Launched only two years ago, the three cross-disciplinary groups of the Severo Ochoa programme already have exciting results and ongoing projects to report.

The Biomedical Data Science group started several collaborations, one of them with the Malaria Immunology group to measure the cross-reactivity of antibodies induced by the RTS,S vaccine to other malarial antigens (results to be published soon). The group is also focusing on computer vision and medical image analysis through collaborations with two teams at IDIBELL to investigate aspects of ageing and regenerative medicine and the early diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

The eHealth group developed a pilot smartphone-based behavioural intervention to promote a sustainable healthy diet among Barcelona residents and launched an app-based longitudinal study to characterise changes in mental health and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also started several projects to characterise, with high spatio-temporal resolution, the impact of extreme weather events on behaviour and mental health through the use of wearables and smartphones.

The Health Impact Assessment group published results of several collaborations within and beyond the institution, from evaluating the impact of adequate urban and transport planning and of implementing the WHO’s new air quality guidelines in Europe (1,2,3) to the impact of replacing kerosene-based lighting with renewable electricity in East Africa (4). The group also developed a microsimulation model to analyse the impact of fiscal policies on child health in Europe, using Italy as an example (5), and provided evidence on the benefits of cash transfer programmes to reduce maternal deaths in Brazil (6).

Each of the three group leaders coordinated a course module in the Severo Ochoa Summer School 2021, and Paula Petrone, head of the Data Science group, organised the Women in Data Science event (WiDS Barcelona 2021).

  1. Iungman T. Environ Res.
  2. Pereira E. Lancet Planetary Health.
  3. Khomenko S. Lancet Planetary Health.
  4. Ortega N. Energy Sustain Dev.
  5. Rasella D. BMC Med.
  6. Rasella D. BMC Med.

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