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is an example of a professional who has a proven international impact and scientific research excellence in mental health in our country, was appointed Assistant Scientific Director of this CIBER in 2014 .
The main objective of favouring translational research of excellence in mental health is sought through pro- grammes and platforms . All the programmes (depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, therapeutic in- novation, child and adolescent psychiatry and psychosomatic, anxiety and impulse control disorders) consist of preclinical research groups which are one of the greatest assets of this CIBER . The working of transversal structures, such as research platforms, has been reinforced in 2014 . The number of genetic samples in our DNA platform, which already totals 12,000, is increasingly more appealing for international consortiums, and it also allows being able to conduct national studies that would otherwise be impossible . The CIBER is part of or is in the process of becoming part of the most important international consortiums dealing with genetics in mental disorders, and these consortiums are the only way to get enough samples for the genetic study of complex pathologies like ours . We have continued to work hard on the application joining the DNA platform with the common database . At present, any researcher of this CIBER can know about the availability of samples with specific characteristics (diagnosis, age of onset of the disorder, sex, race, existence family members in the platform, etc .) and the groups to contact to be able to use this platform in the most efficient manner . The instrument bank platform continues to provide excellent service to clinical researchers inside and outside this CIBER . Improvement to the GRIDSAM tool, which allows entering data in multicentre projects, continues and it currently includes data from thousands of patients .
We continue to be committed to Europe, especially considering the delicate economic situation of our country . We are sure that a return can be further improved through participation and coordination by our groups in projects funded by the European Union . The participation of more than half the CIBERSAM groups in European projects and our Centre’s coordination in strategic projects within the European Union attest to this . The final recommendations of the Roadmap for Mental Health Research in Europe (ROAMER), coordinated by the CIBERSAM and presented in the European Parliament by Josep Maria Haro, will mark the future priority lines for mental health funding within Horizon 2020 .
In 2014, we continued to foster and enhance our relations with family and patient associations by holding meetings and joint acts with many of them, and by participating, in collaboration with the industry and other agents, in campaigns against the stigma of people with disabilities or mental health myths . We par- ticipated in the “Semana de la Ciencia” and have supported a growing number of scientific activities . We continued to work on having a more dynamic, intuitive web page, providing access to the priority content of the page . Our Twitter account, @CIBER_SAM, which communicates our activities and most important discoveries, already has over 700 followers, and our Facebook page is increasingly more active .
One of the key objectives of this CIBER since its incorporation was to train young researchers in the pleasing and stimulating task of mental health research . In 2014, we held the second year of our Master’s course in Introduction to Mental Health Research with the participation of five of the best universities in the country . There was such a large number of applicants that we had to select those which would have the greatest future impact and had to discard most applicants . It was a success which proves that an existing need in our country has been covered .
Now more than ever, it is time to conduct efficient research aimed at improving the health and quality of life of individuals at the lowest possible cost, without jeopardizing all that has been achieved over recent years . Only through the common effort of those best prepared for doing this task together with the support of the new generations of talented researchers integrated in groups of excellence will get us out of this situation and make us strong enough to face current and future challenges .
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