‘Pharmacogenetics, health and ethnicity in Latin American populations’ call for the “Dr José María Cantú Award 2024”

Introduction

On behalf of the Ibero-American Society and Network of Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics (SIFF/RIBEF), the Latin American Network of Human Genetics (RELAGH), the Mexican Society of Human Genetics (AMGH), the Mexican Council of Genetics (CMG) and the Colombian Society of Human Genetics (ACGH), we are pleased to announce the call for the Dr. José María Cantú Garza 2024 Award (Supplementary Material).

This award honors the legacy of Dr. Cantú Garza, Mexican geneticist and leader of human genetics in Latin America, a pioneer in pharmacogenetics in Latin America and the Caribbean [1], and seeks to recognize outstanding research that addresses the challenges of Pharmacogenetics, Pharmacogenomics, Precision and Personalised medicine in Latin American and Caribbean populations following the Mérida/T´Hó Declaration [2] related CIOMS Report on clinical research in resource-limited settings [3].

The organisations promoting the award do so with the aim of promoting research to advance pharmacogenetics in Latin American and Caribbean populations and to foster a more equitable and personalised health system for all, with the aspiration of preventing the biotechnology gap in this area [4].

Development

The Declaration of Mérida T’Hó on which the principles of the Prize are based was established after meetings in Mérida, Extremadura, Spain on 6–8 October 2019 [5]. The creation of the Prize was agreed on and announced at the meetings of the founding promoting entities on 23 February 2023 in the Spanish Cultural Centre in Mexico [6], 7] and subsequently on 8 March 2024 at the Mexican Cultural Centre in Spain [8]. The final bases and agreements were presented on 6 November 2024 during the CYTED Forum 2024: “Implementation of Pharmacogenetics and Personalised Medicine in Ibero-American Populations: Regulatory and clinical aspects and generation of tools and procedures for clinical use” [9]. The president of the Jury announced the award publicly at the Congress of the Mexican Society of Human Genetics (AMGH) on 13 November 2024 in Puebla (Mexico), starting the deadline for applications.

Research area

The theme of the prize is ‘Pharmacogenetics: Health, Medicines and Ethnicity in Latin American Populations,’ and three application modalities have been defined to cover the complexity and diversity of studies in this field. These three categories reflect the following principles of the Declaration Mérida/T´Hó on factors to be taken into account in the study of vulnerable populations at low to medium levels of development set out in the CIOMS Report [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7].

Categories of the prize

The award is based on the three fundamental aspects of the Declaration of Mérida/T’Hó that reflects the position of RIBEF, CIOMS Report and assumed by RELAGH on human research in order to optimize the safe use of medicines in autochthonous and mestizo populations in Latin America and the Caribbean [7]. According to the conditions that were established for clinical research these populations were based on pharmacogenetics and therefore to drug research [3]. The categories are as follows:

1. Population pharmacogenetic variability (linked to ancestry), as a determinant of drug response and health, should be considered in the research and clinical implementation processes [10], [11], [12].

2. Socio-cultural context of the patients, related to beliefs, values, social and family structure, language, habits, etc. In this environment, in many cases Traditional Medicine is considered more effective, less expensive and more accessible, so it is frequently used, also simultaneously without the knowledge of health professionals [13]. Consequently, it would be very useful to evaluate this factor in the design and analysis of Clinical Research, and to include knowledge of Traditional Medicine in health education in order to increase the effectiveness of prescribing in general and of clinical research with medicines in particular. The use of omics technologies for the optimization of herbal and traditional medicine, which has been defined as ‘ancestromics’, can also be considered [14].

3. Ethics, and education in values of health professionals and research teams participating in human studies. For all of the above reasons, the educational process for health personnel and clinical researchers should include the development of skills and attitudes that will enable them to undertake studies in these complex socio-cultural contexts, where traditional and allopathic medicine coexist [2], 3].

Candidates

All relevant authors (first, corresponding or last author) of an original scientific article in any of the three modalities presented in this call are eligible for the prize. The article must not be more than 5 years old at the opening date of this call (published after 12 November 2019). Only papers in which the corresponding author is an Ibero-American researcher will be eligible to participate. Papers must have been published in indexed journals (MEDLINE-JCR). Pre-prints or studies not yet published or in the process of publication will not be accepted. The applicant must be a current member of one of the associations sponsoring the award and submit an endorsement signed by one of its members.

Procedure

A monographic manuscript presenting a review of the topic following the systematic Drug Metabolism and Personalized Therapy (‘Reviews and Mini Reviews’ https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/dmdi/html), with the relevant points of the publication and its relevance for the Latin American and Caribbean population must be submitted together with the application. If the paper is accepted, the manuscript will be accepted for evaluation by the Jury of the Award, which may accept or reject it. The steering and managing committee will consist of 4 members, one from each of the organizations promoting this award (RIBEF, RELAGH, AMGH, SIFF), with the administrative support of the DMPT Editorial Assistant.

Evaluation

The evaluation of the papers will be carried out by a Jury composed of at least nine members, one representing each signatory organization to this agreement, plus the President of the Jury for each edition, who will be elected unanimously by the signatory organizations. The Jury will assess the originality, relevance, innovation, and technological feasibility of the submitted research (Candidate paper and Review). The winning paper, which will be announced in October 2025, and an interim presentation will be considered at a relevant Ibero-American congress on the subject.

For more information on the call, including application details and evaluation criteria, please consult the websites of the sponsoring societies. Applications will be accepted from 12 November 2024 to 12 July 2025.

Financial award

The winner will receive an award of 3,000 Euros (provided by SIFF) for a stay in a research center or participation in a scientific congress supported for one of the networks or scientific societies promoters of this award.