A delegation from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, visits the UMH
7 November 2024
To strengthen cooperation between allied universities within the European University of Brain and Technology –NeurotechEU, Doctors in Neurorehabilitation from the “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMF) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania –a NeurotechEU partner university– Rodica Ungur and Monica Borda, along with residents from the Cluj University Hospital Timea Bărăian, Anca Guțu (Gutu), Victor Labo, Mihaela Molnar, and Andrada Maria Preda, visited Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH).
Upon arrival, they were received by Vicente Micol, Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Cooperation; Juana Gallar, project leader at UMH and Director of the Institute of Neurosciences (UMH-CSIC); Inmaculada Blaya, Director of the International Relations, Development Cooperation, and Volunteering Service; José María Azorín, researcher at the Elche Institute of Research in Engineering I3E-UMH involved in joint teaching activities of NeurotechEU; Antonio Ferrer Montiel, Director of the Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IDiBE); Fernando Borrás, Director of the UMH Cyborg Centre; and Santiago Canals, researcher at the Institute of Neurosciences (a joint UMH and CSIC centre) also involved in NeurotechEU teaching activities.
During their visit, the UMF delegation toured the Dr Balmis University General Hospital in Alicante, where they were welcomed by Medical Director Luis Alberto Mena and Head of the Neurology Department Carmina Díaz Marín, as well as Cristina Alenda, Director of the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL).
Furthermore, with Vicente Micol and Inmaculada Blaya, they learned more about UMH’s organization and its involvement in the NeurotechEU Alliance, allowing the UMF representatives to explore potential future collaboration between the two universities in the field of technology applied to neurorehabilitation.
In their meeting with José María Azorín, he introduced them to the Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab at UMH and shared several ongoing projects. The Romanian visitors also had the opportunity to test a ‘video game’ for motor rehabilitation developed by UMH doctoral student Vicente Quiles Zamora, based on the optimisation of a brain-computer interface that decodes signals generated in the brain while the subject imagines movements.
At IDiBE, they met researchers David Cabañero, Enrique Barrajón Catalán, and María Herranz López, who showed them around the facilities and explained some of their projects. For example, Cabañero demonstrated a 3D bioprinter that prints a model of human skin, allowing for drug and cosmetic testing.
Fernando Borrás and Juan Carlos Rodríguez then showed them the Cyborg Centre, where students train for real-life situations in rooms simulating a real hospital. Here, they met Leonardo and Miguel, two interactive ‘mannequins’ that respond to the diagnostic and therapeutic decisions made by health science students at the Sant Joan UMH campus.
The UMF delegation concluded their visit at the Institute of Neurosciences (UMH-CSIC). There, De Santis and Eggl presented their work on the development, optimization, and application of innovative, non-invasive, and translational magnetic resonance imaging tools. Meanwhile, Canals and Marcos explained how using animal models and advanced techniques – such as combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological recordings – allows them to study the reorganization of neural circuits involved in learning and memory.
The European University of Brain and Technology, NeurotechEU, is an alliance of eight European universities focused on neuroscience and neurotechnology. By building a trans-European network of excellence in brain research and technologies, NeurotechEU enhances the competitiveness of European education, research, economy, and society. In addition to UMH, this alliance includes Radboud University (Netherlands), the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), the University of Bonn (Germany), Boğaziçi University (Turkey), the “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Romania), the University of Lille (France), and the University of Reykjavík (Iceland). This meeting was organized by Juana Gallar, the head of NeurotechEU at UMH.
