Shining the Spotlight on Outstanding Patient Partnership in PSC Research –Dr. Jesús M. Bañales
2024 Douglas Carlson Research Award for Exceptional Patient Partnering:
- Dr. Jesús Bañales is a recipient of the 2024 PSC Partners Standard Seed Grant Award for his project, “International Validation of Serum Protein Biomarkers for Predicting and Early Diagnosing Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) in Individuals with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)”.
- His project incorporated patient perspectives throughout its development, design, and dissemination; prioritized diverse patient representation across ethnic and geographic backgrounds; and showed strong potential to translate findings into clinical practice.
- In recognition of this exemplary patient engagement, PSC Partners honored him with the 2024 Douglas Carlson Research Award for Exceptional Patient Partnering at our 2024 Annual Conference.
2025 PSC Partners International Collaborative Research Network (ICRN) Award:
- Dr. Jesús Bañales, along with Dr. Pedro Rodrigues, was also awarded funding through PSC Partners International Collaborative Research Network (ICRN) to lead the study, “Prospective Validation of Candidate Blood Biomarkers for PSC-CCA and Development of a Roadmap for their Clinical Implementation (BIOMAP-PSC)”.
- Building on their established preliminary work, the researchers aim to validate identified biomarkers and develop a clinical roadmap for early, non-invasive detection of PSC-associated cholangiocarcinoma (PSC-CCA), identified by patients as one of the most urgent unmet needs in PSC care.
- The study will utilize PSC patient samples from around the world, including both children and adults, and bring together data from several PSC registries and biobanks.
- Early biomarker detection could identify high-risk CCA patients sooner, enabling timely intervention. This can pave the way for personalized screening strategies based on individual CCA risk.
