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Seven UAB projects to receive funding for pandemic research

coronavirus

The Government of Catalonia's PANDÈMIES 2020 call was created to analyse the impact of COVID-19. Seven projects proposed by UAB research groups will receive funding for a total of over 1.5 million euros.

25/03/2021

Through its Secretary of Universities and Research, Catalonia's Ministry for Business and Knowledge will be providing €7,149,550.82 in funding to a total of 32 research projects in several scientific areas focusing on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic through its "PANDÈMIES 2020" grants call. All projects must be conducted in a maximum of 18 months.

The UAB will receive a total of €1,573,255 in funding for seven projects: “A long-lasting anti-Covid-19 subcutaneous vaccine through a novel, industrially competitive and biologically safe nanomimetic concept (INVITA)”, “Municipis resilients a les pandèmies mitjançant el nexe de l'agricultura de proximitat, energia, aigua i residus. Del pilot al municipi”, “Inclusiva, sostenible, saludable i resilient. La mobilitat i la ciutat en l’escenari postpandèmia”, “Pandèmies i organització del treball: generar noves evidències per a la millora de les condicions de treball i vida”, “Estudi PSY-COVID: la recerca al servei de propostes d'impacte social en salut mental i en conductes de prevenció davant la pandèmia”, “Underpinning the intricate connections between abundance of endemic zoonotic viruses in bat populations and ecosystem degradation in Catalonia: building transdisciplinary framework to anticipate the emergence of future pandemics”, and “Real-Time Economic Policy Against a Pandemic When Government and Agents are Learning”.

The government announced this call for grants in autumn 2020 under the name of “Replegar-se per créixer: l'impacte de les pandèmies en un món sense fronteres visibles”, PANDÈMIES 2020, with the aim of analysing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the concept pandemic in general within the Catalan society, with the aim of contributing to proposing measures, models and lines of action that may help to overcome the consequences of Covid-19 and define new prevention, analysis and treatment models.

The PANDÈMIES 2020 grants call registered a total of 185 project proposals with the involvement of 3,162 researchers, 2,787 of whom are also doctors. These applications represent up to 652 consolidated research groups from universities and research centres from around the country, 37% of the 1,741 consolidated research groups currently existing.

The projects are distributed throughout a wide range of research agents existing in Catalonia. A total of 26 projects were proposed by universities, while 6 are led by CERCA research centres. With regards to gender, 9 projects receiving funding are led by female researchers (28%) and 23 by male researchers (72%).

The PANDÈMIES 2020 grants call was processed through the University and Research Grants Management Agency (AGAUR) following an external evaluation process, in accordance with the criteria established in the grants rules and regulations, and following all procedures set down in the agency's evaluation regulations.

This information is related to the following SDG

  • Good health and well-being