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Group Leader at the Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias de Santiago and the Servicio Gallego de Salud (IDIS-SERGAS)<\/b> Obesity is expected to become the leading preventable cause of cancer in the coming years. In the case of breast cancer\u2014the most common cancer among women and the second leading cause of female mortality\u2014obesity not only increases the risk of developing the disease but also raises the likelihood of relapse after treatment, complicating recovery and accelerating aging in survivors. Although it is well established that obesity worsens prognosis, there are still no clinical studies evaluating whether weight loss actually improves the effectiveness of cancer treatments. Crujeiras\u2019 project aims to generate this evidence for the first time. The study will involve postmenopausal women with obesity, with and without breast cancer, who will follow either a low-calorie ketogenic diet\u2014a very low-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, and healthy-fat dietary pattern\u2014or a Mediterranean-based nutritional intervention for weight loss, comparing outcomes with groups of women of healthy weight. Supported by the Jes\u00fas Serra Research Award, this project will help improve oncological treatments by integrating nutritional therapies into clinical care, advance personalized medicine, and promote preventive and sustainable strategies to reduce the health and social impact of obesity. About Ana Bel\u00e9n Crujeiras: She holds a degree in Biology from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and a PhD in Physiology and Nutrition from the University of Navarra (UNAV). She leads the Epigenomics in Endocrinology and Nutrition group at the Health Research Institute of Santiago (IDIS) and at CIBER in Obesity and Nutrition Pathophysiology (CIBERobn), and she is a professor in the Endocrinology doctoral program at USC. Her research focuses on how diet and nutritional status influence health through epigenetic mechanisms, with a special interest in obesity and its comorbidities, including cancer. She is an associate editor and member of several editorial boards, serves on the board of the Spanish Society of Obesity (SEEDO), and participates in scientific advisory programs and public health initiatives.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/maria-mittelbrunn-vertical.jpg” align=”center” use_border_color=”off” max_width=”250px” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” _builder_version=”3.9″ \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” background_color=”rgba(234,234,234,0.49)” custom_css_main_element=”padding:40px;” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.9″]<\/p>\n
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Senior Scientist at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CSIC) and Laboratory Director at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CSIC-UAM).<\/b><\/p>\n
Our immune system protects us from infections, pathogens and diseases like cancer. However, as we age, it weakens and becomes less effective. This process, known as immunosenescence, also leads to a state of chronic inflammation in the body, increasing the risk of age-related diseases such as cardiovascular or neurodegenerative conditions.<\/p>\n
Mar\u00eda Mittelbrunn and her team study how to delay this immunosenescence, specifically the metabolic deterioration of T lymphocytes, through combinations of diets and pharmacological compounds. With the Jes\u00fas Serra Research Awards, Mittelbrunn will analyse new nutritional strategies in animal models that could improve the metabolism of T lymphocytes, thereby rejuvenating the immune system, controlling chronic inflammation and promoting healthy ageing.<\/p>\n
About Mar\u00eda Mittelbrunn<\/strong>: After earning her PhD in Biomedicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), the University of Oviedo and the Curie Institute in Paris, as well as a principal investigator at the 12 de Octubre Hospital. She currently leads the Laboratory of Immunometabolism and Inflammation at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CBM) in Madrid and is a Senior Scientist at CSIC.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ specialty=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″ _builder_version=”3.9″ custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”0px|||” module_id=”previous_editions”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.9″ custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”0px|||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.9″] Content missing<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text use_border_color=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.9″] Awardees of the Research Awards Jes\u00fas Serra [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text use_border_color=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.9″] Winners of the 7th Edition [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_button _builder_version=”3.9″ button_text=”View previous editions” background_layout=”dark” button_url=”#previous_editions” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ana-belen-crujeiras.jpg” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”off” align=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” max_width=”250px” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2418","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2418"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5760,"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2418\/revisions\/5760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/edicion.fundacionoccident.org\/investigacion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}