Grifols : Award Winner of the 2016 SPIN Awards Program

• Created in 2008, the SPIN Awards Program supports the development and testing of innovative ideas and hypotheses in the field of immunoglobulin research in neurology.
• The research project was awarded to Luis Querol for presenting the IVIG effects on regulatory B cells in patients with neuroimmune diseases.

Glasgow, United Kingdom, June 22, 2016 - For the eighth consecutive year, Grifols presents the SPIN (Scientific Progress - Immunoglobulins in Neurology) Awards as a part of the Grifols Scientific Awards program, which is committed to promoting scientific research.

The SPIN Awards Program supports the development and testing of innovative ideas and hypotheses in the field of immunoglobulin research in neurology. It was launched in 2008 under its former name, eSPIN (European Scientific Progress - Immunoglobulins in Neurology). Since 2015, the scope of the SPIN Awards has been extended and now invites applications from around the globe.
The winner of the 2016 SPIN Award is: Luis Querol, MD and PhD, from Spain.

His project 'IVIg effects on regulatory B cells in patients with neuroimmune diseases' aims to uncover potentially relevant mechanisms of action of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg), as well as to characterize the role of regulatory B cells in the pathogenesis of inflammatory neurological diseases, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and myasthenia gravis. It has the potential to improve the understanding of inflammatory diseases of the peripheral nerves, hopefully helping to improve the treatment of patients suffering from these rare neurological conditions. This convinced the international jury to award Luis Querol with a research grant for funding of the proposed project for one year.

About the SPIN Awards Program

The SPIN program offers a prize of €50,000 for the proposal that best matches the program's objectives:

• To develop novel concepts in immunoglobulin research in neurology
• To encourage the discovery of beneficial immunoglobulin applications in neurological disorders
• To promote research on novel therapeutic options for patients with neurological conditions.

The application process for the 2017 cycle commences on August 1st 2016 and will remain open until 31st January 2017.

Applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent outlining the aims of their research project. After this step, the Review Committee, which comprises experts from healthcare and research, decides upon a shortlist of candidates to submit a full proposal. The full proposals, in which the projects are described in detail, are then evaluated before a final selection is made.

The program is open to all young clinicians and researchers up to an age of 40 years working in hospitals and/or scientific research centers, working independently or as a team. Profit-orientated projects and projects with the participation of pharmaceutical companies will not be considered.

More information regarding the SPIN award, candidature requirements and the application procedure can be found at: www.spin-awards.com