Catalan project on neuropathic pain wins European EFIC-Grünenthal grant
The study conducted by the Joan XXIII University Hospital in Tarragona was selected over six top-notch projects from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.
By Biocat
Research by neurologist Jordi Casanova-Molla of the Joan XXIII University Hospital in Tarragona has received the prestigious EFIC-Grünenthal-Grant (EGG). Dr. Casanova-Molla’s team is researching the possibility that patients with neuropathic pain have an immunologic response that results in suffering and damage to nerve endings in the skin. To carry out this study, called Nociceptive nerves endings as a target for autoantibodies, the team will analyze a representative sample, of both blood and skin, from sick patients and healthy people. The research group is made up of doctors from the Joan XXIII Hospital, personnel from the Hospital’s biobank, and professionals from the Research Unit at the Pere Virgili Healthcare Research Institute (IISPV).
The EFIC-Grünenthal-Grant, which has a total budget of €200,000, holds a call for proposals every two years to support young scientists from around Europe that are in the early stages of their projects and experimental clinical research. The EGG is granted by the European Federation of IASP Chapters (EFIC), a multidisciplinary organization created in 1993 for pain research that currently represents Pain Societies in 36 European countries, in collaboration with Grünenthal, a pharmaceutical company specializing in pain treatment.
In addition to Dr. Casanova-Molla’s study, six projects from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy have received grants. The seven winners will accept their awards, which can reach up to €40,000, at the opening ceremony of the eighth Pain in Europe congress held by EFIC from 9 to 12 October 2013 in Florence.
This award once again shows the significance of biomedical research in Catalonia and reinforces the presence of the BioRegion in Europe.
More information is available on the Grünenthal website.