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 Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery Research Unit (UNINN) is a translational research group fully integrated into the European research community and accredited as a Consolidated Research Group since 2005.
The UNINN conduct both basic and clinical research, with the aim of transferring benchside discoveries to the bedside. We have robust intramural synergies, national collaborations with basic scientists, and international collaborations and alliances with researchers from multiple countries and institutions with whom we share common research goals.
Our research unit participates in multinational clinical trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry and the European Union (EU). Our research unit is highly focused on developing and using new technologies to improve the assessment of clinical outcomes, incorporating quality of life measures, and patient-reported outcomes. We also maintain an important collection of brain tissue samples, serum, LCR, and microdialysates from the cerebral extracellular space of neurocritical patients.
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
General aims: Chiari malformation is an entity that is diagnosed more and more frequently. The fundamental diagnostic element of this congenital malformation is a descent of the cerebellum towards the cervical canal, which produces local compression phenomena and alterations in the circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid. However, there are great discrepancies about how the study and treatment of these patients is carried out in the different centers, which affects their final result. Our main objective in this line of research is to better understand the origin and repercussions of these malformations and contribute to improving treatment and, therefore, its final result.
Specific aims: 1) To deepen the knowledge of the pathophysiology of craniocervical malformations, especially Chiari Type 1 (MC-1) malformation, and to quantify the repercussion of these malformations in the clinical, social, and occupational fields. 2) Study the genetic bases of this malformation and its penetrance at the family level. 3) To study sleep disturbances (particularly the type and frequency of nocturnal apnea) associated with CM-1. 4) Study of the quality of life in patients with a malformation of the craniocervical joint before and after surgical treatment. 5) To deepen the knowledge of the cognitive-affective syndrome that patients affected by CM-1 may present (research project FIS PI22/01082). 6) Contribute to the homogenization in the management of MC-1 from the participation of our group in the consensus conferences aimed at the elaboration of clinical practice guidelines to be applied in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.
IP: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor, Joan Sahuquillo Barris
General aim: Hydrocephalus is a very frequent pathology in the neurosurgical field, especially in pediatric patients. Its presence can lead to cognitive sequelae and disability that may be preventable with proper treatment. Our group has focused on a better understanding of its pathophysiology, on improving early diagnoses, and on the development of more specific biomarkers aimed at improving the clinical outcomes of these patients.
Specific aims: 1) Acquire new knowledge about the pathophysiology of normal pressure hydrocephalus and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri) and optimize diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in these patients. 2) To establish the brain biochemical alterations (neurotransmitters and neuropeptides) that occur in these patients and their involvement in cognitive functions and sleep disorders. 3) To correlate the cognitive deficit with the morphological and functional alterations of different brain structures such as the corpus callosum and the subcortical white matter. 4) Search for less invasive systems that offer reliable information on intracranial pressure (SafeICP research project).
General aims: To study the neurochemical, physiopathological and cerebral metabolism alterations, as well as the application of new monitoring techniques in patients who have suffered a head injury (TBI) or other acute neurological pathology (neurocritical patients).
Specific aims: 1) To deepen the knowledge of metabolic alterations and oxygen transport at the tissue level in acute brain injuries. 2) Deepen the repercussions of anemia and blood transfusions on the ability to supply oxygen to the brain (research project La Marató TV3 201724 30 31). 3) To study the cerebral and systemic inflammatory response induced by acute brain injury, using high-resolution microdialysis techniques. 4) To analyze the phenomena of periinfarct depolarization in patients with acute brain injuries and their metabolic repercussions. 5) Applications of high-resolution microdialysis to the definition of the molecular profile of post-traumatic and ischemic cerebral edema and study of the contribution of non-selective cation channels in its formation. 6) Study mitochondrial dysfunction in patients who have suffered a TBI and develop a histotoxic hypoxia model from cultures in adult human brain slices obtained in surgical resections. 7) Validate the use of early blood cell biomarkers to define specific risk populations in adult and pediatric patients who have presented a mild TBI (BRAINI2 research project).
IP: Joan Sahuquillo Barris
IP: Miriam de Nadal Clanchet Collaborators: Victor Morales Ariza Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III Funding: 58750 Reference: PI24/00712 Duration: 01/01/2025 - 31/12/2027
IP: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor Collaborators: Joan Sahuquillo Barris, Maria Sueiras Gil, Diego Fernando Lopez Bermeo Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-MICINN Funding: 335384 Reference: PLEC2022-009290 Duration: 01/12/2022 - 30/11/2025
IP: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor Collaborators: Dulce María Moncho Rodríguez, Joan Sahuquillo Barris, Fuat Arikan Abello, Miriam de Nadal Clanchet, Maria Sueiras Gil, Alejandro Ferré Masó, Francisco Ramón Martínez Ricarte Funding agency: Agència Gestió Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca Funding: 60000 Reference: 2021 SGR 00810 Duration: 01/01/2022 - 30/06/2025
IP: Angela Vidal Jordana Collaborators: Dulce María Moncho Rodríguez, Alex Rovira Cañellas, Manel Alberich Jordà, Neus Mongay Ochoa, Joaquin Castillo Justribo, Sergio Cabello Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III Funding: 48400 Reference: PI22/01589 Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2025
PhD student: Maria Guisasola Rabes Director/s: Miriam de Nadal Clanchet University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2023
PhD student: Federica Maruccia Director/s: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor, Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2023
PhD student: Alejandro Ferré Masó Director/s: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor, Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2021
PhD student: Maria Sueiras Gil Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2021
PhD student: Lidia Castro González Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2019
PhD student: Irina Andreea Radoi Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris, Ma Antonia Poca Pastor University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2019
PhD student: Ángela Sánchez Guerrero Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris, Ma Antonia Poca Pastor University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2017
PhD student: Marian Vidal Jorge Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2017
PhD student: Miguel Ángel Esquivel Miranda Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2017
PhD student: Dulce María Moncho Rodríguez Director/s: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor, Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2016
PhD student: Ramon Torne Torne Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2015
PhD student: Fuat Arikan Abello Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris, Jordi Vilalta Castan University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 2015
PhD student: Miriam de Nadal Clanchet Director/s: Joan Sahuquillo Barris, Vicente Gancedo Rodriguez, Enrique Rubio García University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 1998
PhD student: Ma Antonia Poca Pastor Director/s: Enrique Rubio García, Joan Sahuquillo Barris University: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona Year: 1996
Funding has been obtained for 43 projects under the calls for Health R&D&I Projects, Health Technology Development, and Independent Clinical Research
The goal is to test a low-cost, easy-to-use and non-invasive monitor, which will serve to control intracranial pressure (PICO) values, which will help to control and treat different acute brain pathologies.
The new tool will improve patient care and allow early detection of complications, as the hospital previously did not have a specific form.
Check the current rates for the LUMINEX MAGPIX service offered by the Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery Research Unit (UNINN).
