Scientist Lino Ferreira, a group leader at CNC-UC and CiBB, will coordinate the project “Institute for Integrated Social and Biological Assessment,” recently selected for funding under Teaming for Excellence, one of the European Union’s main instruments for the creation and strengthening of centers of excellence.

This project represents a significant milestone for science in Portugal, which has secured €81 million in European funding to establish six new research centers. This amount will be matched by equivalent national funding through the Foundation for Science and Technology and regional programs.

The newly funded project aims to develop innovative and interdisciplinary approaches, bridging the social and biological sciences to address complex challenges in the areas of health, well-being, and public policy. By integrating different fields of knowledge, the center seeks to generate scientific evidence with a direct impact on society. “The project aims to establish a new research unit at the University of Coimbra that will investigate the contribution of social interventions to human biology. It also aims to contribute to the monitoring and identification of non-pharmacological solutions for human well-being,” explains the project coordinator, Lino Ferreira.

The project is expected to receive European funding of approximately 15 million euros, supplemented by an equivalent amount of national funding, bringing the estimated total investment to around 30 million euros. This project is coordinated by the University of Coimbra. The new interdisciplinary Center of Excellence is promoted by two UC research institutes recognized by the Portuguese government as Associated Laboratories (a status of excellence)—the Center for Social Studies (CES) and the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC-UC) / Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CiBB) – and which will contribute core research groups to the IISB. The Center of Excellence includes the participation of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and Rovira i Virgili University in Spain. It is further strengthened by Colab4Ageing, a collaborative laboratory that develops and provides innovative services and products in the field of aging, and by the Coimbra Local Health Unit (ULS), a network comprising 8 hospitals and 26 health centers.

In total, six projects coordinated by Portuguese institutions were selected, covering different regions of the country and scientific fields such as artificial intelligence, health, archaeology, the agri-food sector, and chemistry.

Teaming for Excellence, part of Horizon Europe, aims to promote scientific and institutional excellence through the creation or modernization of research centers, strengthening innovation capacity and the international positioning of participating countries.

More information here.