Tec promotes global health innovation with new center in Spain

The creation of the Eva and José Antonio Fernández Carbajal Research Center in Oviedo, Spain, has been announced with the goal of promoting ophthalmological research, the development of advanced therapies, and international medical training. 

This research center, to be opened in the near future, is the product of an agreement signed between the Fernández-Vega University Institute, Tecnológico de Monterrey’s leading health education institution TecSalud, and the University of Oviedo. 

The new center (whose motto will be “Where research becomes health”) will be housed by the Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute and will consolidate the city of Oviedo’s position as an international leader in ophthalmological training and research.   

 

• José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, Executive President and General Director of the FEMSA Board of Directors  

• David Garza Salazar, Executive President of the Tecnológico de Monterrey Education Group   

• Ricardo Saldívar Escajadillo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tecnológico de Monterrey Education Group 

• Luis Fernández-Vega, President of the Fernández-Vega University Institute  

• Ignacio Villaverde, Rector of the University of Oviedo  

“This alliance opens up a new avenue of knowledge-based collaboration to overcome humanity’s challenges in the health field,” said Saldívar Escajadillo. 

“We want the medical innovation and research center to be an institution of excellence concerning knowledge and the generation of new ideas that translate into improved visual health and quality of life for thousands of people in Spain and Mexico,” said Fernández Carbajal.  

“(We want it to be) a meeting place where young scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs from both countries can work on joint projects and innovative solutions,” he added.  

The agreement stipulates that this center will enable the joint development of high-impact international projects in ophthalmology and related areas of health sciences.   

Furthermore, it lays the foundations for collaboration in the fields of medical training, biomedical research, and knowledge transfer between both countries through the participating institutions.  

“The memorandum we signed with TecSalud and the University of Oviedo targets the fields of medical research and comprehensive training for researchers and scientists. Consequently, it will represent a significant step forward and a major boost to the commitment of Oviedo and Asturias to these areas,” underscored Professor Luis Fernández-Vega, President of the Fernández-Vega University Institute. 

“We are taking a qualitative, quantitative, and geographic leap forward. The support of José Antonio Fernández Carbajal and his wife, Eva Garza, reflects their firm commitment to science, research, and their Asturian roots,” he added. 

The projects to be developed at the new center have the backing of José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, a renowned Mexican businessman born in Asturias, and his wife, Eva Garza Lagüera Gonda.  

These projects will follow three main lines of work:  

This project will promote exchange and training for students, doctors, and healthcare professionals between Mexico and Spain with scholarship programs supported by both institutions and the University of Oviedo.  

These projects will foment a series of joint projects between TecSalud and the Fernández-Vega University Institute, as well as the joint participation of Dr. Per-Olof Berggren as principal researcher in the project for the implantation of pancreatic islets in the anterior chamber of the eye. 

This is aimed at establishing and consolidating science and technology-based companies.  

During the signing ceremony, representatives from the institutions highlighted the importance of this collaboration in strengthening academic and scientific cooperation between Spain and Mexico, with a view to positioning Oviedo as an international hub for biomedical and ophthalmological innovation.  

“The creation of this Center promotes collaboration between Tecnológico de Monterrey’s talent and researchers from prestigious institutions such as the Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute and the Karolinska Institute (Sweden),” said David Garza, Executive President of the Tecnológico de Monterrey Education Group. 

“With these initiatives we are promoting a vision of impactful research aimed at developing innovative solutions to complex health problems, which is one of the priorities of our Academic Health Center at TecSalud,” he added. 

During the presentation of this agreement, the institutions organized an international scientific forum at which the latest advances in ophthalmology and medical research were discussed.  

This event was attended by researcher Per-Olof Berggren, professor at the Karolinska Institute and distinguished professor of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases at Tecnológico de Monterrey’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences.  

The professor presented his research on the relationship between diabetes and the anterior chamber of the eye, an area that opens up new perspectives for the diagnosis of this metabolic disease.   

As he explained, this diagnosis can be used as a research tool and in clinical practice to treat this disease.  

The goal of the Fernández-Vega University Institute (initials in Spanish: IUFV) is to teach ophthalmology and vision sciences by offering a variety of graduate programs such as master’s degrees and doctorates.  

It also conducts research and teaching activities in ophthalmology and vision sciences in conjunction with the University of Oviedo. 

The Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute was founded in 1886 and treats 100,000 people a year suffering from ophthalmological disorders.