8/07/2024

LS4FUTURE attended the Encontro Ciência 2024 event held in Porto from July 3-5, with the organisation of a thematic session dedicated to exploring the latest advancements, challenges, and future directions in precision medicine, considering individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle, leading to more accurate and effective treatments.

The round table “Precision Medicine: Current Challenges and Future Directions” was moderated by Paulo Pereira, Coordinator of LS4FUTURE at NMS. It welcomed Dr. Roberto Roncon from Universidade do Porto, researchers from ITQB NOVA, Pedro Matos Pereira, and CNC-UC, Luís Pereira de Almeida and Irina Sousa Moreira, and the NIMSB Vice-Director, Sofia Miguel.

Precision medicine represents a transformative approach to healthcare that tailors medical treatment to each patient’s individual characteristics. This session showcased examples of successful achievements in precision medicine, emphasising breakthroughs in multi-omics and the integration of AI and machine learning in analysing large datasets to predict disease risk and treatment responses. It also addressed the burden of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases through personalised interventions that can significantly improve patient quality of life and reduce mortality.

 

Award Ceremony at Encontro Ciência 2024

Portugal’s largest event dedicated to science and technology also announced the 2024 Medal of Scientific Merit awardees by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.

Two LS4FUTURE PIs were distinguished with this prestigious medal: Manuel Carrondo, iBET’s Founder and current Vice President, and ITQB NOVA Professor, and Mónica Bettencourt-Dias from IGC.

The award ceremony was presided over by Madalena Alves, President of FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, and Francisco Santos, vice President of FCT.

The Scientific Merit Medal aims to honour national or foreign individuals who, due to their high professional qualities and dedication to duty, have made a valuable contribution to the development of science or scientific culture in Portugal.