The thesis : a question of brothers

Rafael had a hard time deciding to do his thesis . "I had a hard time choosing which degree program to study because I liked audiovisual communication, Philosophy, Biochemistry ...", he recalls with a smile. "When I decided on Pharmacy and Nutrition, I also liked all the opportunities it offered: the hospital, the pharmacy office... I tried everything, and I did the experimental TFG, in pharmacology, to try that part too." As Rafael recalls, this first contact with research did not decide him to take this path, something that changed the following year. "In sixth grade, I had a Public Health class . Professor Silvia Carlos taught it and I loved it. She was also the Vice-Dean of Students and I was the Schools delegate at the time, so we talked a lot. She recommended me to do my Nutrition internship in her department, the department of Preventive Medicine and Public Healthand once there I decided to do my thesis . Now it is clear to me that I want to dedicate myself to the academic degree program ," he says.   

In María's case, too, a professor influenced her decision to do her thesis . "The one who encouraged me to do the doctorate was María Iraburu, who was my advisor," she explains. "Since I started the degree program, I was pretty clear that I didn't want to do research, so I thought it didn't make much sense to do the thesis . She encouraged me, within the employment opportunities I was interested in, to see what profile the people who were working in this field had, and I discovered that almost all of them had a doctorate.

From alcohol consumption patterns to creating heart patches

His thesis dealt with patterns of alcohol consumption and health. "Generally, when you study alcohol consumption, you only study the amount you consume, that is, it doesn't matter if you have a glass of wine with every meal or if you drink seven glasses on a Saturday because the amount average of alcohol you consume is the same," he explains. With the hypothesis that, in reality, it does matter how you drink, Rafael studied different consumption patterns (abstention, Mediterranean patron saint and 'binge drinking') and their effect on health , understood "as something holistic, not only referring to physical health, but also to quality of life and psychological well-being ," he adds. 

"I had a great time doing the thesis . I have enjoyed the process ," Rafael confesses. "Although yes, sometimes times are difficult ," he adds. And the fact is that doctoral students have to publish scientific articles derived from their research , and sometimes data is delayed, corrections are delayed, journals reject an initial version of the text... or the results of the research are not positive . "Clearly, no journal will publish that," says María. And she speaks from her own experience. "In the future, the goal is to be able to manufacture artificial hearts for people who need a transplant. Until that is achieved, what we are trying to do in the laboratory They are small patches to place in the area where the heart attack has occurred and make the heart work. That tissue that is generated in the laboratory It is made up of cells and these need a place to live. My thesis I was looking to design and manufacture the material where we could put those cells so that the tissue is generated ," he explains. "In a heart attack there is a lot of inflammation, so we thought that this support for the cells would also be antioxidant and thus provide something more. It was very difficult for us to have positive results because in all the materials we synthesized, the cells died." But if there is something you have to be prepared for if you are dedicated to the research is to try again and again . Maria did not give up and looked for other alternatives . "We focused on research to the treatment of chronic wounds . There are patients whose skin cannot heal because there is a lot of inflammation in that area. We used the material we had developed to heal those wounds, and the results were quite good," he explains. For this change of approach The support that Maria found in her directors was fundamental. thesis , Felipe Prósper and Tomasz Jüngst , and their supervisors, Manuel Mazo and Daniel Plano . "When I suggested trying other things, they immediately said yes. I felt that for them my thesis was also important and they were committed to making it happen."

The complicity of a brother, a core topic of the process

That freedom and trust are two of the attitudes that Rafael also thanks to his directors, Maira Bes and Alfredo Gea. "They have given me a lot of responsibility. They let me do what I wanted. In fact, we changed one of the hypotheses of my thesis so that it would fit more with what I was interested in and with the place where I wanted to stay. That they allowed me to do that was very good," she says.

Without a doubt, the support and monitoring of its directors thesis It was essential. But, in their case, having each other was also a plus : they reminded each other of deadlines, informed each other of scholarship applications, advised each other on how to do certain things... "Being able to talk to someone who's in the same boat as you is... status , with whom you can vent because they certainly understand you, who rejoices in your small triumphs because they know what they mean... financial aid A lot. And if that person is your brother, the support and complicity is even greater ," María emphasizes. 

Once defended, thesis , the two brothers face the future with new projects on the horizon . Maria started working in January at Bantec , a business of management of projects. "Having done the doctorate , which has been almost like managing my own project , me financial aid to speak the same language with clients," he explains. 

Rafael, for his part, will be joining the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) . " I will continue studying behaviors . I will take advantage of everything I have learned in these years of thesis to apply it to the study of social media consumption, pornography … focused on psychological well-being and mental health ," he says.

It seems that the interest in the research It's a family affair. The Pérez Araluce family's research saga now continues with Maite , another sister, the one who is the oldest to Rafael and María. A graduate in Pharmacy, Maite is currently doing her thesis doctoral degree at the ICS, within the IDEA Chair of New Longevities . His work , directed by Professor Nuria Esandi, is carried out degree scroll "Aging with meaning. Experiences of older adults, their families, and professionals regarding care in residential settings."