Multidisciplinary in nature, it has been set up at the University with the sponsorship of the Malaga City Council and La Caixa Foundation.

The Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer of the University of Malaga, Teodomiro Lopez, the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, the director of the Business Area of CaixaBank in Malaga, Francisco Ramos, the academic director of the FGUMA, Antonio Lara and the director of the new Chair, Alejandro Luque, presented today at the rectorate the 'Chair of Technological and Social Innovation in Health and Pain of the UMA', in which the City of Malaga and the La Caixa Foundation will act as patrons.

"If the transfer from the university is always important; the commitment to issues that have such an important connection with society, such as pain and suffering, cannot be better justified," said Teodomiro López in his presentation, which has placed the chairs by patronage as "the noblest form of collaboration, where patrons are committed to support the university in a disinterested way.

The Vice Chancellor also stressed the fundamental role of the staff of the OTRI in the management of the chairs: "The work done by the staff of the OTRI of the University of Malaga in this regard is magnificent," defended the vice rector, who has also addressed words of thanks to the City Council and the Fundación la Caixa "for their absolute support and collaboration." to the General Foundation, as "facilitator" for this Chair to be a reality today, and to the Faculty of Health Sciences, congratulating the dean of the center, Noelia Moreno, who, along with Alejandro Luque and Chelo Pineda, director and deputy director of the chair, respectively, were present at the event.

The Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, and the Director of CaixaBank's Business Area in Malaga, Francisco Ramos, agreed in highlighting the research carried out at the University of Malaga and expressed their absolute collaboration in all matters of mutual interest, especially those that benefit Malaga society. Likewise, in his speech, Antonio Lara expressed the support of the FGUMA to the academic, research and transfer activity of the University to society: "The aims of the General Foundation are none other than the aims of the University of Malaga".  

Left to right, Alejandro Luque, Teodomiro López, Francisco de la Torre, Antonio Lara and Francisco Ramos.

Alejandro Luque Suárez, PhD in Health Sciences, professor and director of the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Malaga, will be in charge of a multidisciplinary Chair, which will include professionals from the fields of Medicine, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Sociology and Computer Science. 

"Researching, innovating and promoting healthy lifestyles in the population of Malaga are some of the aims of the new Chair", explained Luque, who during its first year of activity aims to "learn about the perceptions and feelings of the people of Malaga about their health and pain, and provide information that will help them to live better and reduce uncertainty". To achieve this, the Chair has selected representative environments in the city, such as two municipal districts, a sports center, a socio-health center, an educational center and an association.

Thus, the Chair has programmed various activities, such as a meeting with facilitators on patient involvement, informative talks on health education with active listening as therapy, and will conduct research on the educational resources used by the people of Malaga to learn about their pain.

The Chair will also be a collaborating entity with the 'Healthy Malaga Municipal Plan' and will issue a final report in 2023, in a public event, with the aim of providing useful and relevant data on health and pain in Malaga and promoting a culture of prevention and health care in society.