Mission

To engage with researchers to:

1. Transfer the knowledge developed at i3S to the Healthcare Ecosystem, involving relevant stakeholders in its valorisation and exploitation into knowledge-intensive products or services;

2. Attract competitive funding for research activities, with particular emphasis in international sources, providing comprehensive support to the integrative research programmes and individual researchers in their project applications.

3. Develop strategical interfaces with health-related industry and clinical centres to conceive and implement matched and innovative academic-industrial-clinical translational R&D Projects that fulfil clinical and healthcare needs.

01. Knowledge Transfer Office

Our Commitment

To transfer the knowledge developed at i3S to the Healthcare & Biotech Ecosystems by promoting its valorisation and commercial exploitation in the form of knowledge-intensive products or services.

Lines of Action

• Intellectual Property (IP) management (technology evaluation and IP strategies to market, patent registry) and Licensing.

• Scouting and selection of high potential technology-based entrepreneurial projects and management of tools to early-stage projects.

• Market access-related Regulatory issues and Certification of Medical Devices and In Vitro Diagnostics.

• Coordination of the Resolve-Health Innovation Acceleration Program.

• Creation and follow-up of spin-offs (Ideation, Business Plan writing, incubation support, business development, presentation to investors, management of the relationship with the Institute).

• Applications to Innovation awards/programs and Innovation Accelerator Programs.

• Provide management tools and support to the i3s scientific and technological services or platforms

Team members and areas of expertise and action:

- Hugo Prazeres (Office Coordinator): Registering and management of IP and Licensing to companies. Application to Innovation programs/awards, presentation to venture capital and investors. Entrepreneurship and support to creation of new spin-offs. Incubation and follow-up of spin-offs. Market access-related Regulatory issues and Certification of Medical Devices and In Vitro Diagnostics. Coordination of the RESOLVE-HEALTH Innovation Accelerator Program.

Bárbara Macedo specializes in identifying the market potential of health innovative ideas and establishing strategies for valuing knowledge of bench projects in the field of health and biotech. BM is noted for having successfully achieved the coordination of health innovation programs in Life Sciences (Resolve-Health/i3S and MED.IDEAS/NORTEXCEL2020) and as Project Manager for using appropriate verification techniques to manage seed projects in terms of scope, schedule and costs. BM also supports i3S researchers in drafting and reviewing documents that ensure the protection, management and valorization of Intellectual Property generated in R&D activities, namely Material Transfer Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Inter-Institutional Agreements, Consortium Agreements, among others.

02. Research Funding Office

Our Commitment

To engage with i3S researchers in order to increase the capacity of the Institute to attract competitive funding for research activities, with particular emphasis on international sources, providing support to the integrative research programs and individual researchers in their project applications.

Lines of action

The mission of the Research Funding Office (RFO) is fulfilled through the following actions:

1. Provide information on funding programs by identifying and mapping open and forthcoming calls for proposals by national and international funding agencies, public or private (an updated Map of Funding Opportunities is available via the i3S Portal); match funding opportunities with researcher profiles.
2. Support researchers in the process of application to competitive funding calls launched by national and international funding programs; provide support in the application preparation, process and submission, including full information on rules, and other related details.
3. Foster close and fruitful contacts with relevant funding bodies, in particular with the European Commission, Regional and National funding bodies, among others.
4. Provide support to PIs in the necessary documentation and procedures until contract signature, in liaison with the Project Management Department.
5. Coordinate efforts with the Innovation and Industry Partnerships Units in the evaluation of the knowledge and technologies identified, to ensure matching of the most appropriate type of funding available for each type and maturity of the knowledge/technology.

Team members and areas of expertise and action

• Catarina Neves: Manage and coordinate the search, development and submission to international funding opportunities, namely Horizon Europe, including process overseeing, consortium building, budget validation and administrative details. Support researchers on the awarding procedure of approved international grants. Liaison with international funding agencies regarding project applications and awarding processes.
• Catarina Carona: Dissemination of new calls for proposals (with particular emphasis on national funding agencies). Development and maintenance of the Funding Opportunities and Submitted Proposals online databases. Support to R&D projects, both national and international, in matters of application procedures, guidelines and budget validation. Liaison with FCT and other funding agencies. Direct collaboration with both the financial and project management departments of i3S. Support projects that require licenses for animal experimentation (liaison with researchers, CEA, DGAV).
• Isabel Menezes: Support to R&D national projects with the administrative and financial aspects during the application process, with particular expertise in regional and national funding programs, that are supported by EU structural funds. Expert in guidelines for project proposal submissions in the following platforms: Balcão2020/PAS 2.0. Close and straight collaboration with the i3S departments of financial and project management.
• Marta Oliveira: Support the preparation of proposals for Horizon Europe and other international funding agencies. Identification/dissemination of international funding opportunities and advise on the most suitable and relevant funding options available. Assistance on consortia building, grant writing, and submission of proposals, including administrative aspects. Liaison with different stakeholders (researchers, partners, funding agencies).

03. Translational Research & Industry Partnerships Office

Our Commitment

To engage with researchers aiming at promoting industry-academic-clinic R&D cooperative strategies and translational research studies in order to fulfil clinical and healthcare needs.

Lines of Action

1. Scientific and strategical conception, implementation and management of Contracted Research (Industry-sponsored R&D, clinical and translational projects).

2. Design and implementation of Investigator-Initiated clinical and non-clinical projects.

3. Scientific and clinical liaison with national and International pharma/biotech industry and clinical centres.

4. Support to applications to Open Innovation platforms.

5. Generation of translational academic-clinical consortia within the setting of European-related calls.

6. Integration in national and international networks of translational research.

Team members and areas of expertise and action:

- André Albergaria (Office Coordinator): Development of strategical interfaces with international pharma/biotech industry and clinical centres. Conception, implementation and management of Contracted Research (Industry-sponsored R&D clinical and translational projects). Support to Open Innovation platforms and to Investigator-Initiated clinical and non-clinical projects.

- Jorge Lima: Building of translational academic-clinical consortia for European funding (H2020-related clinical and translational research calls), active co-writing of proposals and their submission. Integration in national and international networks of translational research. Support to the scientific conception of Industry-sponsored R&D clinical and translational projects. Liaise with the Research Funding Unit in matters related to the abovementioned actions.