Between February 2017 and December 2020, the team performed approximately 200 robotic procedures. Over the subsequent five years, from December 2020 to December 2025, this number more than doubled, reaching 500 procedures, an achievement that reflects the consolidation of a nationally recognised reference programme with extensive experience in robotic gynaecological surgery.

[THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED]

The symposium, themed "Neural and Immune Codes in Cancer" will gather an interdisciplinary community of researchers to discuss the interplay between the neural and immune systems in relation to cancer initiation, progression, defense and therapy. This symposium will emphasise the dynamic interactions among tumour cells, neurons and immune components, and how these relationships impact tumour growth, metastasis and the tumour microenvironment.

As a winner of the Outstanding Mid-Career Researcher Award, Inês Pires da Silva was recognised for her exceptional progress and global impact in translational cancer research. She has led international studies that have shaped current clinical practice and advanced scientific understanding of resistance mechanisms in immunotherapy.

Thinking about the past and how it shaped the present is never simple. But Zach Mainen, who has been here since day one, was a natural person to revisit the “Then and Now” of the Champalimaud Foundation (CF). We spoke about what it meant to take on a new and unpredictable project, and how the dream of a small group gradually became reality. I hope this story inspires you to step into the unknown and to trust that even when the future feels uncertain, it can still unfold into something remarkable.