14/10/2024

Researchers Sarela Santamarina and Cláudia Santos from LS4FUTURE partner institutes ITQB NOVA and NOVA Medical School (NMS), respectively, will lead the formation of a European Hub of Excellence focusing on Chronic Diseases and Human Host-Microbial Interactions through a 1.5M€ funding received from Horizon Europe. This exciting Twinning project aims to foster cutting-edge research and collaboration across Europe with a strong focus on the development and integration of miniature organ constructs and stem cells into “organ-on-chip” platforms in the context of research on Chronic Disease Mechanisms and Host-Microbe Interactions. Moreover, the implementation of this technology bears great translational potential, including its use as an alternative to traditional animal models, and the possibility of being implemented for selecting customized therapies for individual patients.

The project coordinated by ITQB NOVA in collaboration with NMS, underlines LS4FUTURE’s aim to promote inter-institutional collaborations and to foster leadership in  life sciences and health research, as it builds on a legacy of scientific excellence and aims to improve patient outcomes through enhanced understanding of chronic diseases. It also represents a key reference of internationalisation of our research, as it was launched in collaboration with Universitaetsklinikum Jena (UKJ) and the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (MDC-BIMSB) in Germany, and the Fondazione Human Technopole (FHT), in Italy.

For more details on this exciting initiative, you can read the full news release on the ITQB NOVA website.