Dr. Josep Quer, researcher of the Liver Diseases group of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), has received an award from Regió7, the Manresa newspaper published in Central Catalonia, in the category of Science and Technology in recognition "for his contribution to the research on SARS-CoV-2". The newspaper delivers today its annual awards at the Kursaal theater in Manresa in an event that will feature the Catalan minister of Health, Alba Vergés.This year's Regió7 awards have been very focused on the pandemic and have also served to pay tribute for their work to the health professionals of Central Catalonia who have received recognition in the category of Social Assets. Advances in research on SARS-CoV-2In March, Dr. Josep Quer, together with Dr. Andrés Antón, head of the Respiratory Virus Unit of the Microbiology Service of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, led a project that sequenced the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome and. That has made it possible to carry out massive sequencing studies using the latest generation platforms. The relevance of this project lies in the fact that knowing the genome of the virus is key to studying its variability, its evolution and prognostic factors in patients.In this sense, another study led by the same researchers found a possible SARS-CoV-2 strategy to reinforce its persistence in patients and facilitate its transmission. Specifically, the virus would be able to lose fragments of its genomic material in the spike region (protein that forms the corona characteristic of the virus) to synthesize incomplete proteins that would allow the virus to self-control the virulence of the infection.