• The training, which has been developed within the framework of the European IRIS EDIH project, has also addressed the ethical and legal challenges of genomic medicine.

More than 70 healthcare professionals and representatives of private companies and SMEs, as well as people involved in biomedical research, have participated in the course on genomic information interpretation and management "Genomics in Clinical Practice and Biomedical Research", organized within the framework of the Navarra IRIS Digital Innovation Hub and the IRIS EDIH European project by Navarrabiomed and the University of Navarra.

During the opening of the conference, Diego Garrido, managing director of ADItech the coordinating entity of the IRIS EDIH project, has insisted on the importance of this type of course aimed at all parties involved in the development of personalized medicine in Navarra. In addition, he highlighted “the great opportunity that the advanced personalized medicine services offered by the EDIH with up to 100% financing represent for SMEs and the Administration”. 

In this regard, Estefanía Huergo, postdoctoral researcher of the Translational Bioinformatics Unit of Navarrabiomed and Marta Pozuelo, bioinformatics of the computational biology and translational genomics program of the Cima University of Navarra, both in charge of the course, have stressed that “nowadays, it is essential to achieve an interdisciplinary understanding of genomics and incorporate genomic studies in the clinical field, research and the private health sector with the aim of improving health, personalizing treatments and advancing in scientific knowledge.”

The course has made it possible to provide participants with a comprehensive view of the impact of genomics on medical care and biomedical research, alternating theoretical modules on the basic concepts of genetics and genomics, the ethical and legal challenges of genetic counselling or on genomic research. On the other hand, more practical modules have been available on tools and resources for the interpretation of genomic data analysis, the resolution of clinical cases and discussions on real cases and the current state of genomics. 
Maite Mendioroz, director of Navarrabiomed, concluded the conference by recalling the pioneering role of Navarrabiomed in the development of personalized medicine in Navarra, with the  NAGEN program, a strategic initiative promoted by the Government of Navarra to implement genome analysis in the clinical practice of the Navarra Health Service-Osasunbidea. Likewise, Navarrabiomed leads the Precision Medicine Infrastructure associated with Science and Technology in Navarra (IMPaCT), coordinated by the Carlos III Health Institute. It is considered the first step of the new Spanish Strategy of Personalized Medicine and is structured in three programs: Predictive Medicine, Data Science and Genomic Medicine.

Digital transformation services for Personalized Precision Medicine

The Digital Innovation Hub of Navarra, within the framework of the Digital Europe program, has been selected by the European Commission to be part of the first network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs). This incorporation allows IRIS to act as a catalyst for digital transformation by offering its specialized services in Artificial Intelligence, Supercomputing and Personalized Precision Medicine to companies and public entities at regional, national and European levels.
Navarrabiomed also offers consulting and advisory services to accompany the digital transformation process in the personalized medicine sector: Analysis and identification of endpoints - Health; Knowledge generation based on Clinical History; Standardized System of Medical Records, Screening and stratification of patients through the use of  machine learning tools. These services are provided, through IRIS, from the Methodology and Bioinformatics units.