GACD spotlight on Esteve Fernández

He is also Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Medicine, University of Barcelona. Esteve has worked on cancer epidemiology, especially in the area of tobacco control, as well as in cancer incidence and mortality analysis. He has served as Editor in Chief of Gaceta Sanitaria (the Spanish journal of public health) and as President of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology.

What do you hope to achieve through your research?

We aim to have a comprehensive understanding of the exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols from electronic cigarettes so that we will be able to protect the population from these hazards by means of effective evidence-based policies and interventions.

Tell us a little more about the project you are working on

The TackSHS Project integrates 11 partners from 6 countries to develop a series of integrated studies. Two big studies focus on measurement of current second-hand smoke exposure levels, both self-reported by the population and characterised using environmental markers, in 12 European countries.

The other studies focus on specific aspects to tackle second-hand smoke and e-cigarettes aerosol exposure: their effects on healthy volunteers and in patients with chronic respiratory diseases in experimental and real conditions, the assessment of their impact in terms of morbidity and mortality at the European level and how the current policies may reduce their economic impact, the improvement of new measurement methods, and the piloting of a new intervention to encourage behaviour-change towards having smoke-free homes. These studies are developed within 9 work packages with two additional supporting work packages for the coordination and dissemination. A big effort will be done to disseminate our methods and results about the scientific community and among patients, policymakers and other stakeholders.

How has being part of GACD helped your research?

The TackSHS Project is possible thanks to the recent GACD Lung Diseases Call, and we are still within our first year. We hope GACD will facilitate the sharing of experiences between the projects awarded in that Call for mutual enrichment. We also desire to learn from projects in more advanced stages from previous calls, at the time we try to contribute with our experiences.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I’m really happy with my work because the research we conduct has a direct impact in public health, triggering changes at different levels through interventions targeting specific groups or public policies at the population level. Moreover, this work allows me to know different people, from a range of disciplines converging in public health, to think (not only “to do things”) together -and knowing nice people is the best gift!

Apart from the project, what are your other passions in life?

First, being with my wife and kids, at home or travelling, even though the kids are no more kids… (one daughter and one son, now in their twenties). I used to read, still printed books, but now they cumulate in my bedside table. I really like diving and playing the guitar. And I’m a football fan of RCD Espanyol: this is the almost unknown, small, modest, alternative, football club of my beloved city, Barcelona.

Can you name someone who has inspired you in your life and work?

I’ll be always in debt with Teresa, my wife, who continues to inspire me. She has been a constant source of tenderness and power, to tackle difficult moments, to take common decisions, and to work in favour of a different and happier world. In the professional area, I thank Miquel Porta and Carlo La Vecchia, my mentors in Barcelona and Milan, respectively. They taught me to understand and love epidemiology as an efficient and necessary tool to improve public health.

GACD research project

LD01 The TackSHS Project: Tackling second-hand tobacco smoke and e-cigarette emissions: exposure assessment, novel interventions, impact on lung diseases and economic burden in diverse European populations