Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NIMSB (NOVA Institute for Medical Systems Biology)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2023-09-01 do 2025-02-28
The NOVA Institute for Medical Systems Biology (NIMSB) is a pioneering initiative tackling the global rise of chronic diseases by advancing precision interceptive medicine. These diseases, intensified by ageing populations, strain healthcare systems and require new scientific approaches beyond conventional treatment.
NIMSB will establish a Centre of Excellence that integrates multi-omics, AI, in vitro models, and computational tools to uncover disease mechanisms and predict progression. Its goal is to prevent symptoms before they appear, enhance diagnosis, and personalise treatments.
In partnership with the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, NIMSB combines world-class research and clinical translation. It also invests in training a new generation of researchers and clinicians in precision medicine and digital health.
Expected outcomes include:
- Novel diagnostic and predictive tools
- Early disease interception strategies
- A new clinical paradigm in systems medicine
-A skilled talent pipeline for European healthcare innovation
By aligning cutting-edge science with societal needs, NIMSB contributes to healthier populations and more sustainable healthcare systems across Europe.
NIMSB will establish a Centre of Excellence that integrates multi-omics, AI, in vitro models, and computational tools to uncover disease mechanisms and predict progression. Its goal is to prevent symptoms before they appear, enhance diagnosis, and personalise treatments.
In partnership with the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, NIMSB combines world-class research and clinical translation. It also invests in training a new generation of researchers and clinicians in precision medicine and digital health.
Expected outcomes include:
- Novel diagnostic and predictive tools
- Early disease interception strategies
- A new clinical paradigm in systems medicine
-A skilled talent pipeline for European healthcare innovation
By aligning cutting-edge science with societal needs, NIMSB contributes to healthier populations and more sustainable healthcare systems across Europe.
In its first 18 months, NIMSB made strong progress in establishing its scientific and organisational foundations:
- Organisational Setup: NIMSB was established as a Strategic Platform under NOVA University Lisbon, with governance bodies (SB and iBoD) and internal procedures, including the Administrative and Financial Manual, fully operational.
- Scientific Programme: Quick Gain Projects were launched with MDC to drive early-stage research in disease detection and therapeutic strategies, supported by access to Champalimaud Foundation’s facilities.
- Talent and Capacity Building: Administrative and scientific leaders were recruited; the first PhD call was launched with four studentships starting in March 2025, alongside the creation of a structured career development model.
- Facilities and Research Start: Interim lab and office spaces were set up at the Champalimaud Foundation and UNL’s Flor da Murta Palace, ensuring early research activities could begin while the permanent building is being prepared.
- Challenges Addressed: Infrastructure delays and administrative constraints led NIMSB to initiate a transition towards becoming an autonomous non-profit entity to enhance operational agility.
These milestones firmly position NIMSB on track to become a European Centre of Excellence in medical systems biology.
- Organisational Setup: NIMSB was established as a Strategic Platform under NOVA University Lisbon, with governance bodies (SB and iBoD) and internal procedures, including the Administrative and Financial Manual, fully operational.
- Scientific Programme: Quick Gain Projects were launched with MDC to drive early-stage research in disease detection and therapeutic strategies, supported by access to Champalimaud Foundation’s facilities.
- Talent and Capacity Building: Administrative and scientific leaders were recruited; the first PhD call was launched with four studentships starting in March 2025, alongside the creation of a structured career development model.
- Facilities and Research Start: Interim lab and office spaces were set up at the Champalimaud Foundation and UNL’s Flor da Murta Palace, ensuring early research activities could begin while the permanent building is being prepared.
- Challenges Addressed: Infrastructure delays and administrative constraints led NIMSB to initiate a transition towards becoming an autonomous non-profit entity to enhance operational agility.
These milestones firmly position NIMSB on track to become a European Centre of Excellence in medical systems biology.
Although still in the early stages of implementation, the NIMSB initiative already demonstrates strong potential to deliver scientific and technological breakthroughs that go beyond the current state of the art in systems biology, precision medicine, and research infrastructure development.
Preliminary Results and Anticipated Impacts
- Quick Gain Projects: The design and forthcoming launch of Quick Gain Projects represents an agile and innovative model for early-stage translational research. Focused on short-term, high-risk/high-reward experiments co-supervised by NIMSB and MDC researchers, these projects aim to rapidly uncover novel disease mechanisms and early therapeutic targets.
- Access to Advanced Technology Platforms: Through a strategic in-kind partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation, NIMSB researchers are already conducting exploratory experiments in spatial multi-omics, AI-driven modelling, and patient-derived systems (e.g. organoids). These early activities are laying the groundwork for robust workflows to be scaled and standardised in future phases.
- Recruitment of Scientific Leadership: The planned international recruitment of Integrated Group Leaders will attract top-tier talent and introduce new programmes that fuse data-driven discovery with clinical relevance and technological innovation—positioning NIMSB as a European leader in integrative and translational systems biology.
Key Enablers for Further Uptake and Long-Term Success
To ensure that NIMSB’s outputs generate impact beyond academia—reaching healthcare systems, markets, and society—the following enabling factors are being strategically addressed:
- IPR and Commercialisation Strategy: The establishment of an Innovation and Technology Transfer Office (ITTO), underpinned by deliverables D5.1 and D5.2 is preparing the institutional framework for intellectual property protection, licensing models, and early engagement with commercial stakeholders.
- Research Scale-Up and Demonstration: The second phase of the project (2025–2029) will focus on advancing successful Quick Gain Projects into long-term research lines with strong clinical, diagnostic, or therapeutic relevance, supported by competitive international funding (e.g. Horizon Europe, EIC).
- Access to Markets and Finance: Through active engagement with the Oeiras Valley innovation ecosystem and international biotech networks, NIMSB is building pathways for translation, including spin-off development and public-private partnerships.
- Internationalisation and Talent Development: Staff exchanges, joint supervision, and scientific retreats with MDC are deepening institutional collaboration and fostering a robust pipeline of interdisciplinary talent to lead future research and innovation.
- Standardisation and Regulatory Readiness: Collaborative work with clinical and technological partners is ensuring that protocols—especially those involving multi-omics and AI—are aligned with evolving EU standards in data protection, diagnostics, and clinical trials.
Preliminary Results and Anticipated Impacts
- Quick Gain Projects: The design and forthcoming launch of Quick Gain Projects represents an agile and innovative model for early-stage translational research. Focused on short-term, high-risk/high-reward experiments co-supervised by NIMSB and MDC researchers, these projects aim to rapidly uncover novel disease mechanisms and early therapeutic targets.
- Access to Advanced Technology Platforms: Through a strategic in-kind partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation, NIMSB researchers are already conducting exploratory experiments in spatial multi-omics, AI-driven modelling, and patient-derived systems (e.g. organoids). These early activities are laying the groundwork for robust workflows to be scaled and standardised in future phases.
- Recruitment of Scientific Leadership: The planned international recruitment of Integrated Group Leaders will attract top-tier talent and introduce new programmes that fuse data-driven discovery with clinical relevance and technological innovation—positioning NIMSB as a European leader in integrative and translational systems biology.
Key Enablers for Further Uptake and Long-Term Success
To ensure that NIMSB’s outputs generate impact beyond academia—reaching healthcare systems, markets, and society—the following enabling factors are being strategically addressed:
- IPR and Commercialisation Strategy: The establishment of an Innovation and Technology Transfer Office (ITTO), underpinned by deliverables D5.1 and D5.2 is preparing the institutional framework for intellectual property protection, licensing models, and early engagement with commercial stakeholders.
- Research Scale-Up and Demonstration: The second phase of the project (2025–2029) will focus on advancing successful Quick Gain Projects into long-term research lines with strong clinical, diagnostic, or therapeutic relevance, supported by competitive international funding (e.g. Horizon Europe, EIC).
- Access to Markets and Finance: Through active engagement with the Oeiras Valley innovation ecosystem and international biotech networks, NIMSB is building pathways for translation, including spin-off development and public-private partnerships.
- Internationalisation and Talent Development: Staff exchanges, joint supervision, and scientific retreats with MDC are deepening institutional collaboration and fostering a robust pipeline of interdisciplinary talent to lead future research and innovation.
- Standardisation and Regulatory Readiness: Collaborative work with clinical and technological partners is ensuring that protocols—especially those involving multi-omics and AI—are aligned with evolving EU standards in data protection, diagnostics, and clinical trials.