Environmental Health and Precision Medicine Program (PRESAM)

Objectives

General objectives

PRESAM recognizes both the urgency and the transformative potential of the environmental health challenges facing Lleida. Its overarching goal is to build a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment that advances understanding of the health impacts of complex environmental exposures. Through a structured, cross-sectoral approach, PRESAM aims to:

• Develop an integrated research framework that addresses the health effects of multifactorial environmental exposures, with a particular focus on the specificities of the Lleida region.
• Generate scientific knowledge that is directly applicable to real-world challenges, while supporting the implementation of precision medicine strategies for prevention, risk mitigation and evidence-based decision-making.
• Establish a sustainable internal collaboration framework that promotes interdisciplinary synergy and strengthens future applications to national and international research funding programs.
• Support existing projects at IRBLleida by creating a collaborative platform that facilitates synergy among ongoing initiatives.
• Train a new generation of researchers equipped to address emerging environmental health issues through innovative, data-driven methodologies

Specific objectives

Research Coordination Objectives

• Develop predictive models to identify individuals and populations at heightened health risk due to environmental exposures.
• Enable early detection of vulnerable populations and high-risk environments to support targeted public health interventions.
• Create and maintain long-term databases for interdisciplinary data sharing and future research.
• Establish integrated monitoring systems that combine environmental, clinical and molecular health data.
• Collaborate with regional public health authorities and stakeholders to translate scientific findings into policies and practical applications.

Capacity Building Objectives

• Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration in environmental health by connecting academic, clinical and industrial stakeholders.
• Act as a platform for dialogue and knowledge transfer among researchers, clinicians and industry partner.
• Strengthen collaboration with European networks in One Health, Planetary Health, climate-health interactions and environmental epidemiology.
• Reduce inequality in research by ensuring equitable access to advanced techniques and equipment, regardless of the social, economic or gender status of partner institutions.
• Ensure ongoing exchange of knowledge, skills and expertise through activities such as annual scientific meetings and training schools.
• Provide structured training opportunities in environmental health for IRBLleida personnel at all career stages, enhancing internal capacity and institutional leadership in this emerging field.
• Promote leadership and involvement of early-career researchers.