Dr. Natalia Vilor and Dr. Oriol Grau from the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC) have received the Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación grant. The State Research Agency (AER) attributes this competitive grant to finance the postdoctoral training of researchers in research organizations or R&D centers in Spain for three years. The Juan de la Cierva scholarship is endowed with 30,500 euros per year. In addition, an additional grant of € 6,300 is awarded to cover expenses directly related to the execution of research activities. The scholarship has been awarded to 261 people based on the academic merits and background of the applicants within the center where they carry out their research.
Receiving the help of Juan de la Cierva is a recognition of the scientific career of Dr. Vilor and Dr. Grau. The scholarship will allow both of them to develop their lines of research at the BBRC and continue to disseminate the progress and results they are making at the Pasqual Maragall Foundation’s research center. Dr. Natalia Vilor is a specialist in biostatistics and biogenetics. She is a researcher at the BBRC in the Neuroimaging Research Group, where she studies the influence of genetic factors on changes in brain structure and the relationship of these changes in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative processes. For his part, Dr. Oriol Grau, head of the Clinical Research Group and Risk Factors for Degenerative Diseases, is a neurologist specializing in cognitive disorders. His research focuses on the characterization of the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease using imaging biomarkers and biological fluids, and their relationship to the clinical changes that take place in this phase of the disease.