20/11/2024

The LS4FUTURE PI Ana Pina, from ITQB NOVA, was awarded the prestigious Caixa Research Health Grant. The 1M€ funding will be used to advance early detection of neurodegenerative diseases by studying tau protein aggregates. The World Health Organization predicts that 130 million people worldwide will suffer from neurodegenerative diseases by 2050, but current diagnostic methods, which rely on symptoms, make early detection challenging. Early diagnosis is crucial for slowing disease progression.

Many neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by the accumulation of tau protein, which disrupts brain function and leads to cognitive decline. However, studying tau aggregates is complex due to the protein’s molecular intricacies. Pina’s project, “Peptide-based systems as artificial compartments to diagnose non-Alzheimer Tauopathies”, aims to develop a tool, Pep-SICO, which uses fluorescent markers in artificial compartments to detect and differentiate abnormal tau proteins, facilitating earlier diagnosis.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with researchers Pedro Mateus, Pedro Matos Pereira, Beatriz Royo, and Cláudia Almeida from ITQB NOVA and Nova Medical School, respectively, two LS4FUTURE partner Institutes, underling LS4FUTURE’s aim to promote inter-institutional collaborations and to foster scientific excellence in life sciences and health research. The Consortium will also include members from NOVA FCT, Universitat de Barcelona, and Unidade Local de Saúde de Lisboa Ocidental.

This recognition by the “La Caixa” Foundation and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) is part of a larger 25.7M€ initiative supporting 29 biomedical and health projects, with a focus on research that can have significant societal impact over the next three years.