Euroregional cooperation and scientific excellence. These are the two keys to the BlueBioLab project, one of the three that the University of Vigo obtained in the Poctep 2019 call. The purpose of this proposal, led by Campus do Mar and with a budget of €1,122,152 (of which €841,614 correspond to ERDF aid), is the creation of a cross-border marine biotechnology laboratory. Along with UVigo, which coordinates the project, the universities of A Coruña, Santiago and Minho, the CSIC, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research, Ciimar, are involved.
The launch meeting of this initiative took place this Tuesday at the Faculty of Marine Sciences and, in front of the media, the vice-rector for Social Responsibility, Internationalization and Cooperation, María Isabel Doval, explained that the objective is the creation of a cross-border laboratory of scientific excellence in marine biotechnology that promotes the R&D capacities that each of the partner institutions already have. “We intend for BlueBlioLab to establish the resources and mechanisms to strengthen, stimulate and internationally project strategic lines of research for the territory of the Euroregion and the marine productive sector, promoting the innovative capacity that we already have separately and competitiveness through an area that is already highly competitive.”
For his part, the director of the Campus do Mar, Daniel Rey, highlighted the environment of this project, the Euroregion, with 6.4 million inhabitants living in a border area where 49% of the exchanges between Spain and Portugal take place, which makes it a “very relevant focus from the point of view of economic transactions and the movement of people and goods”. He also recalled that the laboratory will be a network that will include research groups and infrastructures that already exist in both countries. “Through this new body, it will be aimed at promoting the capacity to develop excellence in research and innovation and internationalize R&D&I capacities in this Euroregion”.
The IP of the project, José Manuel García, director of Ecimat, sets the objective for this laboratory to boost the capacity to develop excellence in R&I, internationalize the R&D&I capacities of the Euroregion, optimize the use of infrastructures and contribute to achieving the expected results in the RIS3, RIS3T and the blue growth strategy. Thus, the research staff involved will focus on some of the major challenges facing society and the environment, through the study of marine biological resources, paying special attention to their sustainable exploitation. The preferred lines of research will address topics such as aquaculture and biotechnology, development of new bioactive compounds and biomaterials of marine origin and the use of omics technologies for the understanding of marine biodiversity.
Challenges and opportunities for BlueBioLab
The presentation of this proposal to the Poctep 2019 call responds to the identification of several gaps in this environment of the Euroregion. And despite the dynamism exhibited by certain sectors linked to the sea, Daniel Rey recalls that the general competitiveness of the Euroregion area “is lower than the EU average and both regions are below the European average in innovation”, largely the result of the reduction in R&D investment after the constant pressure to reduce the deficit. Furthermore, as stated in the project report, the “atomization” of the centers that join the network “favors the local nature of innovation processes and limits the benefits of economies of scale”. For this reason, BlueBioLabs has set itself the objective of “promoting cross-border and interdisciplinary research in the Euroregion in the field of biotechnology applied to the marine environment, bringing together research groups of international reference, and promoting exchanges of knowledge and experience and training and internationalization actions that lead to greater efficiency of policies and actions in the field of R&D&I”.
But the implementation of the project is not only surrounded by challenges, but also by opportunities, as Daniel Rey highlighted, including a young population that is highly educated and experienced in R&D, the existence of smart specialization strategies and reference research centers and initiatives of excellence in the marine field on both banks of the Minho. All these factors will be taken into account and exploited in the process of creating the cross-border marine biotechnology laboratory.
Aquaculture and biotechnology, omics technologies and biomaterials
The preferred lines of research for this project are biotechnology, the development of new bioactive compounds and biomaterials of marine origin and the use of omics technologies. Regarding the first of the points, biotechnology research will allow progress in the sustainability of aquaculture, strategic for Galicia, and strengthen the sustainability of this sector as a source of high-quality healthy food for the future.
For its part, R&D on omic technologies for the understanding of marine biodiversity will allow deciphering the complexity of biological and environmental interactions that occur in marine ecosystems. This will help to give value to marine resources and the maritime economy, also highlighting the tourism sector, knowledge and protection of biodiversity to “predict and adapt to the effects of global change on marine ecosystems, protect marine environmental heritage and predict and adapt to biological phenomena such as massive blooms of toxic microalgae”.
Finally, research focused on new bioactive compounds and biomaterials of marine origin is supported by scientific and technological advances recorded within the biosciences, which continuously improve knowledge of marine resources. For example, it will be possible to study the sequence and expression of the DNA of organisms at an unprecedented level in the search for bioactives, new biomaterials, proteins and safe, sustainable and healthy foods.
Source: DUVI
