Now in its 5th edition, CNM continues to strengthen connections between schools and research institutions. In Phase I, scientists from the GIMM Foundation and the Champalimaud Foundation introduced the programme to more than 100 8th-grade students at Escola Dr. Azevedo Neves (Damaia, Amadora). Phase II then brought students and teachers into the research environment.

The agreement establishes a long-term framework for collaboration between the two institutions, creating a model that brings university research closer to one of the country’s most advanced scientific infrastructures while fostering the development of new joint initiatives in biomedicine and interdisciplinary research.

Led by the Francis Crick Institute in the UK, the team brings together clinicians, scientists and patient advocates, with researchers spanning eight institutions across four countries. The award is funded jointly by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in the US, two of the world’s largest cancer research funders, through the global Cancer Grand Challenges initiative. It marks the first time this prestigious international award has been granted to a Portuguese institution.

The Champalimaud Foundation (CF) and Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) have established a five-year strategic partnership to create a Neurorobotics Laboratory within the CF Neurotechnology Warehouse. Signed on 18 February, the agreement brings together two of Portugal’s leading research institutions with the goal of advancing the understanding of intelligence - both biological and artificial - at the convergence of brain science, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Brand rankings and reputation studies are published every year, nationally and internationally, often attracting attention for their league tables and headline positions. While such studies are inevitably shaped by methodological choices, sampling criteria, and contextual factors, they can nonetheless offer a useful lens for understanding how organisations are perceived within a shared ecosystem.

The visual system is hierarchically organised into different areas. The lower visual areas see small parts of the visual field, and they are sensitive to very simple features, such as edges and their orientation. Higher up the hierarchy, the visual areas start encoding more abstract representations of the world, expanding their visual field to respond to stimuli such as objects and faces.  

Oxidative stress is a direct consequence of an excess in the body of so-called “free radicals” – reactive, unstable molecules that contain oxygen. Free radicals are normal metabolic by-products and also help to relay signals in the body. In turn, oxidative stress (an overload of these molecules) can be caused by lifestyle, environmental and biological factors such as smoking, high alcohol consumption, poor diet, stress, pollution, radiation, industrial chemicals, and chronic inflammation.

As always, President of the Champalimaud Foundation, Leonor Beleza, was in Hyderabad to participate in the meeting and celebrate the long-standing friendship between the two institutions. Her speech stressed the importance of collaboration in an ever-changing world and a commitment to innovation and disruption in healthcare. These words were echoed by LVPEI’s Executive Chair and Founder, respectively, Drs Prashant Garg, and GN Rao.
 

Currently, the reference standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer, meaning tumours that have grown deeper into the layers of the rectal wall and/or involved nearby lymph nodes, but have not yet spread to the rest of the body – is to submit patients to chemotherapy and radiotherapy before surgery. This “total neoadjuvant therapy” reduces the risk of the cancer coming back in the rectum and can lower the risk of metastases, but has a cost for the patients because of the detrimental effects of radiation. 

A long-standing friend and collaborator of the Champalimaud Foundation, he played a decisive role in the global recognition of vision science and in strengthening the connection between research, clinical practice, and innovation.