Three projects in Lleida on respiratory diseases funded by the Fundació La Marató

The La Marató Foundation funds three projects on respiratory diseases promoted by the staff of the Translational Research in Respiratory Medicine group at the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida) and the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital of Lleida. These are the projects:

• Development of a pathogen- and host-oriented diagnostic test for the early detection of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (ASPIRA), led by researcher David de Gonzalo Calvo, with funding of €199,413.
• Cost-effectiveness and implementation cost of a lung cancer screening program, led by researcher Jèssica González Gutiérrez, with funding of €138,457.
• Therapeutic strategies for obstructive sleep apnea in older adults with overweight or obesity: a randomized clinical trial (RAPHAEL study), led by researcher Adriano Targa Dias Santos, with funding of €197,584.

In total, the research team, led by Ferran Barbé Illa, Territorial Clinical Director of Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Lleida, will receive €535,454 for research.

The latest edition of La Marató de 3Cat raised €10 million, which, in addition to raising awareness, will fund 36 research projects led by 60 research teams specialized in respiratory diseases. These funds will be crucial in the coming years to find more answers to problems that, in Catalonia alone, affect more than 2 million people, are the second leading cause of hospital admission, and the third leading cause of death. Yet, these diseases remain largely unknown and underdiagnosed.

A total of 502 health professionals participating in the 60 awarded research teams will begin their work to provide new and more precise diagnostic tools, more efficient treatments, and, above all, to improve prevention and understanding of these disorders. In recent years, research has advanced, but unfortunately, few respiratory diseases can be cured. That is why resources are being invested in problems that have a major impact on people's lives, due to the distress and anxiety caused by dyspnea or breathlessness, the common symptom of all these diseases.

Lluís Bernabé, Director of the La Marató de 3Cat Foundation, emphasized the significant impact that La Marató has had on research over the past three decades and highlighted the great responsibility now resting on the awarded research teams:

"In Catalonia, two million people don't breathe to live - they live to breathe, because they can't do it naturally. Thanks to the donations entrusted to us by society, many of these patients will improve their quality of life and life expectancy through prevention, faster diagnoses, and more effective treatments."

The La Marató de 3Cat Foundation has made public the results of the call, in accordance with the decision of its Board of Trustees and the proposal of its Scientific Advisory Committee. The selected projects are those that received the highest evaluations among the 94 submitted in the most recent research funding call. The Catalan Health Quality and Assessment Agency (AQUAS), part of the Department of Health, coordinated an international evaluation process in which 93 experts in respiratory diseases assessed the projects based on, among other criteria, their quality and methodology, scientific, health, and social relevance, and transformative and innovative value.

Over its 33-year history, La Marató has funded 1,084 research projects, driven by 1,822 leading teams involving 11,791 researchers, who have contributed essential advances to the health of society as a whole.

Text: Communication and Press IRBLleida / La Marató Foundation