Focus on PHIRI partners: the PHIRI team from the Instituto De Salud Carlos III: Who is who?

A team of 10 researchers from the Institute of Health Carlos III, Spain, brings a wide expertise on COVID-19 to 7 PHIRI Work Packages.

From left to right on the picture: Inmaculada León, Amparo Larrauri, Asunción Díaz, João Forjaz, Teresa Valero, Rebeca Ramis, Carmen Rodriguez-Blazquez, César Garriga.

The PHIRI team from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Spain, is formed by 10 researchers, most of them bringing experience in COVID-19 from other projects. The multidisciplinary team is directly involved in 7 out of the 9 PHIRI work packages (WP). Two members work fulltime for PHIRI, Teresa Valero and César Garriga.

Amparo Larrauri (MPharm, PhD) participates in the WP5 (research methodologies). She has coordinated the studies in Spain within the I-MOVE platform, to measure influenza vaccine effectiveness and the impact of vaccination programmes and participates in the current Horizon 2020 I-MOVE-COVID-19 and the ECDC project to measure COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness at European level (VEBIS).

Asuncion Díaz, trained as a medical epidemiologist, participates in WP4 (Health Information Portal) and WP5 (research methodologies). She coordinates the implementation of a biomedical research repository about COVID-19 in Spain.

Carmen Rodríguez-Blazquez is a psychologist with expertise in public health. In PHIRI, she participates in WP5 and WP6 (research use cases). She also collaborates in a national research project on behavioural insights related to the pandemic (COSMO-Spain).

César Garriga, trained as a biologist and epidemiologist, takes part in WP5. He recently co-authored a study assessing the association between Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes in 2.6 million children in England published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Inmaculada León, trained as a statistician, participates in WP7 (federated research infrastructure) and WP9 (foresight). She works in the Spanish daily mortality surveillance system. 

M. João Forjaz, trained as a psychologist, is the ISCIII-PHIRI leader, and co-leader of WP5. She also coordinates the COSMO-Spain, a WHO survey about behavioural insights.

Marta Marín, trained as a biologist and research manager, participates in WP3 (engagement). As part of the European Project Office of ISCIII, she is involved in several COVID-19 EU-funded projects such as VACCELERATE, Elixir Converge and ECDC/Hera Incubator on improving national capacities for SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance.

Rebeca Ramis, trained as a statistician, participates in WP8 (Rapid Exchange Forum). Besides, she leads a study about COVID-19 spread factors in Spain.

Susana Monge (MD, MPH, PhD) participates in WP9 (foresight). She is leading COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness studies based on electronic registries in Spain and is co-leader of Lot4 of the ECDC project to measure COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness at European level (VEBIS).

Teresa Valero (PhD), trained as a dietitian and food technologist, participates in WP4 (HIP), WP5 and WP8. She has participated in projects and trainings focused on improving the health status of the Spanish population (mainly, pediatric population).