The Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI) and the Girona Provincial Council's Autonomous Public Health Body (Dipsalut) have signed a collaboration agreement to jointly tackle new challenges in public health. The signing, which took place at the headquarters of the Autonomous Body, was attended by the third vice-president of Girona Provincial Council and president delegate of Dipsalut, Maria Puig, and the director of IDIBGI, Marga Nadal.
The purpose of this Agreement is to regulate the general framework of collaboration between Dipsalut and IDIBGI to carry out different actions and to encourage and develop research and knowledge transfer on health-related topics, taking into account that both institutions share common interests and objectives in the fields of health and data science.
The president of Dipsalut, Maria Puig, recalled that "we have been collaborating for more than 10 years on different projects and formalising this framework agreement with IDIBGI will allow us to explore new collaborations and grow in this relationship that provides both institutions with added value".
For this reason, they are committed to sharing a collaborative work space to develop innovative methodological processes that are technically and academically validated. They will also collaborate in research and evaluation studies on multiple subjects related to public health, in order to obtain knowledge and information to guide public policies, especially at the local level.
The commitment also includes carrying out joint publications resulting from joint research activity and promoting activities such as courses, seminars, workshops, conferences of mutual interest and the exchange of publications to raise awareness and train the population.
As the Director of the Girona Biomedical Research Institute, Marga Nadal, pointed out, "the signing of this framework agreement with Dipsalut represents the consolidation and formalisation of a long-standing relationship that will allow us to continue working together and seek synergies for the health of the region".
The areas related to the framework agreement between Dipsalut and IDIBGI are cardioprotection ("Girona, territori cardioprotegit"), data banks and biological samples (L'Observatori), training and specialisation of professionals in the field of public health, Environmental Health and Health Promotion.
The term of the framework agreement between Dipsalut and IDIBGI is 4 years and may be expressly extended for up to a maximum of 4 additional years, if both parties agree.
The Girona Talent grants within the framework agreement
The agreement signed with IDIBGI also includes the promotion of grants for professionals and students in the field of public health related to the aims and objectives of both entities.
In this sense, the grants at the Talent Gironí, which have been running for two years now, will continue to enable young health professionals to combine research and care.
The Post-residency Grant at Talent Gironí allows the beneficiary to combine their healthcare activity with research, dedicating half a day to each for one year (extendable for a further year). The winner is chosen through a competitive process that evaluates the professional career and the research project he or she wishes to carry out with the grant.
The Post-residency Grant at Talent Gironí is promoted by Dipsalut and IDIBGI in collaboration with the Girona College of Physicians, and also has the support of the health institutions where the winners work, which may be the Dr. Josep Trueta University Hospital - Catalan Institute of Health in Girona, the Santa Caterina Hospital - Institute of Health Care, the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Girona and the Institute of Diagnostic Imaging.
The winners of the second edition (2022) are the oncologist from the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Helena Pla, who will research resistance to treatment of a type of breast cancer, and the cardiologist from the Trueta Hospital, Helena Resta, with a project on the prevention of cardiac toxicity derived from chemotherapy treatment in patients with breast cancer.
The winner of the first edition was Manjot Singh, who is carrying out a research project based on the evaluation and monitoring of the public defibrillation programme "Girona, territori cardioprotegit", an initiative promoted by the cardiologist Ramon Brugada and active since 2011.
