Agrotecnio and IRBLleida launch the second call for AgroHealth

The two CERCA centers in the city of Lleida, Agrotecnio and the Institute for Biomedical Research of Lleida (IRBLleida), launch the second joint call for research projects in Agriculture, Food, Nutrition and Health: AgroHealth 2024. AgroHealth is an innovative initiative within the framework of the network of Research Centers of Catalonia through which both centers, with their own funds, combine their research capacity to develop collaborative projects that combine agri-food with biomedical research in favor of improving health and well-being.

This Friday, May 24, at 9:45 am, IRBLleida will host a conference to present the results of the previous call and encourage researchers from both centers to get to know each other and collaborations may arise for the next edition. About twenty researchers are expected to meet to present themselves and seek synergies that may become future projects.

With a total budget of €135,000, AgroHealth 2024 will select three projects that will address unmet medical needs, such as obesity, diabetes, the interaction between nutrients and drugs or genes or the development of new foods and ingredients, among other topics. At least one research group from Agrotecnio and another from IRBLleida will have to participate in each project with the aim of maintaining the collaboration once the project is finished.

The second edition of AgroHealth emerged after the success of the 2022 call, from which three projects emerged now close to its completion:

"Technological viability and toxicological study of a biotransformation strategy to reduce patulin in apple juices", which seeks to reduce pathulin mycotoxin in apple juice, led by Agrotecnio-UdL researcher Immaculada Viñas and by IRBLleida-UdL researcher José Serrano.

"Weaning patterns: an animal model to solve ferropenic anemia based on biotechnologically modified yeast", led by IRBLleida-UdL researcher Ángeles de la Torre and Agrotecnio-UdL researcher Gabriel de la Fuente. This project analyzes how to increase the sustainability and animal welfare of pigs while finding a sustainable and probiotic model that serves to reduce ferropenic anemia in humans.

Finally, the project "Design of functional foods with active ingredients with potential anti-obese properties" is led by researchers Gemma Bellí, from IRBLleida-UdL, and Olga Martín, from Agrotecnio-UdL. It focuses on assessing the effects of the consumption of active ingredients of dietary fibers and structures containing b-carotene on the modulation of the intestinal microbiota and the inflammatory markers associated with obesity.

Through AgroHealth, the two CERCA centres in Lleida want to create lasting synergies between their groups, which will thus be able to apply for more ambitious national and international calls. To participate, the research staff must have a doctorate, have a scientific or technical history consistent with the proposed project and be attached or have applied for membership before the deadline at Agrotecnio or at IRBLleida.

The period of submission of applications will open from June 3 to 21, and the final resolution is expected to be published in December 2024. The projects will be able to last a maximum of two years and will begin in January 2025.