On 1 January, the Republic of Cuba, a JINR Member State, celebrates its main national holiday – Liberation Day.

As a JINR Member State since 1976, the Republic of Cuba has been successfully developing cooperation with JINR in different directions. Сuban scientists are involved in several research programmes of the Institute including the development of new semiconductor detectors for fundamental and applied research, the physics programme of the SPD and MPD detectors in the frames of the NICA Megascience Project, and the modernisation of the LINAC-800 Linear Electron Accelerator. Young Cuban scientists take an active part in the educational and training programmes of JINR. Thus, in October 2022, several scientists from Cuba participated in the XXVI International Scientific Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists (AYSS-2022) online.

On 14 January 2022, JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov took part in the festive opening ceremony of the Russian-Cuban Observatory (RCO) located in the park of the Cuban Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy (Havana).

Scientists of JINR and the Cuban scientific centres CENTIS and CEADEN work on the joint Russian−Cuban project “High-Resolution Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography Method Based on Medipix Detectors”. The project is aimed at finding a way to obtain high-resolution and high-quality X-ray and single-photon emission tomographic images of small animals. These methods, combined together, provide the opportunity to observe the accumulation of special radiopharmaceuticals in definite regions of the body, e.g. in tumours or tissues with acute inflammatory processes. In addition, with the help of the SPECT/CT methods, it is possible to diagnose a disease early and localise it in the patient’s body.

The Institute’s Directorate congratulates Cuban colleagues and partners on Liberation Day and wishes them and their families good health, happiness, well-being, luck, and new professional successes for the benefit of science and progress!