Researcher Maite Solas receives Pascual Maragall scholarship for innovative programs of study on Alzheimer's disease

The researcher Maite Solas, from the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, has received the Pascual Maragall Researchers Programme (PMRP)scholarship , aimed at promoting innovative programs of study on Alzheimer's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

The project of this professor of the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences will focus on understanding how astrocytes, cells essential for the proper functioning of the brain, modify their metabolism in the context of Alzheimer's disease and how these changes affect core topic processes such as insulin signaling or glycogen storage.

The study is one of those selected by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation in the third edition of its research grants program. With a total endowment of 1.6 million euros, the program funds scientific excellence initiatives with up to 800,000 euros per project and a maximum duration of five years.

Slowing disease progression and even reversing the progression of the disease

Maite Solas' research , in partnership with Dr. Jordi Duran, from the Universitat Ramon Llull (URL)-Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS Barcelona), aims to find out whether intervening in these metabolic pathways could slow down the progression of the disease or even reverse it in its early stages. "Thanks to this scholarship we will be able to develop a project that seeks to advance the understanding and prevention of Alzheimer's, a disease that continues to profoundly affect millions of people and their families," says Maite Solas.

The other work belongs to Hernández-Vega, researcher at the Fundació Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC), who will study the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, when the tau protein, core topic in the neuronal structure, changes its behavior and forms pathological aggregates.

The two projects selected in this edition, supported by the Adey Foundation, stand out for their ability to deepen the knowledge of the mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease, as well as for bringing new therapeutic opportunities to those affected.

" research is the only way to advance in the understanding and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Winning projects of this edition, as in previous editions, reflect this conviction and our desire to promote a global scientific ecosystem, promoting projects of excellence and supporting research teams that, working together and adding knowledge, allow us to progress more quickly and effectively," said Dr. Arcadi Navarro, director of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation.

The Pasqual Maragall Foundation has already opened the fourth call of the PMRP, also endowed with 1.6 million euros. Both individual projects led by a principal researcher and collaborative proposals from up to three research groups, with a coordinator in position of the consortium, are eligible. Projects must be led by public or non-profit institutions based in Spain.