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Activity Funded

Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies

Centro de Investigação em Biociências e Tecnologias da Saúde

Reference
UIDB/04567/2020
Project Start Date
2020-01-01
Project End Date
2024-12-31
Principal Investigator
Scientific Area
Medical and health sciences
Funding Program
Concurso de avaliação no âmbito do Programa Plurianual de Financiamento de Unidades de I&D (2017/2018) - Financiamento Base

Abstract

10.2 Summary in English for general dissemination purposes The Activities Plan for 2018-2022 is based in: - Promoting top quality research that includes the potential applications of national origin products To further contribute to top-quality research, CBIOS will continue to search for better performances in funding by applying to national and international calls, by interesting potential contractors in new R&D directions and, by increasing the number of members. The PhD program in Health Sciences in partnership with the U Alcalá (Spain) will continue to be a core element of CBIOS to attract and train researchers. Additionally, CBIOS is recognized as an international center for R&D, especially in the areas of experimental dermatology, natural products and oncobiology, and will continue to develop projects at all levels under the scope of international collaborations, funded by their home institutions. Another recruitment strategy is the International Fellowships program, where candidates benefit from a zero-fees policy, and the grant program PADDIC, which aims to attract undergraduate students, as well as MSc holders who intend to pursue a PhD program under CBIOS guidance. Advanced learning activities launched in previous years will continue, such as the courses in Cell Culture or Safety Assessment of Cosmetics. -Consolidating the institutional scientific culture The CBIOS will continue to strengthen the scientific and technological partnerships and promote the integration of its members in national and international networks. The CBIOS Science Sessions will continue to provide a forum for unit running projects or new research directions. The participation of other R&D units will be encouraged, fostering new collaborations. The bi-annual CBIOS Symposia provides a communication basis within U Lusófona and with external institutions. - Disseminating and promoting "knowledge and technology transfer” The CBIOS will expand its scientific cooperation, namely with scientific societies and research networks, by participating in crosslinked projects, by the organization of conferences, seminars and congresses, thus contributing to the dissemination of science bothin national and international scenes. The special focus dedicated to research in products of national origin (natural products in particular) is gathering great interest from many companies and institutions. The Knowledge Transfer Center will be strengthened, promoting technology transfer to this business network, closely collaborating with companies to explore pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food products applications from these origins. To disclose science and technology into the society, CBIOS members will continue to be regularly involved in the organization of different initiatives such as the European Researchers Night or the University Open Day. All activities are divulged in our website, newsletter and through social networks and promoted in the international peer-reviewed Biomedical and Biopharmaceutical Research Journal. 10.3 Summary in English for evaluation CBIOS Activities Plan (AP) is centered in those scientific domains where its research activities are being developed, producing the relevant altmetrics. The current 2018-2022 AP addresses three major development vectors which summarizes the unit’s objectives and strategy: I. Development and consolidation of the unit’s scientific culture Since Interdisciplinary is a keyword for CBIOS, it will be crucial to improve communication between the Directory Board and the Group Leaders (PIs). These are integrated members with a long experience in the institution, well identified with its values, vision and goals, who interact closely with other members, crosslinking knowledge and expertise. The CBIOS Science Sessions are a part of this, providing opportunities to the academic community throughout the year to keep updated regarding the unit’s activities, projects or innovations. Scientists from other R&D units are often invited, fostering new collaborations. These sessions are also a useful training podium for young scientists . A global CBIOS Symposia is organized every 2 years. The grant program PADDIC (PROGRAM FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND DIVULGATION) should be strengthened. Created in 2012 by a partnership between COFAC and ALIES (the non-profit Lusophone Association for the Development of Research and Teaching in Health Sciences), it benefits 5-10 students/year, attracting undergraduate students to ongoing projects. It also includes Initiation Grants, dedicated to MSc holders who intend to pursue a PhD program at CBIOS. Several CBIOS members are already part of international scientific networks. Integration in other COST or CYTED actions will be encouraged, favoring the exchange of researchers. II. Promote top quality research related activities, including advanced knowledge education Recruitment is another keyword in our AP, aiming to innovation, excellence-driven research and educational initiatives. The PhD program in Health Sciences resulting from the partnership with the U Alcalá (UAH, Spain) is an extraordinary experience and a major determinant of this goal. Seventeen PhD students are currently enrolled in this program and an increasing number of these projects involve a training period in collaborative labs, usually abroad, adding the PhD program with a complementary European title. Therefore, our AP foresees several measures to actively promote this partnership, with more student and researchers exchanges and, of course, to enroll more candidates. An International Fellowships advanced training program was launched in 2015 and will be further promoted in the next years to attract PhD and postdoc students from developing countries worldwide. The AP clearly invests in the Advanced Education Activities initiated some years ago, and ALIES and COFAC are joining efforts to attract and support more lecturers with relevant research activity in our scientific domains for the next years. Examples such as Cell Culture Fundamentals (2018, 2020, 2022), Manipulation and Analysis of Gene Expression (2018, 2020, 2022), Clinical Trials Monitoring (every year), are being reinforced with the recently acquired CBIOS b-learning platform, ideal to reach the Portuguese speaking universe. Another priority in our AP is the production of new MOOC’s (Massive Open Online Courses) opening virtual learning environments to existing courses, making them more accessible and competitive. III. Disseminate and promote “ knowledge and technology transfer” CBIOS is permanently committed with dissemination of science. Several initiatives, hosted by CBIOS or with its members in the organizing committee, were materialized while others are already planned for 2018 and following years (seeahead). These promoted multiple collaborations and reinforced its internationalization. CBIOS altmetrics progression (2013-2017) is a good example of its collaborative capacity, with published papers involving more than 10 national and 20 international labs. A final priority is to disseminate science and technology to all communities, not only Portuguese speaking, and not only purely scientific. The special character of CBIOS research dedicated to promote and improve national origin products (natural products in particular) is a valuable asset for many companies and institutions. Under this view, the Knowledge Transfer Center (KTC) (URL: http://www.alies.pt/KTC/index.php/home), managed by ALIES, is designed to promote technology transfer to the society by collaborating with companies (e.g., Hovione, Natiris, Lecifarma) in the development of pharmaceutical and food products and technology, ensuring a close contact with the business sector, also important for patent registration and licensing. CBIOS is also involved in the EUREKA Cluster, recently initiated by European Industry. The disclosure of CBIOS scientific work is performed by publication of original and review papers in international high-quality peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. CBIOS is rapidly implementing an open science policy and is achieving an enhanced worldwide visibility and relevance. The Biomedical and Biopharmaceutical Research Journal (URL: http://www.alies.pt/index.php/en/bbr/about-bbr), is a crucial instrument, coordinated by the CBIOS Director, involving renowned editorial board members from Lusophone countries. This peer-reviewed Journal with DOI and CrossRef registration, indexed in the DOAJ, GoogleScholar, Universia, IndexRMP, KOSMET and LatIndex databases, was recently sponsored by CPLP (the community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries. The expansion of the BBR indexing to other reference databases is also previewed in our AP. Other actions and initiatives, supported by grants, awards and prizes sponsored from external partners, will continue, with CBIOS activities being disclosed in our Newsletter regularly published and distributed to the academic and public communities’ through different social networks.

Institutions

Main Institutions

  • Centro de Investigação em Biociências e Tecnologias da Saúde (CBIOS/COFAC)
  • COFAC, Cooperativa de Formação e Animação Cultural, CRL (COFAC)

Other Institutions

  • Associação Lusófona para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação e Ensino em Ciências da Saúde (ALIES)

Funding 224.750,00 €

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal

224.750,00 €