Once again this year, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has held an event to share resources, perspectives, and advancements as a centre linked to the European infrastructure for translational medicine (EATRIS), with a special focus on patient involvement in biomedical research. The symposium, titled "Translational Research and Patient Participation: Insights and Resources from EATRIS", provided an opportunity for the research community at the Can Ruti Campus to explore the opportunities offered by being part of the IIS-IGTP, recently reaccredited by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and linked to EATRIS.

The event, which was held on Thursday last week, opened with a welcome by Jordi Barretina, director of IGTP, and Daniel Ruiz, deputy general director of International Research Programs and Institutional Relations at Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII). Barretina emphasised the value of such meetings, where researchers can gain first-hand knowledge of the resources available to them through EATRIS.

The day continued with presentations by EATRIS representatives on advancements and perspectives in patient engagement at the European, national, and local levels. David Morrow, senior scientific program manager of Translational Medicine and Drug Development at EATRIS, outlined the platform's initiatives at the European level, highlighting programs aimed at integrating patients' voices into research projects. Meanwhile, Laura García Bermejo, scientific director of Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, EATRIS's scientific director in Spain and chair of the EATRIS Biomarker Platform, focused on the organisation's Spanish node.

Following this, there was a segment dedicated to showcasing IGTP's success stories made possible by the added value EATRIS brings to the institute's internationalisation. The section was moderated by Ivan Belzunce Guillermo, EATRIS coordinator at IGTP and project manager for International Projects. Presenting their experiences with a translational component and active patient involvement were Julia García Prado, scientific director of IGTP and member of the ISCIII-EATRIS advisory board; Míriam Gironès, director of Business Development at CMCiB-IGTP; Roger Badia, associate researcher Miguel Servet at IrsiCaixa; and Lauro Sumoy, head the High Content Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform at IGTP.

The symposium concluded with a round table discussing the role of patients and citizens in biomedical research, exploring the most effective timing and methods to involve them, and the importance of doing so. Chaired by Laura García Bermejo, the panel featured contributions from Ignacio Blanco, clinical director at Laboratori Clínic de la Metropolitana Nord and coordinator of the Clinical and Advisory Genetics; Rosina Malagrida, responsible of the Living Lab at IrsiCaixa; Rafael de Cid, scientific director of IGTP's GCAT|Genomes for Life project; and Pilar Quer, president of Associació Catalana de les Neurofibromatosis (AcNefi).

Julia García Prado closed the day by thanking all speakers and attendees and reiterating IGTP's commitment to its active participation with EATRIS. "These seminars and our collaboration with EATRIS ensure that our research and innovation projects have a European impact. We will continue to work in this direction to promote projects with high added value with and for our patients and society".

García Prado highlighted this aspect: "In this symposium, besides the advancements of EATRIS at the national and European levels, we aimed to focus on research with and for the patients". She also noted that "these meetings are crucial for continuing to explore new avenues of collaboration and ensuring that our research effectively contributes to improving health and quality of life".

IGTP has held EATRIS Expert Centre status since 2022. This allows it to offer several high-value EATRIS services in a decentralised manner, including areas such as innovation management, regulatory strategy, translational viability, and early-stage health technology assessments.

About EATRIS

EATRIS is the European infrastructure for translational medicine. It gathers resources and services for research communities to translate scientific discoveries into patient benefits. EATRIS operates as an 'ERIC' - a European Research Infrastructure Consortium, a non-profit legal entity designed to facilitate the joint establishment and operation of research infrastructures of European interest.

'EATRIS' has been the acronym for the European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine since its formation in 2007. In November 2013, EATRIS became the first biomedical science infrastructure to receive the European Research Infrastructure Consortium status, established by the European Commission.