The VIII Andrés Laguna Master Lecture. pays tribute to the figure and legacy of Andrés Laguna, one of the greatest exponents of medical humanism in Spain. Yesterday's Thursday event at the University of Alcalá was chaired by the rector of the institution, José Vicente Saz, and included the intervention of José Antonio Sacristán, director of the Lilly Foundation, an entity with the objective of improving Spanish healthcare through the dissemination of knowledge. The master class is an activity framed in the commemorative events in honor of Saint Luke, patron saint of the medical profession, with which the more than five centuries that have passed since the first Medicine classes were taught at the University of Alcalá are celebrated.

For Andrés Moya, those microorganisms that have achieved a very effective form of maternal transmission or early incorporation, are probably those that are in mutualistic symbiosis, that is, they maintain a prolonged and mutually beneficial relationship with their host; while those who join or join later do not have that link. “The hypothesis I maintain is that probably the core fraction of the human microbiome, which extends to all or a good part of life, can constitute a mutualistic symbiosis, while the rest does not,” he commented.

The human microbiota research program aims to demonstrate which microbes are in mutualistic symbiosis with their host, the role of the host on mutualistic microbes and, finally, the relationships of benefit, neutrality or harm that are established among the microbes of the microbiome. "The spectacular advances of these studies have led us to deduce that the entire human microbiome is a kind of beneficial actor for its host, but we must take into account that a good part of the microbiome, known as mutualistic, also benefits from having evolved with its host, who provides it with advantages over living outside it. We must continue working to determine precisely which microbes really are that have evolved in mutualistic symbiosis with their host," he said. concluded.

Andrés Laguna Master Lecture

The Andrés Laguna Master Lecture takes place every October in the Auditorium of the University of Alcalá. Its objective is to annually distinguish as Master a relevant personality for his humanistic, scientific and medical contributions, who has contributed significantly to the development of Medicine and health care in the field of the countries in which Hispanic culture develops. In previous editions, professors Manuel Serrano Ríos, Francisco Ayala, Antonio García, Carlos Belmonte, Jesús San Miguel, Salvador Moncada and Germán E. Berríos deserved the distinction of Maestro Andrés Laguna.

Lilly Foundation

Since 2001, the Lilly Foundation has aimed to contribute to the promotion of science, the promotion of medicine and the promotion of medical humanism. In the area of ​​Science, it annually organizes Biomedical Research Awards, Appointments with Science and supports various scientific dissemination actions. In Medicine, initiatives such as the Chair of Medical Education, MEDES – MEDicina en Español or its health management program stand out. The Patient-Centered Medicine initiative and the activities around the figure of the Spanish doctor and humanist Andrés Laguna or the dissemination of the legacy of William Osler center the area of ​​medical humanism.