The first large Associate Laboratory dedicated to clinical and translational research has just been created in Portugal: RISE – Health Research Network. The announcement was made by the Foundation for Science and Technology.

The mission of the new Laboratory will be to strengthen health research, from the pre-clinical and clinical stages to the community level, namely through digital health, bringing together Universities and Healthcare providers, within the scope of the national policy objectives for Science and Technology.  “We aim to create and develop an environment focused on team-based research, where discoveries will be quickly and efficiently implemented to improve human health”, explains Fernando Schmitt, a researcher at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP), who will be RISE’s coordinator.

“The creation of this Associated Laboratory will fill a long-felt gap in health research in our country, as it will allow a better articulation between the Academy, Hospitals and Health Centers, aiming to put the results of clinical and translational research at the service of patients and society in general. Furthermore, the recommended organizational model is quite innovative since RISE will be managed in a decentralized and networked manner, thus allowing for greater efficiency in the management of available resources and facilitating the performance of multicenter and multidisciplinary studies,” adds Altamiro da Costa Pereira, director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP).

RISE also stands out for uniting, for the first time, the Faculties of Medicine of Porto and Lisbon in a project of this dimension. According to Fausto Pinto, director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL), “RISE is absolutely pioneering in Portugal in the area of clinical and translational research, showing that it is possible to create a strong structure in this area that is competitive on the international scene, thus reinforcing the visibility and external credibility of Portuguese medical science. This was only possible due to the joining of efforts and wills of large university institutions, such as the FMUL and the FMUP, thus reinforcing the impact that structures like the one now created can have, taking advantage of the complementarities of the partners that created it”.

The Associate Laboratory RISE comprises five major research lines (Cardiovascular Sciences, Oncology, Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases, Health Policy, Technology, and Digital Transformation, Community Health, and Societal Challenges) and will bring together more than 220 Ph.D. researchers and 120 Ph.D. students.

It should be noted that more than half of these researchers are doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, which will help bring research priorities closer to the needs identified daily in contact with patients. “This initiative shows that the NHS is much more than providing care to patients and is at the forefront of clinical innovation and research, which are central to improving health outcomes,” says Rui Henrique, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the IPO-Porto.

RISE will also be supported by other researchers, such as biologists, economists, biostatisticians, computer scientists, and data scientists. The new Lab “is the perfect combination of scientific knowledge and innovation produced in research units and universities with the concrete everyday life of patients, healthcare institutions, decision-makers, and companies. We intend to be the main protagonist and catalyst in changing the clinical, translational, and community research landscape in Portugal”, Fernando Schmitt concludes.

RISE is based in academia and it was created through the union of CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research and UnIC – Cardiovascular Research Unit, both based in FMUP, with CCUL – Cardiovascular Centre of the University of Lisbon, in FMUL and the CI-IPOP (IPO Porto Research Center – IPO-Porto). These institutions are also joined by researchers from the NOVA Medical School, the Nursing School of Porto, and the University of Aveiro.