The application to the European Commission for the creation of a new European research centre was approved. The Discoveries Centre aims to be a Centre of Excellence in Regenerative Medicine and Precision in Portugal, is led by UMinho and results from the partnership between five Portuguese universities (Minho, Porto, Aveiro, Lisbon and Nova de Lisboa) and University College London (UCL), from the United Kingdom.
The project – publicly presented in May this year in Porto – aims at a multidisciplinary research that promises to bring innovative methods with applications in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. It has 15 million euros of direct funding from the European Commission, as well as the support of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR) of the North, Centre, Lisbon and Tagus Valley.
The approved initiative has scientific coordination and leadership in the preparation of the application, as well as the future installation of the center, by Rui Reis, Vice-rector of UMinho, director of the 3B’s Research Group (Research Group on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics) from the EEUM, world president of TERMIS – Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society and also general director of the European Institute of Excellence in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.
It is estimated that the total investment of the project will reach 100 million euros in the next seven years, adding to own funds obtained in tenders and contracts by the researchers of the new centre.
