Two Fuerteventura medical research projects recognised by the Las Palmas Medical Association Foundation

The Las Palmas Medical Association Foundation has recognised two research projects by healthcare professionals in Fuerteventura in the 31st edition of its Research and Training Placement Grants (I+E). The projects examine muscle loss in patients undergoing haemodialysis and the effects of night work on healthcare staff.

One of the recipients is Avinash Chandu Nanwani, a nephrology specialist at Fuerteventura General Hospital. He is researching how exercise during haemodialysis sessions might help reduce frailty and muscle loss in patients.

The project focuses on one of the complications that can affect people with kidney disease who receive this treatment regularly. The research aims to establish whether adding physical activity during sessions can help improve their physical condition.

The second grant awarded in Fuerteventura went to Antonia Mª Alemán Suárez, a family and community medicine resident at Puerto del Rosario II Health Centre. Her research examines the effects of night work on healthcare professionals’ health.

Her study looks at the possible effects of night shifts on people working in healthcare, an issue linked to working conditions and the health of the staff themselves.

A total of €157,000 for research and training

The two Fuerteventura projects are among 30 research and training placement projects selected this year by the Las Palmas Medical Association Foundation, which has allocated €157,000 to the grants, €16,000 more than in 2025.

This year, 14 research grants and 16 training placement grants have been awarded to professionals working at healthcare centres in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

Standard grants have risen from €4,500 to €5,000, while the top awards in both categories are worth €7,000.

Among the other recognised projects is one by Eduardo Sobejano Fuertes, a haematologist at Lanzarote’s Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital, researching international inequalities in access to cancer medicines.

The top awards in this year’s call went to two professionals at Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín University Hospital.

Mora Guardamagna, a medical oncology specialist, received the Santiago González-Jaraba Research Award for a project examining whether the timing of lung cancer treatment affects its effectiveness and side effects.

Meanwhile, Mª Luisa Pérez Rodríguez, a radiation oncology resident, received the Ylenia León Training Placement Award to train in proton therapy at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. The technique allows radiation to be directed more precisely at certain tumours.

The call also includes research into the use of artificial intelligence for the early detection of heart disease, as well as projects on transplants, haemophilia and the care of critically ill patients. It also funds specialist training placements at healthcare centres in Spain and abroad.

The Foundation has maintained the number of grants awarded in 2025 while increasing their total value, with the aim of supporting medical research and helping bring new knowledge and techniques into healthcare in the Canary Islands.