The first open competitive call for biomedical research launched by the Fundació Bancaria "la Caixa" has announced the 20 projects selected to receive funding. One of these 20 projects corresponds to Dr. Miquel Vila, head of the research group on Neurodegenerative Diseases of the VHIR. Another VHIR researcher, Dr. Josep Villena, from the Diabetes and Metabolism group, is co-leading a project in the area of heart disease.The objective of this program is to promote projects of excellence in the fight against diseases of major impact in the world, such as cardiovascular, neurological, infectious and oncological. In this first call 785 projects from various research centers, hospitals and universities throughout Spain and Portugal have been submitted, of which only 77 passed to the final phase after overcoming a competitive selection process. Once evaluated by the expert committee, formed by 256 experts of recognized international prestige, only 20 have been selected for funding. To this end, the initiatives have been initially evaluated in a peer review phase in which 256 internationally renowned experts have participated, specialists in each of the research areas: cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, oncological diseases, neurosciences and support to the biomedical sciences.The 20 selected projects are considered key for biomedical research in Spain and Portugal.The Banking Foundation la Caixa", to which it allocates 12 million euros per year to this initiative. Dr. Miquel Vila: Mice to stop Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative pathology increasingly frequent due to the increase in life expectancy. However, there are no therapies that slow down its evolution. In this pathology, the brain accumulates alpha-synuclein protein, whose deposits are related to the progressive loss of neurons that cause tremors and other motor symptoms.Researchers have seen that there is a selective degeneration of neurons, specifically those that accumulate a dark pigment that stains them, called neuromelanin, similar to that produced by the skin when tanned in the sun. The accumulation of neuromelanin above a pathological threshold compromises neuronal function and triggers the disease.However, this pigment has been largely ignored by the research, since it does not exist in the animal experimental model: the mice. The brain of the mice used to study the disease does not produce this pigment, when human brain does, to be able to have lab mice which produce this pigment could be important to better understand the neurodegeneration of Parkinson's disease in an alive animal model.Recently, scientists have designed laboratory mice that produce neuromelanin, as a human brain do. The project uses these mice with the aim of finding new therapies that control or stop the accumulation of neuromelanin to prevent the disease.Dr. Josep Villena: the metabolic changes that allow the formation of the heart promise new regenerative therapiesThis research project is co-led by Dr. Ofelia Martínez-Estrada of the University of Barcelona (UB) and also has the participation of the team headed by Dr. Carolina Soler of the Instituto Germans Trias i Pujol.The main objective of the project is to define the metabolic changes that take place in the epicardium during the formation of the heart and determine its relevance in the correct formation of this organ, as well as in its repair after a heart attack.Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world. Unfortunately, current treatments aimed at promoting the repair of cardiac function after a heart attack are not very efficient. Several studies have shown that the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the repair of the heart after a myocardial infarction are similar to those that guide the formation of the heart during the embryonic stage. Specifically, the epicardium, the outermost layer of the heart, constitutes a source of cells and signaling molecules that contribute to the formation of this organ during the fetal period and participate in cardiac regeneration. This cellular plasticity is associated with profound metabolic changes that have not yet been well defined.Knowledge of the metabolism of the epicardium during cardiac development or after an injury will allow the development of new therapies. Therapies based on the modulation of certain epicardial metabolic pathways in order to improve the repair of the heart after suffering a heart attack.