He is motivated by scientific curiosity to understand How lifestyle and other external factors influence human health and the appearance of diseases, but also its commitment to sustainability, equality and social equity. Alba Fernández-Sanlés (Xuño, Porto do Son; 1988) combines all these values and interests in his intense personal and professional career. In addition to being a researcher at the MRC Lifelong Health and Aging Unit at the prestigious University College London (UCL), she is responsible for the Outreach department of the Association of Spanish Scientists in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU), collaborates with NGOs and is part of the eighth edition of the Homeward Bound project, which seeks to form a network of scientists from around the world and which will culminate with an expedition to Antarctica.
And her concerns and social conscience don’t let her stay there. As a result of the environmental crisis generated by the spill of ToconaoAnd faced with the impotence of not being able to clean the beaches of her home municipality, Alba promoted the creation of a consortium that brings together scientists and citizens and which has just been published in the magazine Marine Pollution Bulletinan article about the impact of pellets on the Galician coast.
The results of a project on persistent Covid in which he has participated, “a titanic effort” that has involved researchers from all over the United Kingdom and from different disciplines and that will surely have “a great impact” on public health policies.
Passionate about nature since she was a child, Alba wanted to be a researcher and specialized in Molecular biology at the University of Santiago. Later he went to Barcelona and Granada to continue training and overcame two terrible work experiences in Barcelona that affected him emotionally to follow his dreams and PhD in Biomedicine from Pompeu Fabra. Under the direction of Professor Roberto Elosúa, he developed a thesis at the Medical Research Institute of Hospital del Mar on epigenetics – changes in the expression of genes that do not alter DNA and can be influenced by lifestyle – in cardiovascular diseases and cardiometabolic health.
His next step was University of Bristolone of the best in epidemiology in the world, but was incorporated at the end of February 2020, shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic, so the planned projects lost priority compared to those related to Covid.
“There was enormous uncertainty and it was quite a challenge, but also a very fruitful period because In the United Kingdom I found a way to do different science. Here it is collaborative, competitive and modern. It is true that in Barcelona there are more resources and good science is also done, but even so Spain always has the problem of financing. Although there are brilliant minds, multidisciplinary teams and fantastic ideas, there is always a lack of funds for projects or staff stability. Progression is not so easy here, but there are always resources,” she compares.
“The United Kingdom’s measures to reduce legal immigration affect research”
At the beginning of last year, Alba moved to London, to the department of UCL Population Health Sciences, one of the best in the world. The Sonense researcher remembers that it was precisely in the British capital where John Snow’s studies on cholera outbreaks in the 19th century marked the birth of modern epidemiology.
“Instead of studying the disease in an individual, a tissue or a cell, we do it at the level of populations and, in the same group, we converge molecular biologists, physiologists, doctors, psychologists, economists, sociologists… And it is fascinating to integrate all these disciplines in the same questions. Laboratory experiments are very important, but they are not free from bias. However, if you detect something in an observational research with hundreds of thousands of people, it is more likely that it is really happening,” he comments.
Currently, Alba is involved in studies on infections and their impact on health and, within the great project on persistent Covid, it is part of the study Deep Phenotyping, in which volunteers from two large cohorts – groups of individuals who share a common characteristic and are observed over a period of time – from the United Kingdom participate. ”One is from twins and another, based in Bristol, gathers data from pregnant women recruited in the early 90s. And they, their children and grandchildren, and the partners they have had over the years have been followed ever since. throughout these years,” he details.
“I compare the cases of people from those cohorts diagnosed with persistent Covid with those who have not had it to study whether the disease has any long-term impact on organs and systems. The results are interesting and will offer information for the design of health policies. Throughout this year, other studies have already been published on the impact on cognition and inflammatory markers, but it is necessary to continue investigating,” he points out.
A clear example of what epidemiological studies can provide thanks to the data from volunteers collected over years. “I encourage everyone to participate in these studies and donate part of your time,” says Alba, who also advocates representing all populations. “Science has been very colonialist and has forgotten other ethnicities or more disadvantaged social groups, but each time there is a greater effort to take into account diversity. And if we are talking about how lifestyle, culture or diet can have an impact on health, this is key,” she emphasizes.
Next January, the researcher will become the first Galician scientist to participate in the Homeward Bound Antarctic Expedition. Alba Aguión, whose example inspired her, was the pioneer in 2019 after being selected to be part of this international network that promotes the collaboration of experts in different fields to face current challenges, but the pandemic frustrated the campaign to the South Pole.
“The program sparked a lot of interest in me because it addresses three topics that I am passionate about. The change climate and sustainability; the visibility of women scientists, history owes us to take our place; and a new leadership. Until now, political, business and other leaders have led us to very serious problems. And another more inclusive and diverse style is necessary, one that involves the community. A leadership that is more collaborative and less ego-driven,” defends Alba, who was selected in this eighth edition along with 107 other women from 17 countries and 21 nationalities who They must launch their own campaign crowdfundingto finance the trip.
Encouraged by these same values, in her free time, the woman from Sonora also coordinates the Outreach department of SRUK/CERU, from where she promotes initiatives such as a book of stories that she has already managed to send to schools in Ribeira. “I like to do inclusive science not only among scientists, but also with the community so that it reaches everyone. Communicators and disseminators are essential, but we also have the obligation to bring what we do to our environment of origin or the one in which we live. This increases scientific culture and helps us all be more informed to make decisions and participate in debates,” she says with conviction.
Alba remains closely linked to her land, to which she would like to return one day to establish a birth cohort with pregnant Galician women to carry out epidemiological studies. “A filla de Rosamari do Lourenso ou dos Roxos” and “neta de María a ghalantiña”, as she presents herself in her Homeward Bound campaign, play the tambourine and dance on Saturdays with the Galician Network in the United Kingdom (REGA-UK). And she is the promoter of Vieira, the voluntary initiative for innovation and research in the Atlantic that was born after the crisis of the Toconao as “the fruit of a collective effort.”
“People were organizing themselves in WhatsApp groups to clean the beaches, only the population was facing the disaster. I felt helpless and thinking about how I could help from here, it occurred to me to create a consortium of which we were scientists and also citizens. It is collaborative, transparent and we are open to more people who want to contribute,” he highlights. In addition to publishing its first scientific article, the network has also sent a proposal to the European Parliament to inspire changes in transport policies that stop this “recurrent problem at an international level.” “It is a just cause,” he insists, “that needs to be made visible.”