Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OLISSIPO (OLISSIPO – Fostering Computational Biology Research and Innovation in Lisbon)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-01-01 al 2022-03-31
Project OLISSIPO aims to enhance the competences in Computational Biology at INESC-ID (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa) and Instituto Superior Técnico / Universidade de Lisboa (IST/ULisboa) - partial owner of INESC-ID, towards the creation of an international pole of excellence in multi-disciplinary science in Portugal.
Although Computational Biology in Portugal has significantly progressed in the past two decades, the system remains fragile, which has hampered the full establishment of this research area. It is thus essential to stimulate the progression of this fundamental discipline and ensure competitiveness in the forthcoming projects and innovative actions in Portugal.
The OLISSIPO Consortium was designed to provide outstanding and complementary expertise in Strategic Areas of Computational Biology. Besides the proponent institution, INESC-ID (Lead: Susana Vinga), it involves three leading institutions and Principal Investigators in the area of Computational Biology: Inria (Marie-France Sagot), ETH Zürich (Niko Beerenwinkel), and EMBL (Wolfgang Huber).
More specifically, OLISSIPO will enhance INESC-ID research profile and innovation competence in Computational Biology, provide training to staff and Early Stage Researchers to build critical mass at the interface of computer science and health research and strengthen the collaborative network between the Twinning partners. The OLISSIPO institutions will reinforce their expertise in theoretical modeling, computer science and statistical learning with a direct impact on biology, medicine and health applications. This project will also support regional initiatives under the SMART specialization strategy for Lisbon and Portugal.
These objectives will be reached through short-term staff exchanges and expert visits (exchange of scientific and administrative staff) and the organization of scientific events (summer schools, workshops and international conferences). To leverage the research potential of the team, OLISSIPO also provides and supports training not only in the research topics identified but also in soft skills (e.g. scientific writing and presentation skills), intellectual property issues, and open-source).
Although Computational Biology in Portugal has significantly progressed in the past two decades, the system remains fragile, which has hampered the full establishment of this research area. It is thus essential to stimulate the progression of this fundamental discipline and ensure competitiveness in the forthcoming projects and innovative actions in Portugal.
The OLISSIPO Consortium was designed to provide outstanding and complementary expertise in Strategic Areas of Computational Biology. Besides the proponent institution, INESC-ID (Lead: Susana Vinga), it involves three leading institutions and Principal Investigators in the area of Computational Biology: Inria (Marie-France Sagot), ETH Zürich (Niko Beerenwinkel), and EMBL (Wolfgang Huber).
More specifically, OLISSIPO will enhance INESC-ID research profile and innovation competence in Computational Biology, provide training to staff and Early Stage Researchers to build critical mass at the interface of computer science and health research and strengthen the collaborative network between the Twinning partners. The OLISSIPO institutions will reinforce their expertise in theoretical modeling, computer science and statistical learning with a direct impact on biology, medicine and health applications. This project will also support regional initiatives under the SMART specialization strategy for Lisbon and Portugal.
These objectives will be reached through short-term staff exchanges and expert visits (exchange of scientific and administrative staff) and the organization of scientific events (summer schools, workshops and international conferences). To leverage the research potential of the team, OLISSIPO also provides and supports training not only in the research topics identified but also in soft skills (e.g. scientific writing and presentation skills), intellectual property issues, and open-source).
The project was fully implemented at the beginning of 2021. However, due to the pandemic, the Consortium was forced to adapt or postpone some of the planned activities during the Reporting Period 1 (RP1) (M01-M13). Nevertheless, several activities were successfully concluded: 1 staff exchange (5 researchers, 1 week/each), 1 OLISSIPO Week, 3 Twin Seminars and 1 Inaugural Workshop. The project has also supported the organization of another workshop (Two for a Tango Workshop) and 4 international conferences and other events. Regarding the communication and dissemination activities, all promotional material was created (logo, website, social media, project banner, poster, and video), and the first issue of the OLISSIPO newsletter was released (M14). In addition, the OLISSIPO team participated in 9 outreach initiatives. Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) enrolled in 2 scientific courses and 2 international conferences. Both ESRs and administrative staff participated in 2 workshops (Voice and Communication; Mental Health). The OLISSIPO coordination (project coordinator and project manager) participated in more than 15 courses, seminars, and workshops.
The network raised by the OLISSIPO project is now showing some success since the INESC-ID members and Twinning partners have already identified synergies and have a plan to collaborate in the future.
Although the results are not known yet, a funding proposal was submitted at the national level to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) to further support Computational Biology activities at INESC-ID and the University of Lisbon.
The network raised by the OLISSIPO project is now showing some success since the INESC-ID members and Twinning partners have already identified synergies and have a plan to collaborate in the future.
Although the results are not known yet, a funding proposal was submitted at the national level to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) to further support Computational Biology activities at INESC-ID and the University of Lisbon.
OLISSIPO is now supporting and providing training to staff and Early Stage Researchers to build critical mass at the interface of computer science and health research. In addition, through the implementation of its work plan, OLISSIPO is significantly strengthing the institutional network between INESC-ID, Inria, ETH Zürich and EMBL so as to Spread Excellence and stimulate scientific development and innovation capacity in Computational Biology. We expect that this stronger collaborative network will be expanded further among the Twinning partners’ contacts, thus enhancing the internationalization of INESC-ID. We also expect to increase the attractiveness of INESC-ID and this area, in particular for Early Stage Researchers (ESR) and PhD candidates, which will be captivated to pursue their careers in Computational Biology. This aspect will further support the sustainability of INESC-ID expertise beyond the project.
The planned activities of dissemination, communication and outreach will further boost not only the INESC-ID visibility to the wide public but also divulge Computational Biology and its importance in pathology (interpreted as the study of diseases), from personalised healthcare and precision oncology to the analysis of infectious diseases. This will contribute to strengthen the link between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Health which is aligned with the Lisbon region’s priority “Health research, technologies and services” and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN), with a direct impact associated with the Goal 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.
The planned activities of dissemination, communication and outreach will further boost not only the INESC-ID visibility to the wide public but also divulge Computational Biology and its importance in pathology (interpreted as the study of diseases), from personalised healthcare and precision oncology to the analysis of infectious diseases. This will contribute to strengthen the link between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Health which is aligned with the Lisbon region’s priority “Health research, technologies and services” and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN), with a direct impact associated with the Goal 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.