Portugal is to have a new research centre. The Multidisciplinary Research Center for Excellence in Regenerative and Precision Medicine will be created following a national application under the HORIZONTE 2020 Programme.
The Research Center will focus on multidisciplinary research which will be translated into innovative methods to be applied in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.
The centre is set to become one of Europe's largest research centers in human tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, biomaterials and stem cells.
The new research center is the result of a partnership between five national universities - Minho, Oporto, Aveiro, Lisbon and Nova de Lisboa - and the University College London, the world leader in Health Sciences and Technologies.
The project will be funded by the European Commission's HORIZON 2020 Programme, the Foundation for Science and Technology and three Regional Coordination and Development Commissions: North, Center and, Lisbon & Tagus Valley, representing €100 million over the next seven years.
The future center will be based in Avepark, the Science and Technology Park in Guimarães, with outposts in the universities of Aveiro, Oporto and Lisbon.
"The creation of this centre should have a structuring effect on Portuguese science, which could lead very quickly to the largest and most productive research center based in Portugal. It should also have unique conditions to attract international scientific talent," according to the University of Minho.
The Minho spokesman commented that the creation of this centre "involves some of the best R&D centres in the country", all classified by the Foundation for Science and Technology as "excellent" or "exceptional."
