Champalimaud Foundation’s work with artificial intelligence is the fourth best in the worldIn the Nature TOP 10, there are institutions from Germany, the United States of America, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. According to Leonor Beleza, President of the Champalimaud Foundation, “it is a great honour for Portugal and for the Champalimaud Foundation to be at the forefront of scientific research”.

Cancer researcher Rita Fior uses zebrafish to study human cancer. Though this may seem like an unlikely match, her work shows great promise with forthcoming applications in personalised medicine. 

The basic principle of Fior's approach relies on transplanting human cancer cells into dozens of zebrafish larvae. The fish then serve as "living test tubes" where various treatments, such as different chemotherapy drugs, can be tested to reveal which works best. The assay is rapid, producing an answer within four short days.