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ADVANCED CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASES, WILL STUDY THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES IN CHILE FOR AT LEAST TWO MORE YEARS
- December 12, 2023
- Publicado por: ACCDIS
- Category: News Featured news
ACCDIS is part of the FONDAP 2023 Research Centers of Excellence in Priority Areas
For the past ten years, the ACCDiS Advanced Center for Chronic Diseases, researches the development of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCCD) in priority areas such as diabetes, Obesity, cancer, Cardiovascular and Heart Disease in the Country. The institution is financed and executed by the University of Chile (UCH) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC).
Dr. Sergio Lavandero, Director of the Center, highlighted the opportunity to innovate in new areas and the strategic incorporation of the Catholic University of Maule to expand the formation of advanced human capital and explore new areas of research, such as environmental pollution and bioinformatics and genomics.
In this sense, He informed what the new lines of research will be, which are now added to the first six areas of study developed at the Center:
- Predictors of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and implantation of continuous glucose monitoring devices, directed by Dra. Laura Andrea Huidobro from the Catholic University of Maule.
- Chemical Exposure in the Onset and Progression of Chronic Diseases, directed by Dra. Sandra Cortés from PUC
- Integrative Genomics and Systems Biology of Post-Transcriptional Events in Heart Failure, directed by Dr. Vinicius Maracaja of UCH.
This recent award represents a crucial milestone for the Center, Opening doors to innovation and strengthening strategic collaboration at the regional level. With a multidisciplinary approach, ACCDiS embarks on a promising era of discoveries and breakthroughs in the fight against NCDs.
ACCDiS Tenth Anniversary:
Next Tuesday, December 12, ACCDiS will celebrate its tenth anniversary. Since its inception, the Centre has highlighted the relevance of the impact of chronic non-communicable diseases on the population, said Prof. Sergio Lavandero González, Director & Principal Investigator.
Among the achievements highlighted by its director is the participation of women: "The number of women in ACCDiS represents a solid step towards gender equality, with 45% women and 55% men currently involved in the investigations," she said.
On the other hand, the Center's principal investigators and associates, have been active in national and international organizations, Contributors to health-related public policies. Examples include the American Association for Cancer Research, the Pan American Health Organization, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, the International Association for Research in Cancer, the Maule Regional Health Council, the Chilean Academy of Sciences, the Chilean Academy of Medicine and the regional government of Antofagasta. Among the influential holdings in the Center, there is that of the deputy director of the Center, DRA. Catterina Ferreccio, who was part of the COVID-19 Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health.
To finish, Dr. Lavandero took advantage of the occasion to highlight the contribution that the Center has in 20 school educational communities in the North Metropolitan Region, where, through its Associative Project Explora RMN, it contributes to the strengthening of STCI competencies, in public and subsidized establishments with higher rates of vulnerability, Considering the Principles of Inclusion, Cultural Diversity and Gender Equity, decentralization, Effective communication and sustainability.
For at least the next two years, ACCDiS will continue its commitment to frontier research, education of the population and the formation of advanced human capital, contributing significantly to the understanding and management of complex chronic diseases.