Were there mentors who played an important role in shaping your early career?
Yes, and in very complementary ways. Locally, José Luis Cabriada, my department head, gave me the time, support and opportunities I needed to develop my interest and initiate a career in IBD. This kind of help isn’t always common, and it made a huge difference. The other key figure was Manuel Barreiro. We met toward the end of my training, once I had already spent a few months in Oxford with Simon Travis in 2013. That experience confirmed for me that IBD was the right path. Manuel later became an important scientific mentor; we share similar backgrounds, and we connected immediately. Since then, he has continuously offered guidance and encouragement, and this has helped greatly in shaping my entire academic career. The mentor–mentee relationship is special, and sharing all kinds of moments with my mentors has been an amazing experience.
How did training in Spain, and particularly in the Basque Country, shape your clinical and research approach?
Working in Spain teaches you to be very pragmatic. Resources for research are not always abundant, especially in smaller or regional centres, so collaboration becomes essential. GETECCU (Grupo Español de Trabajo en Enfermedad de Crohn y Colitis Ulcerosa) has played a crucial role in this regard, creating a culture in which centres routinely work together, share patient cohorts and support one another’s projects. Thanks to this collaborative spirit, we are able to overcome many of the barriers that would be difficult to tackle individually and build research that is stronger and more clinically meaningful. My experiences abroad also gave me different perspectives. The time in Oxford was transformative, and later a short fellowship in Brussels exposed me to additional ways of approaching clinical work and research. Most recently, I spent time at Mount Sinai in New York. Learning how things are done in other countries and meeting great colleagues there always brings fresh ideas and energy when you return home.
Integrating research into everyday clinical practice can be challenging. What helps you navigate those obstacles?
Time is always the biggest challenge. Most centres don’t have dedicated time for research or the kind of support that some larger institutions or universities have. That means you have to be creative and very disciplined in how you organise your time. In Spain, as in Portugal and France, we rely strongly on national networks to make meaningful research possible. GETECCU has been essential in this regard: it brings people together, aligns ideas and creates a framework where sharing patients, protocols and expertise is simply part of how we work. This collaborative environment allows us to address research questions that would be unthinkable for a single centre to tackle alone. It also helps maintain motivation because you feel part of a community working toward common goals rather than isolated in your own hospital. So, despite the limitations, collaboration becomes both a practical solution and a source of energy. In a different scale, you also need to work closely with your team at the hospital. This path will never be possible on your own, so collaboration and being generous with your peers becomes essential. Without that, integrating research into daily practice would be extremely difficult.
Speaking of GETECCU, you have been very active within the Spanish national IBD group as well as in ECCO and UEG. How did this journey unfold?
Well, I joined the Young IBD Group of GETECCU in 2015 and later became one of its coordinators. That experience opened the door to broader involvement within the society, including coordinating the external communications of the society and other national initiatives. With ECCO, things evolved quite naturally. I took part in educational activities after attending the ECCO IBD Intensive Course and also some taskforces and workshops, and eventually joined EpiCom in 2023, where I am now Chair. Epidemiology has always interested me because it helps us understand how disease evolves on a population level. At UEG, I was part of the Young Talent Group before joining both the National Societies Committee and the Quality of Care Committee. And recently, I was elected Chair Elect of the Education Committee, which is an opportunity I value enormously. It allows me to contribute to training and professional development for colleagues across Europe.
Your research is strongly associated with preclinical IBD. How did this interest originate?
It started with one patient during my training. He had severe ileal inflammatory lesions on endoscopy but no symptoms at all. That case really stayed with me. Later, in the Basque Country, we found similar patients incidentally diagnosed through the colorectal cancer screening programme, which reinforced my curiosity about what happens before symptoms appear. This became the foundation of my PhD. With the help of 10 regional centres, we published initial findings in 2018. Since then, the project has expanded within GETECCU and now involves over 25 centres in Spain, with long-term follow-up and multiomic integration. Our hope is to understand why and how inflammation begins, which early immune changes occur and what determines whether or when symptoms eventually develop. My department has supported my research for more than a decade, which is something I truly value; also, I work closely with basic scientists at CIC bioGUNE, which enriches our research environment as we learn from each other.
You have also expanded your work through several international collaborations. What have these partnerships involved, and how did they come about?
Yes. I must admit that multiple times my partnerships have come about thanks to interactions during meetings like the ECCO Congress. Also, earlier this year, during a stay at Mount Sinai in New York, I met colleagues who shared very similar interests in the early stages of the disease and epidemiology. As an example, we even discovered that some of us have visited the Faroe Islands due to our interest in environmental influences on IBD. That led to new collaborative projects exploring environmental exposures, lifestyle factors and their role in shaping risk. These lines of work complement what we have been doing in Spain and broaden our perspective on IBD development.
Wonderful, Iago. And, outside of work, what do you enjoy most about living in Bilbao, and how do you unwind?
Bilbao is a great place to live. The city has a perfect size, great food and a strong community spirit. To disconnect, I swim as often as I can. My goal for this year is to reach 1000 kilometers, and I’m almost there. I also enjoy walking along the coast with my family, walking, cycling or simply taking in the fresh air. And I have a soft spot for islands and remote places, like the Faroe Islands or Iceland. Coming from southern Galicia, I still love visiting northern Portugal as well.
Such a great answer, Iago—and I couldn’t help but smile at your mention of northern Portugal. As a final question, is there anything you would like to share with young IBD clinicians and researchers?
When I started, options for treating IBD were limited, and funding opportunities were scarce. Today, we have an extraordinary landscape: new therapies, innovative technologies and increasing support from societies like ECCO and UEG. The collaboration between clinical and basic science is growing rapidly, and we are learning more than ever about how IBD begins and evolves over time. For young colleagues, this is a fantastic time to join the field. Stay curious, collaborate widely and take advantage of the opportunities now available. The future of IBD research and care is full of promise.
It was a real pleasure to interview not only a valued colleague, but also a dear friend and fellow Iberian neighbour. Your journey, from Galicia to Bilbao to the world of IBD research, is truly inspiring. Thank you, Iago!
