About

Welcome Message

Ficheiro com o nome: Luis Taborda-Barata

Welcome to CICS-UBI, the Health Sciences Research Centre of the University of Beira Interior!

CICS-UBI is a Health Sciences Research unit located in the Medical School Campus of the University of Beira Interior. Founded in 2001, it is now a consolidated FCT-funded research unit with national and international recognition. We are involved in multiple international networks and collaborations. Our state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge laboratory resources host and nurture the work of nearly 200 researchers.

At CICS-UBI we develop high quality interdisciplinary, translational research, at the crossroads of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. We focus on diseases with a high impact on human health, particularly neurological, infectious, endocrine, neoplastic, and respiratory diseases. Our main objectives are to understand their underlying mechanisms, to identify biomarkers, and to develop innovative and more effective tools to meet current health challenges in terms of prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and prognosis.

We are engaged in important transdisciplinary interactions in the context of the quadruple helix of innovation: with other academia institutions, with industry, with governance, and with society in general.

In this context, we foster transfer of the knowledge and technology we generate to national and international pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, thereby creating added-value to science and technology, and encouraging the incubation of spinoff companies.

We also have significant collaborations with international and national clinical institutions. Regionally, we are an essential partner of the Clinical Academic Centre of Beiras, a large consortium which brings together higher education institutions, and healthcare units with the purpose of creating important integrative projects, with a strong impact on disease prevention as well as on the provision of high quality healthcare. This important partnership promotes translational and clinical research by bringing together clinicians and other healthcare professionals, as well as biomedical, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical researchers.

Our social and economic responsibility is also very high.
Our outreach to society takes place via a fundamental commitment to increasing health literacy across the life cycle, and motivating young people to science through regular activities directed to the community and involvement in Citizen Science. In addition, we also significantly collaborate with regional and national governance in various research projects with societal impact.

Another priority is offering advanced training opportunities and scientific careers, in a highly stimulating and interdisciplinary research environment, with four ongoing PhD programmes in Biomedicine, Medicine, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and various short courses in different aspects of Science.

We are CICS-UBI! Reach out! Come and join us! Come and challenge us!

Luis Taborda-Barata, MD, PhD
CICS-UBI Coordinator

Introduction

CICS-UBI is a Health Sciences Research unit located in the Medical School Campus of the University of Beira Interior. Founded in 2001, it is now a consolidated FCT-funded research unit with national and international recognition. The state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge laboratory resources host and nurture the work of nearly 200 researchers.

CICS-UBI is dedicated to interdisciplinary, translational research at the crossroads of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. We focus on diseases with a high impact on human health, particularly neurological, infectious, endocrine, neoplastic, and respiratory diseases. Our main objectives are to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of disease, to identify biomarkers, and to develop innovative and more effective tools to meet current health challenges in terms of prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and prognosis.

The CICS UBI pipeline

CICS-UBI has six Research Groups: Biopharmaceuticals and Biomaterials (BB); Hormones and Metabolism (H&M); Neurologic and Neurovascular Disorders (NND); Drug Discovery, Development and Safety (3DS); Natural Products and Microbial Research (NatProMicro); Respiratory and Allergic Diseases (RAD). Each group contributes to the investigation on one or more diseases in different, but complementary perspectives.

The Disease focus of each CICS-UBI’s Research Group.

Overall, in collaboration with other national and international research institutions, as well as with industry, governance and the general community, CICS-UBI drives the generation of processes generating impactful breakthroughs in health sciences.

Mission & Vision

Mission

CICS-UBI mission is to carry out high-quality basic, applied and translational biomedical research, to offer advanced training opportunities and scientific careers, to promote education for the community and transfer of knowledge to the biomedical industry and society.

Vision

We want to be internationally ackowledged for our capacity to develop and translate high quality Science to improve and impact society.

Motto

“Generating and Translating Science to impact society”

Values

Integrity, ethics and responsibility
Knowledge and technical excellence
Respect for the individual
Promotion of continuing personal and professional development
Commitment to advancing scientific knowledge
Societal responsibility
Sustainability

CICS in Numbers

Organization

Structure and Governing Bodies

The CICS-UBI Governing Bodies are composed of:

I) the Scientific Coordinator, assisted by Vice-coordinators (Management board);
II) the Executive Commission, which is chaired by the CICS-UBI coordinator and includes the Coordinators and Vice-coordinators of the research groups.

CICS-UBI organogram

The External Advisory Committee (EAC) of CICS-UBI is composed of four prominent national and international scientists, with expertise in the CICS-UBI areas of research and a strong background in leadership and science management: Hélder A. Santos (Helsinki, Finland), Adelino Canário (Faro, Portugal), Ignacio Lizasoain Hernández (Madrid, Spain) and Leif Bülow (Lund, Sweden). The EAC assists the Management board and executive commission in the implementation of the strategic plan towards Excellency.

Research Support Commissions are responsible for maintaining strategic activities of the centre:
Communication & Image and Outreach-Communication Strategy; Citizen Science & Collaboration with Society
- Scientific Productivity- Metrics of CICS-UBI Scientific Productivity
- Funding and Internationalisation- Internationalisation Strategy; Funding Capture & Diversification Strategy
- Knowledge Transfer & Intellectual Property
- Translational & Clinical Research- Strategy for Development and Consolidation of Translational and Clinical Research
- Training and Education- Career Development Strategy, organisation of advanced courses
- General Lab Management & Safety: Green Labs Principles; Guide for Welcoming New CICS-UBI Students; Laboratory Safety Manual