous System group at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols, IIBM (CSIC-UAM) have just published the generation of a mouse model with a point mutation in the MCT8 protein. MCT8 protein is a specific transporter for thyroid hormones at the brain barriers and cell membranes. Mutations in the gene that encodes MCT8 lead to severe neurological alterations in the Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome. This research group, led by Dr. Ana Guadaño-Ferraz at the IIBM just published an article describing the introduction of a mutation in the SLC16A2 gene that codifies for MCT8, a thyroid hormones transporter whose deficiency leads to a rare disease called Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome, that leads to severe neurological alterations. This research has been made in...