Amaia Echaide (MED'21), a former student of School of Medicine, has received the award for the Best TFG awarded by the Mutual Médica Foundation for her research entitled "The sentinel lymph node in breast cancer: how many nodes need to be resected to find the true sentinel lymph node". Awarded with 2,000 euros, this is a recognition introduced in the XXXI edition of the Medical research Awards, which seek to support young doctors and encourage the medical research as a fundamental axis to improve the health and quality of life of people.

"The jury valued the rigor with which the research was carried out, the methodology and the undoubted clinical interest of the results obtained," said Dr. Mª Pilar Tornos, president of the jury and treasurer of the Mutual Médica Foundation, during the awards ceremony submission , which took place in Santander. "Amaia Echaide has come to the conclusion that in the vast majority of cases of breast tumor, the removal of only two nodes has a diagnostic accuracy of 99%. Applying the results of her study, surgery becomes less aggressive with a consequent reduction in patient morbidity".

For her part, Amaia Echaide collected the award accompanied by Dr. Marta Moreno, director of the work of research and specialist in Radiation Oncology at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra. "This award is a recognition of the effort made by all the students throughout the degree program and culminates with the completion of this work. It is also a link between the end of university life and the beginning of a professional degree program that, at this time of preparation for the spanish medical residency program, seems so far away", said Echaide in his speech of gratitude. He especially thanked his academic tutor, Dr. Macarena Rodríguez Fraile, accredited specialization , for the importance she has had in his career: "From the beginning she has been able to transmit to me the interest in research and the scientific method. This has helped me to realize how satisfying it can be to work to be able to contribute something, no matter how small, to this profession".

In total, 236 doctors, residents and students submitted their candidatures for the XXXI Awards to research Médica 2021, which had a jury composed of Dr. Mª Pilar Tornos, Dr. Alejandro Andreu, president of the Foundation, Dr. Santiago Aguadé and Dr. Rosa Boyé, members of the committee of Administration of Mutual Médica, and Dr. Jaume Figueras. They based their decision on the professionalism of the researcher or signatory, as well as his team of research that endorses the work and on the usefulness of the research in the internship clinic.