Mariona Pujol: "The professionalized management of research makes it possible to obtain more resources"

The coordinator of the IDIAPJGol Project Management Unit hung up her lab coat to dedicate to identify funding opportunities for research staff and advise them on obtaining funds to carry out research. She claims that she finds her work very attractive, which allows her to continue to be very close to research from another perspective.

Nearly ten years ago, Mariona Pujol assumed the role of coordinator within IDIAPJGol's Project Management Unit. In this capacity, she facilitates access to funding sources for the Institute's research personnel, enabling the execution of their projects. What captivates her about her role is the opportunity to witness the entire lifecycle of research endeavors, from their inception to the realization of tangible outcomes.

You have a degree in Pharmacy and a doctorate in Biomedicine and you are now dedicated to managing research projects. What led you to do this job?

After completing my PhD thesis, I found myself struggling to envision a future as a researcher. The demanding nature of basic research required a level of dedication and commitment that I neither could nor wanted to fully undertake. Additionally, the precarious working conditions in our country, coupled with the pervasive sense of gender disparity in the field, dissuaded me from pursuing a traditional research path. I realized that I was not comfortable leading the research. I joined the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute as a lab manager and then as a project manager in a research group, and I started to find the right-hand job of research, from a management perspective, very attractive to me. I saw that research groups that have this figure get much more funding. In addition, it is a place that allows to be very close to the research without the negative part that comes with being a researcher.

Is the role of the project manager well defined?

No, our profession is very poorly defined. The people who work there have very different professional profiles. From scientific editors, people who can write a project for you, to managers who provide support to process all the documentation, through accountants, administrators, lawyers, or human resources technicians, who are responsible for making a good interpretation of the regulations and the execution of the funds. In Catalonia, there is a network of professional research managers, which is CARMA, and in Europe there is another, EARMA, and probably in the future this profession will become a university career. What is clear is that the existence of qualified management staff in the research centres makes it possible to capture more resources and improve their execution and, therefore, their applicability.

"Probably in the future the research management will become a university career"

What activities does the IDIAPJGol Project Management Unit do?

At the UGP we support the research staff to carry out their research and we coordinate with the rest of the management staff in the territory. We promote and manage the research. The promotion entails inspiring primary care professionals interested in research to actively participate in funding opportunities and organize themselves into cohesive research groups. Most of the people at the UGP have scientific background and this is very important, because it allows us to advise the groups by speaking their own language, understanding their needs, and finding the call that best suits them. We bring a plus to the preparation and management of the project. On the other hand, the fact that we have a global vision of the research carried out at the Institute, which is present throughout Catalonia, allows us to connect lines of research and foster internal and external collaborations with other institutions. We have a bird's eye view that allows us to connect groups and lines of research.

In terms of management, we accompany the researchers by taking care of the bureaucracy involved in applying for public calls and developing the funded projects. We have the advantage of seeing the entire life of the project, from start to finish.

In addition, every year, between September and October, we carry out teaching activities for all management and research staff that are very well received, in which we explain how to successfully submit a proposal to a call, either for research or innovation, internal, national, or international.

How do you see IDIAPJGol?

I see IDIAPJGol as a committed institution, with a lot of potential. In our country we have a model of primary care that other countries do not have, and the existence of an institute like ours, with a consolidated trajectory of more than 25 years, focused on research in the first care level, and managing a clinical database as powerful as SIDIAP is very peculiar. Centres like ours can be counted on the fingers of one hand in the rest of the country and in Europe, and this makes us very attractive.

The problem is that the medical staff is collapsed and not motivated enough to investigate. Often, doing research in primary care is a voluntary, vocational, and unpaid activity that they carry out in their free time. This makes the funded amount very low and this, for a research centre, means little income in the form of overheads, while our projects have the same bureaucratic burden as basic research projects, which move much more money.

As a positive aspect, I would highlight the variety of our research. We address very diverse topics. Also, unlike basic research, the results of our clinical research have a very short trajectory. We immediately see the applicability of our research.

"IDIAPJGol is a committed institution, with a lot of potential"

What is the main milestone achieved by the Unit? What are their main challenges?

What we are most proud of is that we have managed to increase the unit by two people thanks to the GoEurope call, from the Catalan Department of Health. It is the second time that we have achieved it, and the purpose is to increase the participation in European but also international calls and thus increase the collection of international funds. This results in a better visibility and international positioning of the institute and, therefore, in an increase in the impact of our research. On the other hand, we think that the coordination with the management and reference staff of the different USRs is increasingly close, and allows us to provide very personalized support, both for internal aid, as well as for national and international ones.

What changes have there been in recent years in competitive calls, especially after the pandemic?

After the pandemic, research in mental health and the aspects related to the health of the health professionals themselves has been greatly enhanced. There are also more calls related to logistics and preparation for possible new pandemics. We also have a challenge, which is the digitization of the health system, in which we are very behind in our country, and calls related to large databases, in which we are very well positioned thanks to SIDIAP.

Collaboration is often crucial in scientific research. What collaborations does IDIAPJGol maintain with other research institutions?

 

There are more established collaborations than others and we often obtain them through personal contacts. At the regional level, I would highlight the relationship with the ICS research centres such as the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute, the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute and the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute, although we also work stably with the Research Institute of Sant Pau and Santa Creu Hospital and the Sant Joan de Déu Foundation. At national level, for example, we have been leading the primary care network for years, currently RICAPPS, which positions us as leaders in the sector. At European level, the ERASMUS Medical Center, NIVEL, the Universities of Aarhus, Oxford, Exeter and the Karolinska Institute would be the most prominent.