2023 Scientific Report

Management Area

VHIO's SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT AREA

VHIO's MANAGEMENT AREA

VHIO's SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT AREA

**Head of Area** Alejandro Piris Giménez **Head of Management of Scientific Strategy and Translational Programs Unit** Javier Carmona **Head of Research Grants Pre-Award Unit** Sandra Porta **Head of Management of Institutional Scientific Programs Unit** Neus Bayó **Head of Management of clinical programs and Task Forces Unit** Javier Gonzalo **Head of Coordinated projects and consortia** Unit Elena Chavarria **Head of Advanced Therapies Program** Silvia Martin-Lluesma **Scientific/ Project Managers** Sara Belon, Berta Colldeforns, Natalia Czerniak, Alba Lopez, Goretti Mallorquí, María Marín, Mireia Monràs, Xenia Villalobos **Project Management Technicians Senior** Isabel Vallvé Junior: Marc López, Abraham Ruiz **Internship Students** Johan Barrezueta, Francesc Calabuig, Vanessa Elizabeth Guadamud, Marc Jerez, Ariadna Lechon, Joana Mackay, Laura Moncusi **Clinical Projects Manager** Arantxa Romero **Task Force Officers** Ana Carmona (Gastroesophageal Cancer and GI non-CRC), Mireia Sanchís (Colorectal Cancer) **Advanced Research technician** Colorectal cancer group Joaquín Mestre

Summary

VHIO’s Scientific Management Area is responsible of all tasks related to scientific strategy, management, and coordination at institutional level. These include the creation, promotion, design and dynamization of research projects for VHIO researchers and groups but also the management of VHIO’s research institutional programs.

Our Area seeks to promote the scientific activity of our research groups by facilitating the development and execution of scientific proposals and programs. In addition, we coordinate the activities of VHIO’s Task Forces to foster synergies between our multidisciplinary teams and spur joint research programs in oncology at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital – HUVH (Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus).

Our responsibilities include financial and scientific management, strategic scientific support, and the implementation of institutional actions across transversal areas such as education, ethics and regulatory issues, scientific dissemination, and the coordination of research activities relating to VHIO’s participation in several consortia and partnerships globally. Additional activities include the assessment and preparation of grant application proposals, dissemination of national and international funding opportunities for our research groups, as well as the continued monitoring and coordination of awarded research projects.

We also optimize opportunities for the internationalization of researchers by devising personalized plans for VHIO's scientific groups, centralize and conceptualize research proposals from our Task Forces, and proactively match selected research priorities with competitive calls. Importantly, our team co-leads EU initiatives including the Coordination and Support Action (CSA – 4.UNCAN.eu) of the UNderstand CANcer (UNCAN.eu) project, linked to EU’s Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer, among others. We also spearhead highly innovative technological project proposals to increase VHIO’s success rate in calls, such as the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) within the Horizon Europe framework, as well as oversee VHIO’s involvement in European projects as project coordinators or partners.

Lastly, our Area is continuously working to strengthen its organizational structure and project management processes with the goal of expanding VHIO’s capacity to conduct research of excellence in oncology.

Strategic goals

Highlights

Horizons

Paper pick 2023

Full list of publications 2023

Saura C, Ortiz C, Matito J, Arenas EJ, Suñol A, Martín Á, Córdoba O, Martínez-Sabadell A, García-Ruiz I, Miranda I, Morales-Comas C, Carrasco E, Viaplana C, Peg V, Nuciforo P, Bayó-Puxan N, Gonzalez-Medina A, Miquel JM, Gómez-Rey M, Villacampa G, Arévalo S, Espinosa-Bravo M, Balmaña J, Dienstmann R, Arribas J, Tabernero J, Vivancos A, Sansó M. Early-Stage Breast Cancer Detection in Breast Milk. Cancer Discov. 2023 Oct 5;13(10):2180-2191.
Serra-Camprubí Q, Verdaguer H, Oliveros W, Lupión-Garcia N, Llop-Guevara A, Molina C, Vila-Casadesús M, Turpin A, Neuzillet C, Frigola J, Querol J, Yáñez-Bartolomé M, Castet F, Fabregat-Franco C, Escudero-Iriarte C, Escorihuela M, Arenas EJ, Bernadó-Morales C, Haro N, Giles FJ, Pozo ÓJ, Miquel JM, Nuciforo PG, Vivancos A, Melé M, Serra V, Arribas J, Tabernero J, Peiró S, Macarulla T, Tian TV. Human Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma Patient-Derived Xenografts and Tumoroids for Preclinical Drug Evaluation. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Jan 17;29(2):432-445.
Carbonell C, Frigola J, Pardo N, Callejo A, Iranzo P, Valdivia A, Priano I, Cedrés S, Martinez-Marti A, Navarro A, Lenza L, Soleda M, Gonzalo-Ruiz J, Vivancos A, Sansó M, Carcereny E, Morán T, Amat R, Felip E. Dynamic changes in circulating tumor DNA assessed by shallow whole-genome sequencing associate with clinical efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC. Mol Oncol. 2023 May;17(5):779-791.
Cedres S, Serna G, Gonzalez-Medina A, Valdivia A, Assaf-Pastrana JD, Iranzo P, Callejo A, Pardo N, Navarro A, Martinez-Marti A, Priano I, Fasani R, Guardia X, Gonzalo J, Carbonell C, Frigola J, Amat R, Navarro V, Dienstmann R, Vivancos A, Nuciforo P, Felip E. Expression of TILs and Patterns of Gene Expression from Paired Samples of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) Patients. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jul 14;15(14):3611.
Baraibar I, García A, Salvà F, Ros J, Saoudi N, Comas R, Castillo G, Sanchis M, García-Álvarez A, Hernando J, Capdevila J, Castells MR, Martí M, Landolfi S, Espín E, Navalpotro B, Guevara J, Dopazo C, Nuciforo P, Vivancos A, Tabernero J, Élez E. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early-onset colorectal cancer. Transl Oncol. 2023 Jun;32:101668.
Mosconi P, Colombo C, Paletta P, Gangeri L, Pellegrini C, Garralda E, Miceli R, Brunelli C; CEE_DART Consortium. Public and patient involvement: a survey on knowledge, experience and opinions among researchers within a precision oncology European project. BMC Cancer. 2023 Aug 30;23(1):814.

VHIO's MANAGEMENT AREA

**Managing Director** Carles Constante **Deputy Manager** Sergi Cuadrado **Director of Communication** Bianca Pont **Finance and Administration Area** Laura Delgado; Finance Silvia Nuñez, Post-Award Finances Mariona Pons **Business Development, Innovation and Systems** **Area** Carlos López; Legal Advice Joaquim Campoy, Innovation Mario de la Cuesta, Clinical Contracts and Budgets Yasmina Bernabé, IT Alfred Gutierrez High Technology Unit Elena Serrano **General Services and Infrastructures** **Area** GS and Infrastructures Sergi Simón; Laboratory Coordination Nuria Colome **People Area** People Management Vanessa Manzano Talent and Development TBA

Summary

VHIO's Steering Committee plays an important role in both leadership and decision-making to ensure that decisions are taken in a well-informed manner through effective planning, monitoring and supervision of the organisation and its activities. Our Executive Commitee is made up of VHIO’s Director, the Director of our Scientific Management Area, VHIO’s Managing Director and Deputy Manager, as well as our Director of Communication.

VHIO’s Management Area is made up of four main teams. They are: Finance and Administration, Business Development, Innovation and Systems, General Services and Infrastructures, and our People Area.

We lead activities and processes that are carried out to plan, organize, direct and oversee VHIO's resources in order to deliver on VHIO’s objectives and goals.

Main responsibilities:

• Planning: we set objectives, identify the necessary resources, define the strategies required to achieve those objectives and program timeframes for the implementation of action points.

• Organization: the allocation of resources, including people, finances, materials and time. We also define responsibilities and reporting lines, and set out the necessary procedures and processes for carrying out the tasks and objectives set.

• Management: we lead and motivate people and teams within the organization to work together to achieve set objectives. Management involves communicating VHIO’s vision, setting clear goals, motivating staff, making decisions and resolving conflicts.

• Oversight: we monitor and evaluate performance, to ensure that the set objectives are being met, and to identify areas for improvement and implement actions to strengthen performance.

Together, these management fundamentals provide a solid structure for decision-making and effective management of VHIO's resources.

In short, our management team contributes to the development of general policy and strategic planning at VHIO. We are responsible for enabling and translating the Institute's scientific vision and strategic objectives into a clearly articulated operational strategy, as well as VHIO's financial management.

Strategic goals

Highlights

VHIO is committed to maintaining its management and research support structure. As VHIO continues to expand, with an increasing number of projects and initiatives, we have incorporated new talents within our teams to strengthen optimal support and management. Many of these new incorporations are funded by projects. In 2023, we welcomed Alfred Gutierrez, Mario de la Cuesta and Elena Serrano, who lead our IT, Innovation and High Technology Units, respectively.
The percentage of structural personnel (general structure and research structure) is 13.45% of the total number of personnel linked to VHIO.
This year, VHIO’s Board of Trustees approved our Strategic Plan presented for the period 2023-2025. This document, VHIO Strategy 2023-2025, will be deployed based on annual action planning, which will be frequently monitored to assess the degree of implementation.
In 2023, VHIO approved the II Equality Plan (2023-2036) in accordance with the Organic Law 3/2007, of March 22, for the effective equality of women and men (LOIEMH), with the aim of ensuring equal opportunities for all staff, as well as respect for diversity and the inclusion of people with disabilities in our society. Thus, under the leadership and supervision of VHIO’s Equality Committee, the Equality Plan sets out a series of measures, such as the elimination of any existing imbalances and inequalities for women, or the elimination of any gender pay gap, to ensure the best way forward.
As this report goes to print, we have opened our new building, the Saturnino Center. This new premises provides 900.5 m² new space devoted to strengthening innovation and technology at VHIO.
This year, thanks to the support received from one of our private patrons, the Fundació Privada CELLEX, we completed the renovation of the first floor at our CELLEX Building, now occupied by our eight new research groups.
Another development this year has been the purchase of land for a new VHIO build. Spanning 1,400 m², this plot, situated adjacent to our CELLEX Building, will enable VHIO to sustain its growth in preclinical and translational research and deliver on future priorities and action points set out the Stategic Plan 2023-2025.

Horizons