Champalimaud Foundation and Universidade Católica Portuguesa establish partnership to strengthen biomedical research in Portugal

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.

As the first initiative under this partnership, the Católica Biomedical Research Centre (CBR) - the biomedical research centre of UCP - will establish its fundamental biomedical research activities at CF in Lisbon. This will allow its students and researchers to access the facilities and units available at the Champalimaud Clinical Centre.

CBR was recently awarded the classification of “Excellent” by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), the highest rating granted within the national evaluation system for research units. The integration of part of its scientific activity within the CF research environment will strengthen collaboration between researchers from both institutions and accelerate the development of fundamental scientific projects. CBR’s clinical and translational research activities will continue to be developed in Oeiras.

In this way, the centre will operate across two complementary research hubs - Lisbon and Oeiras - reinforcing the connection between fundamental research and clinical application.

The new scientific hub in Lisbon may progressively host up to around 200 researchers, organised in groups led by principal investigators and dedicated to studying diseases and the underlying biological mechanisms that drive them.

The development of this new scientific infrastructure will be supported by a joint investment of approximately €5 million, shared by the two institutions. This funding will strengthen laboratory infrastructure and enable the acquisition of advanced scientific equipment to support CBR’s fundamental research activities.

“This investment brings together an academic institution and a research organisation that works directly with real clinical challenges requiring immediate solutions. The experience of our researchers, combined with the academic knowledge of students and a multidisciplinary environment, will undoubtedly add significant value to research and treatment in areas such as cancer and neuroscience,” said João Silveira Botelho, Vice-President of the Champalimaud Foundation.

For the Rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Isabel Capeloa Gil, the partnership represents a strategic step towards strengthening the university’s scientific capacity.

“This collaboration with the Champalimaud Foundation represents an innovative model of cooperation between a university and a leading biomedical research institution. By bringing together researchers, scientific infrastructure and advanced training, we are creating new conditions to develop science of excellence in Portugal,” she said.

In addition to the establishment of CBR at CF, the agreement sets out a broader framework for collaboration that will enable the development of further joint initiatives over time, including advanced training programmes and interdisciplinary research projects.

Through this partnership, CF and UCP aim to help position Lisbon as an international hub for biomedical research and interdisciplinary science.