He is a reference in the field of active and healthy ageing and is part of the RISE-Health Unit, which originated in CINTESIS and is based at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. Elísio Costa was born 53 years ago in Lever, Vila Nova de Gaia, where he grew up and studied. From 1989 to1992, he studied Clinical Analysis and Public Health (now Biomedical Laboratory Sciences) at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP), having worked for 12 years at the now defunct Maria Pia Children’s Hospital, more specifically in the Hematology/Blood Bank service, with a strong focus on the study of erythrocyte pathologies (anemias).
“I loved that phase of my professional life. It was a time of a lot of learning and motivation. We were implementing methodologies for diagnosing non-oncological hematological pathologies, particularly hereditary pathologies related to the erythrocyte,” he recalls.
With the imminent demise of the hospital, the next step took him to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto to do a master’s degree in Molecular Medicine and Oncology, which he completed in 2005 with a thesis on “Gilbert and Crigler-Najjar syndromes: mutational analysis and genotype/phenotype relationship”. This was followed by a PhD in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto, where she researched “Resistance to Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Therapy in Hemodialysis Patients” (2005-2009).
After a four-year period in which he combined his doctorate with teaching at the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, the opportunity arose to return to Porto.
“After four years in Bragança, I was a bit tired of traveling. I have very fond memories of the work, the school and the students, but I’m more of a city dweller,” he confesses.
He spent another four years at the Portuguese Catholic University’s Institute of Health Sciences, teaching and managing postgraduate training courses. He became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto 12 years ago, and has remained there to this day.
As a researcher, he took his first steps while still at the Maria Pia Hospital, mostly with clinical case studies. His first publications date back to that time. It was since 2013, after his doctorate and through his participation in the European Partnership for Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) and several of its Action Groups, that he began to develop “collaborative work” and research in ageing and, more recently, in the area of digital health.
In 2016, he was at the origin of Porto4Ageing – Competence Center for Active and Healthy Aging/University of Porto, a regional consortium and Reference Site for Active and Healthy Aging, involving decision-makers, academia, representatives of civil society and companies (the so-called “quadruple helix”). In 2018, he joined EIT-Health (European Institute of Innovation & Technology), coordinating this institute’s “Hub” at the University of Porto until today and providing funding for specific activities, such as startup acceleration programs, entrepreneurship and innovation training and promoting interaction between academia and the health market.
Looking back, Elísio Costa emphasizes that “Porto4Ageing had a great impact on raising awareness of the issue of active and healthy ageing and allowed people working in the field to get to know each other and collaborate”. On the other hand, with EIT-Health, “we contributed to the mindset of innovation and entrepreneurship in health in the ecosystem in the north of our country”.
More recently, in 2024, he joined the new Research Unit formed by CINTESIS, UnIC, MedInUP and CICS-UBI. “I joined because of the need to be among researchers with the same goals and aspirations. RISE-Health is very strong in research and innovation in ageing and digital health. It made perfect sense for me to join where there is critical mass in this area,” he explains.
As for the future, he says there is a lot to be done in developing and providing inclusive solutions, products and services that provide innovative answers to problems and contribute to “an active and healthy life” – because “ageing has no age bracket, it’s a process that is part of the life cycle”.
For Elísio Costa, “in Portugal, we still have a problem of access. We are still a poor country, with very low levels of education, especially among the older population. The last years of life are still lived with a very low quality of life. We have little infrastructure to support the elderly. The social area is very poorly funded, it is very dependent on state funding. You need money to grow old with dignity.”
He added: “We continue to invest resources in the same solutions we invested in 10 or 15 years ago. We can’t be stuck with the solutions of the past. And we still have the same problems, which are likely to get worse. In the Portuguese population, the age group with the most people is between 45 and 50. In 20 years’ time, they will be between 65 and 70. We’re going to have a larger proportion of the population to look after.”
That’s why “there’s a long way to go”. The solution consists of “looking at the problem, above party political issues, rethinking and implementing innovative measures”. Because “a society that doesn’t have the capacity to look after its elderly is a society that has no future”.
What is your 1-year ambition?
I have several projects focused mainly on supporting the innovation ecosystem and the creation of new solutions, products and services for the market, based on the needs and preferences of the various players, such as healthcare professionals and patients. One of the ongoing projects is INNO4LIFE, an initiative that will create a cross-border “living lab” (North of Portugal – Galicia) where companies and research groups can validate their ideas and/or innovative technologies in a real-world context, with a special focus on dementias.
What is your 10-year ambition?
I’d like to consolidate this cross-border living lab and extend it to other areas to support startups and companies in developing products and services effectively, speeding up their transposition to the market. At the same time as improving patients’ quality of life, we will be boosting the economy. Universities cannot be left out of this process, they cannot distance themselves from the real world, otherwise they will become mere providers of certificates and diplomas.
How is life beyond research and teaching?
I really enjoy my walks, going for walks and spending time with my friends.