About the VHIR
Here at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) we promote biomedical research, innovation and teaching. Over 1,800 people are seeking to understand diseases today so the treatment can be improved tomorrow.
Research
We are working to understand diseases, to find out how they operate and to create better treatments for patients. Get to know about our groups and their lines of research.
People
People are the centre of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). This is why we are bound by the principles of freedom of research, gender equality and professional attitudes that HRS4R promotes.
Clinical trials
Our work is not just basic or translational; we are leaders in clinical research. Enter and find about the clinical trials we are conducting and why we are a world reference in this field.
Progress
Our aim is to make the research carried out at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) a driving force for transformation. How? By identifying new channels and solutions for the promotion of people's health and well-being.
Core facilities
We offer specialist support for researchers, internal and external alike, ranging from specific services to preparing complete projects. All this, from a perspective of quality and speed of response.
News
We offer you a gateway for staying up to date on everything going on at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), from the latest news to future solidarity activities and initiatives that we are organising.
The research conducted in our group is geared toward elucidating the cause and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD), a disabling, currently incurable common neurodegenerative disorder. To this end, we perform clinical and pre-clinical translational research in both PD patients and in human-relevant experimental in vitro and in vivo PD-related models.
Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in PD should allow to:
General objectives: Postoperative complications increase morbidity and mortality and impact on the patient's quality of life. Our line of research addresses the complex physiological and psychological challenges of surgical patients, emphasising prevention, diagnosis, treatment and risk prediction strategies to optimise patient care before, during and after surgery. This research is primarily aimed at the management and recovery of patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.
Specific objectives: 1) To optimise diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in patients with acute postoperative myocardial injury 2) To acquire new knowledge on perioperative cardiovascular management in patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery 3) To evaluate the role of cardiac biomarkers in predicting postoperative complications 4) To evaluate the quality of postoperative recovery from the patient's experience.
IP: Miriam de Nadal Clanchet
Formation and accumulation of abnormal protein aggregates are a central hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases. In Parkinson’s disease (PD), the aggregation-prone protein á-synuclein accumulates in several areas of the central and peripheral nervous system. Pathological á-synuclein accumulation in PD can result from (i) abnormally increased á-synuclein expression, (ii) defective intracellular clearance of á-synuclein protein, (iii) progressive self-propagation and spreading of pathological á-synuclein between interconnected brain areas. Targeting á-synuclein pathological changes may provide therapeutic benefit to delay, halt or prevent neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in PD.
IP: Miquel Vila Bover
Despite intensive efforts towards understanding the aetiology/pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the development of novel therapeutic approaches for this neurodegenerative condition, the current treatment for PD remains symptomatic and yet far from modifying disease onset or progression. Before the manifestation of the classical motor symptoms, PD patients present with non-motor symptoms in a prodromal phase. The identification of deregulated molecular pathways or genes in peripheral blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid from these prodromal patients may help develop potential biomarkers for the early detection, diagnosis, risk assessment and/or progression of PD, which are currently lacking, as well as to stratify patients at very early stages to apply more specific, personalized disease-modifying treatments.
IP: Miquel Vila Bover, Ariadna Laguna Tuset
The event focused on advances in disease-modifying therapies and on the value of alliances between patients and professionals to promote more participatory care and research.
This VHIR initiative promotes well-being, empathy and community participation in Barcelona neighbourhoods through an intergenerational model
PAIR is an intergenerational initiative with people affected by Parkinson's disease and adolescents.
Vall d'Hebron Iniciativa per al Parkinson (VHIP) is a research project aimed at the development of biochemical markers for the early detection of Parkinson's disease. This study is carried out in people at high risk of having this disease, because they carry genetic mutations that predispose to the development of Parkinson's or because they present non-motor symptoms that manifest themselves years before motor symptoms.
