The National Directorate of the Research and Development Agency (ANID), through the Research Projects Sub-directorate, reported on those selected to receive financing from the Fondecyt Research Initiation Project Contest 2023 and Fondecyt Regular 2023.
UDLA Communications.- In the Initiation contest, six projects were selected belonging to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Agronomy; Architecture, Animation, Design and Construction and Health and Social Sciences from UDLA.
According to the ANID, The objective of this contest is to encourage and strengthen the development of scientific and technological research of excellence through the promotion of new researchers, by financing research projects lasting 2 to 3 years in all areas of knowledge.
Research academics will have the opportunity to request a maximum annual amount of 30 million pesos to use for resources such as fees, scholarships, technical personnel or operating expenses.
While the Regular Fund 2023which finances scientific or technological research projects, that is, that lead to new knowledge or applications foreseen through work hypotheses specified in the project, The projects of two UDLA academics were selected for awarding: Felipe Jiménez, academic researcher and coordinator of research and postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences and Sebastián Elgueta, academic researcher at the UDLA School of Agronomy.
“We are very proud with the six projects selected for the award in the Fondecyt Initiation contest and the two projects in the Fondecyt Regular contest. This not only confirms the quality of the research that our academics are carrying out, but also demonstrates with concrete facts that the research area is in a more advanced stage of consolidation.”, affirmed Erwin Krauskopf, Vice Chancellor for Research at UDLA.
One of the academics who was awarded this Initiation Fund was Izaskun Álvarez, researcher at the Faculty of Health and Social Scienceswho leads the project “Educating in self-determination at the end of life: a training proposal aimed at aging people with intellectual disabilities”.
“This award opens a range of opportunities to deepen, from research, the needs of a population that is doubly discriminated against: for being older and having an intellectual disability. Precisely, obtaining this Fondecyt makes it possible to contribute, as far as possible, to eradicating the constant violation of rights that to date defines the reality of this very specific and at the same time so forgotten population.”, sentenced Álvarez.
For his part, Lorena Ramírez, author of the project “Policy and practice for the promotion of well-being at school and the significance that students configure from their different social positions”affirmed that he receives the award with “much happiness and pride, because I have been working in the well-being study for eight years.”
“I wanted to take a leap in this research, trying to analyze exactly what are the policies and practices that are generated in the school to promote the well-being of students and how and what are the effects that this has on each one of them. This is a study that aims to be a contribution to the discussion on educational policies and the socio-emotional development agenda at school, but from a critical perspective”, added the academic.
Andrea Méndez, meanwhile, of the project “Association of fibroblasts P2Y4/P2Y6 receptor levels with presence of remodeling and cardiopulmonary function following cigarette smoke exposure in mice” He assured that “it is a tremendous achievement and a great recognition because behind this project there is an enormous work, very rigorous, with great dedication and support from the university. This contest is very competitive, so it requires a very high level to be awarded a fund, but I realize that it is doable with the resources we have. The challenge is to do a good job to think about future projects that can count on financing. On the other hand, it is very satisfying to see that UDLA was awarded several projects, which benefits us all”.
Review the UDLA projects awarded
Fondecyt Research Initiation Projects 2023
- Izaskun Álvarez, Health and Social Sciences (Higher Education)
- Carlos Faúndez, Veterinary Medicine and Agronomy (Agronomy)
- Ricardo Greene, Architecture, Animation, Design and Construction (Geography and Urbanism)
- Andrea Méndez, Health and Social Sciences (Medicine G1 – Cs Biomedicas)
- Lorena Ramírez, Health and Social Sciences (Initial Education – School)
- Mery Rodríguez, Department of Teacher Development (Initial Education – School)
Regular Fondecyt Projects 2023
- Felipe Jiménez, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (Initial Education – School)
- Sebastián Elgueta, School of Agronomy (Agronomy)
