On Tuesday, April 1st, H.M. Queen Letizia visited the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center. It was an opportunity to discuss CIMCYC's research excellence and its impact on improving the quality of life and advancing knowledge in Psychology and Neuroscience.
The director of CIMCYC, María Ruz, expressed her gratitude for the Royal House's visit and stressed how important it is to make university research visible and "how this research contributes knowledge both at a basic and applied level to improve society and people's lives, which is what we really owe ourselves to." The University of Granada also presented the Chair in Clinical Psychoneuroimmunology, directed by Santiago Navarro Ledesma, which operates from the Health Sciences Campus in Melilla.
H.M. the Queen visited the center accompanied by the Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla. Together with the Rector of the UGR and other public and University of Granada authorities, they toured the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Laboratory and the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory.
In these laboratories, some of the center's researchers explained some projects and lines of research in areas such as neuropsychology, cognitive and developmental neuroscience and social psychology.
The director of CIMCYC, María Ruz, expressed her gratitude for the visit of the Royal Household and stressed how important it is to make university research visible and "how this research contributes knowledge both at a basic and applied level to improve society and people's lives, which is
Likewise, H.M. The Queen met with the Applied Neuropsychology and Psychoneuroimmunology Research Group. Isabel Peralta, a researcher at the center and member of this group, is the president of the Scientific Society of Psychoneuroimmunology, which aims to make visible how emotions, thoughts and behaviors can modulate the immune system.
Recognition of research excellence
The UGR rector, Pedro Mercado Pacheco, stressed that Her Majesty's visit "corroborates the work of excellence that is carried out at the UGR and, in general, in the public university system in Spain."
In addition to presenting the CIMCYC, María Ruz emphasized the importance of excellent science in the current context:
"Excellence science is a science well done; it is a quality science where we have rigorous experimental designs, good control of variables, such as the placebo effect, and solid statistical analysis. Why? Because we want the solutions we offer to society to be supported by data".
She also stressed that “excellent science is an egalitarian, diverse and collaborative science.” For this, she said it is essential to train students in critical thinking, support fair publishing models, work for an open science with public results, and value people's talent and diversity.
Finally, she spoke about how the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center works so that research results have a tangible impact on society and are disseminated in understandable languages.
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