Dr Cristina Martínez from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (Spain) has been appointed as the new PIECES coordinator by the project Steering Committee. This decision follows the appointment of the previous coordinator, Esteve Fernández, as Secretary for Public Health in the Department of Health of the Government of Catalonia, a position that requires his full attention and is incompatible with his previous role as project coordinator.
Dr Martínez is a Senior Researcher and Associate Professor at the Tobacco Control Unit of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona (UB) and at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
Her work focuses on evaluating programs and translating research into practice using Implementation and Dissemination Science at local, national, and international levels. She is particularly interested in developing training initiatives, smoking cessation programs, and assessing tobacco control policies. Additionally, she is engaged in various initiatives addressing behavioral risk factors aimed at reducing the burden of cancer in Europe, such as implementing tobacco-free environments (homes, beaches) and integrated interventions targeting both tobacco and alcohol use.