A team at the CNIC, working in partnership with researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, has discovered a new molecular mechanism mediated by nuclear receptors that determines the identity and expansion of macrophages—one of the cell types that act as immune sentinels in the body. The newly discovered mechanism specifically affects the macrophages resident in the serous cavities, the membrane-surrounded cavities that enclose and protect many organs. The findings, published today in Nature Communications, could have important implications for the treatment of diseases that affect the serous cavities and the organs they contain, including many cancers and myocardial infarction.

There are three serous membranes: the peritoneum, which covers the abdominal cavity; the pleura, surrounding the lungs; and the pericardium, which covers the heart. “One of the main functions of the macrophages residing in these cavities is to maintain homeostasis by removing dead cells,” explained study coordinator Dr Mercedes Ricote. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that these macrophages can infiltrate adjacent injured organs, “generating an effective rapid repair response that is independent of the recruitment of macrophage precursors via the blood supply.”

Almost half of apparently healthy people between the ages of 40 and 50 could be accumulating fatty plaques—atheromas—in their arteries at a much faster rate than was previously thought. The Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC) has today published new data from the PESA-CNIC-Santander study demonstrating that atheroma plaques extend rapidly through the arteries of 40% of asymptomatic individuals aged between 40 and 50 years.

Researchers at the CNIC, led by Dr Valentín Fuster, Director of the CNIC and lead investigator on the PESA-CNIC-Santander study, have also found that the progression of atherosclerosis is directly related to classical cardiovascular risk factors: age, sex, hypertension, cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes. The researchers conclude that the findings, although they await validation from future events in the PESA cohort, will be of great value for identifying strategies to stall the cardiovascular disease epidemic.

Patients with atrial fibrillation, the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia, are closer to accessing personalized medicine. This is the claim of a new study led by Dr David Filgueiras, of the CNIC, the Hospital Clínico San Carlos de Madrid, and the Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV). The study results show that it is possible to monitor and predict individual progression of atrial fibrillation from cardiac electrical signals obtained from implantable devices (pacemakers or defibrillators).

The study, published in the latest edition of Europace, involved the participation of 51 Spanish hospitals and the Fundación Interhospitalaria para la Investigación Cardiovascular. The results show that cardiac electrical signals from patients fitted with pacemakers or implantable cardioverter–defibrillators can be used to monitor and predict the progression of the arrhythmia in a personalized and specific manner. This is achieved with standard data transmission technology installed in implantable devices such as pacemakers. This technology can be used to monitor cardiac electrical activity during episodes of atrial fibrillation, thus establishing disease status and the rate of progression.

Researchers at the CNIC have discovered a system that provides cells with information about their position within developing organs. This system, studied in developing limbs, tells cells what anatomical structure they need to form within the organ. The article, published in Science Advances, shows that malfunctioning of this system causes congenital malformations and could in part explain the effect of thalidomide, a drug contraindicated in pregnancy because it induces limb defects.

The CNIC team, working with partners at the National Institutes of Health in the USA, analyzed the molecular basis of limb formation. The scientists discovered how cells obtain information about their position on the proximodistal axis of the limb bud, or primordium (the rudimentary state of a developing organ.)

The study shows that the signal that tells cells where they are is the growth factor FGF. The strength of the signal received by cells depends on how close they are to the FGF-producing cells at the distal tip of the limb bud.

Research at the CNIC has identified the mechanism of competition between distinct mitochondrial genomes coexisting in the same cell. The study, published today in Science Advances, examines why the simultaneous presence of more than one variant of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in a cell is rejected in most tissues, which select a single mtDNA variant that differs between different tissues.

The results show that cells are able to detect and select between mitochondria with distinct mtDNA variants that make them more or less efficient for different cell types depending on their metabolic needs. This explains how the preferred mtDNA variant can differ between cell types.

The study establishes that the selection of a mtDNA variant depends on the cell type and not the tissue, as was thought previously.

CNIC researchers have discovered a mechanism controlling the development of a type of liver cancer. This study, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and partly funded by the Spanish Association Against Cancer, has identified a protein that, when blocked, dramatically reduces the impact and progression of this type of cancer, called cholangiocarcinoma. This work was possible because CNIC researchers developed an animal model in which alterations in the production of bile acids cause this type of tumor.

In the study, led by Guadalupe Sabio and Alfonso Mora, mice were bred whose livers do not contain the proteins JNK1 and JNK2. The researchers found that these two proteins control the production in the liver of bile acids, which are essential for proper fat digestion and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). "A lack of JNK1 and JNK2 in the liver leads to changes in the enzymes responsible for metabolizing cholesterol and bile acids," said Dr Mora. In the analyzed mice, “we observed excess blood levels of bile acids."

Two CNIC groups have described how macrophages regulate obesity in a study published in Nature Metabolism that could lead to the design of treatments for obesity and overweight, as well as for related conditions such as fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.

The study, led by Drs José Antonio Enríquez and David Sancho, explains how fatty tissue inflammation and obesity emerge from the activation of mitochondrial metabolism in macrophages in response to oxidative stress due to excess nutrients.

The research analyzed how macrophage metabolic changes regulate the inflammatory process underlying obesity and metabolic syndrome. The new findings reveal how the detection by macrophages of oxidative danger signals—known as reactive oxygen species—leads to mitochondrial metabolism changes in these immune cells essential for their differentiation to the proinflammatory M1 macrophage type. This oxidative stress is found in morbidly obese patients and seems to be related to the high-fat diet typical in developed economies.

A key finding of the study is that a reduction of this oxidative stress ameliorates some of the harmful parameters associated with obesity.

Two CNIC groups, led by Drs Andrés Hidalgo and José Antonio Enríquez, have discovered a cell-cleaning system that is key to keeping a healthy heart. This mechanism allows the heart's contractile cells (the cardiomyocytes) to release damaged components outside the cell into particles called exophers. These exophers are then taken up by a network of immune cells living inside the heart, the macrophages, which are in charge of removing them before they cause inflammation in the heart.

The study, published in Cell, compiles the results of over five years of research, with collaborations with laboratories in Europe, Asia and the US. The insights that this study provides suggest that cardiac dysfunction can emerge in some instances from defects in resident immune cells, rather than from cardiomyocytes. This finding has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.

The fact that the heart requires a population of macrophages to do their cleaning work, among other tasks, suggests that many heart diseases of unknown origin can be explained by failure of these macrophages,” said Dr Enriquez.

Anticoagulation therapy improves survival among hospitalized COVID-19 patients by helping to prevent fatal events associated with coronavirus, such as infarction and stroke. The study, published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology and led by CNIC Director Dr Valentín Fuster, shows that hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with anticoagulants—drugs that prevent blood clotting—had a better survival rate than those who did not.

At the start of the pandemic, the same research team demonstrated that anticoagulation therapy was associated with superior survival among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This subsequent observational study showed that patients on both a “therapeutic” or full dose, and those on a “prophylactic” or lower dose, showed about a 50% higher chance of survival, and roughly a 30% lower chance of intubation, than those not on anticoagulants.

Scientists at the CNIC and CIBERCV have used cardiac magnetic resonance technology to measure exercise-related hypertrabeculation in a general, non-athlete population. The results of the study have important practical implications because “misdiagnosis of noncompaction cardiomyopathy in people who exercise regularly (whether professional athletes or amateurs) can trigger medical recommendations to stop physical exercise unnecessarily,” explained CNIC General Director Valentín Fuster.

The authors conclude that cardiac magnetic resonance criteria for diagnosing noncompaction cardiomyopathy should not be interpreted in isolation. Instead, imaging results should be placed in the context of other clinical parameters, genetic tests, and the level of physical activity. This is important even in a population of non-athletes in order to avoid misdiagnosis of the disease. Misdiagnosis can result in the unnecessary cessation of exercise, with all its associated negative physical and psychological consequences.

The study forms part of the PESA-CNIC-SANTANDER study.

CNIC scientists have designed an algorithm that provides a personalized estimate of cardiovascular risk in healthy middle-aged individuals based on a range of variables including age, blood pressure, diet, and blood and urine markers. The EN-PESA algorithm is an affordable tool for estimating the severity of subclinical atherosclerosis—characterized by the deposition of fatty substances in the arterial walls—especially in individuals at higher risk. The researchers conclude that EN-PESA will “help to personalize the estimation of cardiovascular risk, leading to tailored treatments and follow-up plans.” The study is published in The Journal of American College of Cardiology.

The success of machine learning algorithms derives from the analysis and systematic processing of huge quantities of data collected from a large number of individuals. One of the pioneering studies in this area is PESA-CNIC-SANTANDER, led by Dr Valentín Fuster.

A study published in the journal Science and coordinated by researchers at the CNIC, IDIBAPS, and the University of Barcelona describes a hitherto unknown immune defense mechanism orchestrated by lipid droplets (LDs), cellular organelles able to attract and eliminate invading pathogens. LDs accumulate fatty nutrients that provide the energy cells need to perform their functions. For example, LDs provide the energy for the heart to beat, the liver to perform its metabolic functions, and muscles to move.

The newly identified mechanism highlights the intimate relationship between metabolism and immunity, and could stimulate the development of new therapeutic strategies at an especially critical time, when antibiotic resistance is presenting an ever increasing threat to public health.

Researchers at the CNIC and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario de La Princesa (IIS Princesa) have made a major advance toward deciphering the mechanism through which the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increases in the early phases of hypoxia (acute reduction in tissue oxygen). The finding represents an important advance in the understanding of cell physiology and could be exploited in the future to treat a variety of diseases in which hypoxia plays a role, such as stroke and heart attack. The study was published in Nature.

The study shows that sodium ions act as second messengers that regulate mitochondrial function, specifically the function of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC), by inducing the controlled production of ROS.

The CNIC team lead by Dr Andrés Hidalgo has discovered that neutrophils, the most abundant cells of the innate immune system, have many more functions in the body than previously thought. This finding suggests possible new treatments for many diseases, including cancer.

In a study published in the journal Cell, the research team demonstrate that neutrophils acquire new characteristics when they arrive in a tissue and that these specialized functions help to maintain organ health.

Every day, the marrow inside our bones produces immense quantities of neutrophils. These cells then enter the bloodstream and are distributed to almost all tissues of the body. Neutrophils have a short lifespan, living for less than 24 hours. For this reason, scientists believed that these cells had a very limited capacity to adapt to their environment and adopt new functions.

But the authors of the Cell study found that when neutrophils leave the circulation and migrate into tissues they acquire new, previously unknown properties.

According to Dr Hidalgo, the most fascinating finding is that neutrophils appear to acquire functions useful to the specific tissues in each organ.

CNIC scientists have discovered a mechanism underlying the development of steatosis, or fatty liver, one of the main risk factors for liver cancer. The study, published in eLife, for the first time shows that neutrophils act as “circadian messengers” in the liver, controlling its internal clock and lipid metabolism. The study opens a window for potential therapies to treat liver diseases.

The study findings establish that neutrophils are active and crucial circadian regulators of liver metabolism. This could provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as steatosis, which commonly progresses to certain types of liver cancer.

The study was supported by funding from the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer.

A new study published in Science Advances identifies the role of the cytosolic chaperone protein CCT in the reorganization of the cytoskeleton during the formation of an immune synapse.

The research teams led by Francisco Sánchez-Madrid and Noa Martín at the CNIC and the IIS Princesa and by José María Valpuesta at the CNB-CSIC have shown that CCT controls changes in the arrangement of the centrosome and mitochondria by regulating the production of the cytoskeletal components α- and β-tubulin.

This finding opens the path to the design of strategies aimed at blocking CCT for the treatment of autoimmune diseases that involve hyperactivation of lymphoid cells.

CNIC investigators from the group led by Dr Guadalupe Sabio reviewed the key role played by stress kinases in adjusting metabolism to changing conditions in an article published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology.

Stress kinases are proteins in the body that are associated with obesity and metabolic alterations such as insulin resistance and diabetes. Understanding their mechanisms and routes of action could be crucial for the design of therapeutic strategies to combat the global epidemic of obesity, which affects millions of people worldwide.

A study by a consortium of Spanish research groups has described the potentially fatal cardiac effects of infection with the influenza virus, especially more virulent forms. The research team showed that the replication of flu virus particles infecting the heart blocks the transmission of cardiac electrical impulses, which can lead to death. The results, published in Cardiovascular Research, highlight the potential value of testing patients with acute cardiac disease for flu infection during seasonal outbreaks of the disease. The study was carried out by scientists at the CNIC, CSIC, CIBERES, CIBERCV, and the Hospital Clínico San Carlos together with scientists at the Universities of Michigan and South Florida in the United States.

The investigators assessed the mechanisms of heart injury in mice infected with the flu virus as well as in cardiac muscle cells derived from human pluripotent cells. The results show that the most virulent viral strain persists in the heart for longer and triggers changes, including the modification of ion channels responsible for the transmission of cardiac electrical impulses. These results provide a molecular explanation for the early death of infected mice and suggest that screening for infection in acute cardiac disease patients during seasonal flu outbreaks could enable early diagnosis and treatment.

A study published in Nature showed that the mitochondrial protein ALDH4A1 is an autoantigen involved in atherosclerosis. The CNIC research team concluded that ADH4A1 is a potential marker for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Atherosclerosis develops for many years without causing symptoms, and there is therefore a pressing need for new tools for diagnosis and therapy. Study leader Dr Almudena Ramiro explained that, “we know that atherosclerosis includes an immunological component and that the innate and adaptive immune systems are both involved in the origin and progression of this disease.” However, little is known about the specific response of B cells in these processes or the repertoire of antibodies these cells produce during atherosclerosis.

Autoantigens are molecules produced by the body that, through a variety of mechanisms, are recognized as foreign and trigger an immune response. “ALDH4A1 is recognized by the protective antibodies produced during atherosclerosis, making it a possible therapeutic target or diagnostic marker for this disease,” commented Ramiro.

The study shows that ALDH4A1 accumulates in plaques and that its plasma concentration is elevated in the atherosclerosis-prone mice and in human patients with carotid atherosclerosis, establishing ALDH4A1 as a possible biomarker of the disease.

A study carried out at the CNIC not only advanced understanding of the biology of blood vessels, but also pointed the way to the design of new therapeutic strategies to induce vascularization and more effective blood perfusion of injured or ischemic tissues.

The study, led by Rui Benedito and published in Nature, reveals a new cellular and molecular mechanism essential for the development of arteries from blood capillaries, a process called arterialization. Activation of this mechanism could improve the recovery of heart function after transient or long term reduction in heart blood flow, as occurs after a heart attack.

The results also have important implications for the use of drugs to boost angiogenesis—the formation of new blood vessels—in ischemic cardiovascular disease.

The study suggests that pro-angiogenic drugs that stimulate general blood vessel proliferation will suppress arterialization. “One of our future goals will be to identify new ways to suppress proliferation signals exclusively in pre-arterial cells, thereby promoting effective arterialization without negatively interfering with the induction of capillary angiogenesis” said Dr Benedito.

1. A CNIC-led consortium receives funding from the la Caixa Foundation for a project to discover new therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis

The ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, as part of its 2020 Health Research Program, has awarded €999,988 to the AtheroConvergencia project, to be carried out by a consortium led by CNIC researcher Dr. Miguel Ángel del Pozo. AtheroConvergencia (Flow-driven inflammation and arterial wall remodeling in atherosclerosis: mechanisms and therapeutic potential) aims to find new markers and therapeutic targets in atherosclerosis. The project combines multidisciplinary expertise with cutting-edge technologies to gain a comprehensive understanding of atherosclerosis, identify new opportunities for precise medical intervention at advanced disease stages, and discover new genetic markers that predict the risk of developing this disease.

2. Francisco Sánchez-Madrid awarded the Santiago Ramón y Cajal National Prize

Dr. Francisco Sánchez Madrid received the Santiago Ramón y Cajal National Prize in the area of Biology. Dr Sánchez-Madrid is a group leader at the CNIC and a Full Professor in Immunology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and heads the Immunology Service at Hospital Universitario La Princesa. The committee awarded the prize to Sánchez Madrid in recognition of his contributions to biomedicine in the field of leukocyte intercellular communication, adhesion, migration, and activation and the impact his work has had on the study of chronic inflammatory diseases. These achievements, together with his high international profile throughout his scientific career, his outstanding record of training and mentoring young Spanish scientists, and the biotechnological applications of his discoveries, amply justify this award. The National Prizes for Research, created in 1982, are the highest award in Spain for scientific research.

3. Dr Valentín Fuster receives the prestigious Prize PRIze Mahidol for his scientific contributions to medicine

CNIC General Director Dr Valentín Fuster received the 29th Premio Prince Mahidol in the area of Medicine. This prestigious award from the Fundación Prince Mahidol recognizes the international leadership shown by Dr Fuster over the past 40 years through his innovative contributions to cardiovascular medicine, spanning basic research to clinical care, and more recently his tireless promotion of cardiovascular health throughout the world. The committee noted the “value of Dr Fuster’s research in unifying and extending knowledge gained through basic research to bring new benefits to patients, especially regarding antiplatelet therapy. His exceptional contribution has saved millions of lives throughout the world.” Five previous winners of this prize later went on to win the Nobel Prize.

4. Borja Ibáñez wins the ‘Young Talent’ prize in the Premios Constantes y Vitales for biomedical research

Dr Borja Ibáñez Cabeza, Director of Clinical Research at the CNIC, was awarded the ‘Young Talent’ Prize in the 6th edition of the Premios Constantes y Vitales for biomedical research and disease prevention, an initiative of the la Sexta television channel and the Fundación AXA. These prestigious awards aim to recognize, support, and strengthen the achievements of Spanish scientists working in the areas of biomedical research and disease prevention during 2020, an especially challenging year that demonstrated the importance of this work more than ever. The prize comes with a financial award of €100,000 to support ongoing research projects.

5. DR. Guadalupe Sabio receives the ‘Young Investigator Award’ from the European Society for Clinical Investigation

The European Society for Clinical Investigation awarded CNIC scientist Guadalupe Sabio its ‘Young Investigator Award’, which recognizes the achievements of young research scientists who have made an outstanding contribution to basic, translational, or clinical biomedical research in Europe.

6. Dr Miguel Torres named an honorary member of the Latin American Academy of Sciences

The Latin American Academy of Sciences (ACAL) has named Dr Miguel Torres an honorary member in recognition of the alignment of his work with the Academy’s goals. These goals are high-quality research, scientific progress, and the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean through cooperation in research. Dr Torres and fellow honorary member Dr Ángela Nieto are the first Spanish investigators to join ACAL, whose mission is to promote and contribute to the progress of the mathematical, physical, chemical, life, and earth sciences and their use to support the human, cultural, and social integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.

7. Dr Valentín Fuster awarded the Mujerhoy ‘Premio al Compromiso Masculino’ (Men’s commitment prize) for the ‘Mujeres por el Corazón’ (Women for the Heart) campaign

Dr Valentín Fuster received the Mujerhoy ‘Premio al Compromiso Masculino’ for his health promotion work to raise awareness among women of their vulnerability to cardiovascular disease. Since 2014, Dr Fuster has led the ‘Mujeres por el corazón” campaign, a joint effort of Fundación Mapfre, the Pro-CNIC Foundation, the Community of Madrid, and the Spanish Heart Foundation. The campaign aims to raise awareness of women’s cardiovascular risk so that symptoms can be recognized early and to promote healthy lifestyle habits.

8. The SEC annual meeting holds its first sessions dedicated to basic and translational cardiovascular research

In its 2020 congress, the Spanish Society of Cardiology for the first time included sessions dedicated to basic and translational cardiovascular research. Several CNIC scientists were among the participants, including Héctor Bueno, Miguel Ángel del Pozo, Fátima Sánchez-Cabo, José Javier Fuster, Andrés Hidalgo, Miguel Torres, Guadalupe Sabio, David Filgueiras, and José Jalife.

9. CNIC named one of the 4 leading cardiovascular research centers in Europe at the 2020 European Society of Cardiology Congress

The CNIC was one of only 4 leading centers in cardiovascular research to be invited to showcase itself in a live session at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual meeting, which in 2020 set a new record of more than 115,000 participants from 211 countries. The CNIC joined in the ‘Leading Cardiovascular Research Centres in Europe’ session together with Oxford University, the Stockholm Karolinska Institute, and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

10. Science week 2020: A talk on Covid-19 for children and their families

As part of Semana de la Ciencia (Science Week) 2020, the CNIC organized an event for children at which Dr Miguel Ángel del Pozo spoke about the science behind SARS-CoV2 infection and the body’s immune response to it.

11. LaLiga joins the Pro-CNIC Foundation in the fight against cardiovascular disease

LaLiga and the Pro-CNIC Foundation have joined forces to promote awareness among football fans about the importance of cardiovascular disease prevention, taking care of one’s heart, and avoiding bad habits like physical inactivity and smoking, which are major causes of diseases that affect the heart. The 2 organizations have launched the Cuida tus latidos campaign (Take care of your heartbeats; www.cuidatuslatidos.com), which provides soccer fans with information on how to prevent serious cardiovascular conditions like a heart attack.

12. Visiting Researchers Program: The Jesús Serra Foundation funds the stay of Dr. Gabriel Núñez at the CNIC

The Jesús Serra Foundation, of Grupo Catalana Occidente, financed the stay at the CNIC during January-March 2020 of Dr. Gabriel Núñez, professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan (USA).

This scholarship is part of the Jesús Serra Foundation’s Visiting Researchers program and aims to promote interaction in research to contribute to scientific advances.

13. ERC Consolidator Grants 2020

The CNIC obtained two ERC Consolidator Grants in the 2020 call.

Training is one of the CNIC’s core activities, and the Center has devised a comprehensive training plan, the CNIC-Joven Training Plan. This global plan includes programs for participants at all levels, from high-school students to postdoctoral researchers and MDs. The CNIC-Joven Training Plan aims to fulfill the personal goal of Valentín Fuster “to attract and train the brightest young people from the earliest ages to create a pool of researchers of excellence in the field of cardiovascular research.”

PROGRAMS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Curricular and Extracurricular University Practical Program

The CNIC offers practical training in cardiovascular research to visiting undergraduate students.

The CNIC has signed educational collaborative agreements with 33 Spanish Universities and 25 European Universities.

Sixteen students from the following universities worked on their final degree thesis dissertation (TFG) under the guidance of a CNIC supervisor:

• 10 students from the Autonomous University of Madrid;
• 2 students from the University Alcalá de Henares;
• 2 students from the University Politécnica of Madrid;
• 1 student from the University Francisco de Vitoria of Madrid;
• 1 student from the University Rey Juan Carlos of Madrid.

Seven students from the following universities completed an extracurricular internship at the Center under the guidance of a CNIC supervisor:

• 4 students from the University Carlos III of Madrid;
• 3 students from the Autonomous University of Madrid.

PROGRAMS FOR MASTER’S AND GRADUATE STUDENTS

Master’s Fellowship Program (CNIC-ACCIONA) and Fundación Carolina BBVA-CNIC Master’s Fellowship Program

These grants provide funding for students studying for a master’s degree at a Spanish university to carry out their experimental project (TFM) in a CNIC laboratory.

Fellowships in 2020: 11

Other MASTER'S Student Internships

Thirty-four students from the following universities worked on their final master’s thesis dissertation (TFM) under the guidance of a CNIC supervisor:

• 6 students from the Autonomous University of Madrid;
• 9 students from the Complutense University of Madrid;
• 2 students from the University San Pablo CEU, Madrid;
• 2 students from the University Alcalá de Henares;
• 2 students from the University Politécnica of Madrid;
• 1 student from the University Carlos III of Madrid;
• 1 student from the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona;
• 1 student from the University Oberta of Catalonia.

Insights into Research in Cardiovascular Disease Master’s Module

This postgraduate course is run by the CNIC as part of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)

Molecular Biosciences Master’s Program. This optional module provides a broad overview of cardiovascular biology, including perspectives from basic, clinical, and translational research.

Attendants on this course are enrolled UAM Master’s students, CNIC predoctoral researchers, and participants of the Res@CNIC SEC Program (see below).

Predoctoral (PhD) Program

The Predoctoral Program provides a unified framework for all CNIC researchers who are working toward a doctoral degree. All predoctoral researchers are signed up to this program, irrespective of their funding source.

The aims of the program are to ensure uniform quality of predoctoral training at the CNIC and further to ensure fair and equal access of predoctoral researchers to training opportunities.

The Program schedules regular meetings between the predoctoral fellow and his or her thesis committee, composed of the thesis director, another CNIC group leader, and an external expert.

Graduate students at the CNIC awarded a PhD degree in 2020: 15

Graduate students studying for a PhD degree at the CNIC in 2020: 111

PROGRAMS FOR RESIDENT MEDICAL INTERNS

RES@CNIC Program

The Res@CNIC-SEC Program (in collaboration with the Spanish Society of Cardiology, SEC) offers resident medical interns the opportunity during the first years of their specialization period to learn about the latest techniques in cardiovascular research being used in the CNIC’s laboratories, under the guidance of a CNIC scientist. Residents participating in RES@CNIC also receive training in theoretical aspects of cardiovascular research through an expert-led taught module. The Program also seeks to create links and collaborations so that on conclusion of their MIR specialization period, these professionals will have the chance to undertake research projects in their respective Hospitals in partnership with CNIC scientists.

Participants in 2020: 17 from the following hospitals:

• Complejo Asistencia Universitario de León;
• Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra;
• Hospital Clínico San Carlos;
• Hospital General Universitario de Alicante;
• Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol;
• Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias;
• Hospital Universitario de Cabueñes (Gijón);
• Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz;
• Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet.

INVESMIR SEC Program

The INVESMIR SEC Program offers resident medical interns the opportunity during their specialization period to further their training through a research project in one of the CNIC’s laboratories, under the supervision of a CNIC scientist.

An important aim of the program is for participants to establish contacts and collaborations with CNIC researchers that will support them, after completion of their MIR specialization training, in pursuing their own research projects at their centers within the Spanish National Health System. In 2020 two resident cardiologist interns participated in this Program from Hospital Universitario de Getafe (Madrid) and Hospital Universitario Joan XXIII (Tarragona).

PROGRAMS FOR RESEARCHERS

Cardio Joven Program

The aim of this Program (also organized in collaboration with the SEC) is to foster high-quality translational research in the cardiovascular area in Spanish National Health System centers through training programs providing theory and practical training for one cardiologist with a research vocation.

Specific aims:

1. To create the figure of the cardiologist-researcher by providing high-quality training in clinical research methods, including statistical analysis and the latest basic research techniques used in cardiovascular biomedicine, as well as opportunities to explore any clinical area of cardiology in greater depth (sub-specialization).

   The program is aimed at cardiologists who aspire to carry out advanced clinical and research work at any center within the Spanish National Health System.

2. International training. The Program offers a period of training toward a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (90 ECTS)

Post MIR SEA CNIC Program

This program offers 1- or 2-year contract for research into electrophysiology or arrhythmias. This contract is available to a physician completing their resident intern specialization (MIR) in cardiology and to members of the SEC Sección de Electrofisiología y Arritmias.

PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR TECHNICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS

In the fall of 2020, this program brought eight technical school students studying “Pathological and Cyto-diagnostic Anatomy” and “Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory Science” to gain practical curricular experience in the CNIC’s laboratories over a three-month period.

Moreover, in September four students studying “Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine” and “Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory” began their 10-month internship at the CNIC as part of the DUAL technical study program, in which the second course is devoted 100% to practical laboratory-based training.

The CNIC has signed collaborative agreements for this type of internship with 19 technical training educational centers and with both DUAL Centers in Madrid offering courses in Biomedicine: the Instituto de Educación Secundaria Moratalaz for “Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory Science” and the Instituto de Educación Secundaria San Juan de la Cruz for “Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine”.