Events
Ninth Meeting of Biomedical Engineering IST/FMUL
The ninth meeting organised by the committee responsible for the Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering offered by IST/FMUL was held on 23 November last. This time the meeting was held at the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine, at the Academic Medical Centre of the University of Lisbon.
As in previous years, the meeting was an opportunity to show students and lecturers in this master degree some important aspects of research in this area currently undertaken at both institutions, and to strengthen scientific links between them.
The meeting consisted basically of three modules, each with two conferences: a conference by a guest scientist; a small set of presentations by students of the Master Degree; and a concluding summing up talk.
The Director of FMUL, Professor José Fernandes e Fernandes, opened the session, and the President of IST, Professor António Cruz Serra, closed the meeting. Each of the topics of the modules was the theme of two conferences, one given by a scientist from FMUL, the other by one from IST.
The 1st module focused on the topic “Biomaterials/Tissue Regeneration”, which was moderated by Professor Jacinto Monteiro, from FMUL. Professor Paulo Fernandes, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of IST, spoke about the state of the art in the field of computational modelling of bone tissue and of the application of these models to the manufacturing and qualitative analysis of biomaterials, which will be used as substitutes of bone tissue, and of their biomechanical applications. Professor João Eurico da Fonseca, from the Rheumatology Research Unit of the Institute of Molecular Medicine of FMUL, gave a medical overview of biomechanics and stressed its importance in the calculation of risk assessment of bone fracture (“FRAX”) and in terms of bone biological parameters and mechanical properties.
The 2nd module covered aspects of Nanomedicine and was moderated by Professor Teresa Paiva, from FMUL. Professor Catarina Madeira, from the Department of Bioengineering of IST, presented various aspects of biotechnological techniques used in the treatment of several diseases, ranging from the use of stem cells to more advanced forms of genetic strategies which use nanoparticles as vectors for transporting molecules for therapeutic purposes. Professor João Forjaz de Lacerda, from the Haematology Clinic of FMUL, stressed the importance of cell immunotherapy following the transplantation of hematopoietic progenitors in order to overcome the complications that may arise as a result, namely the so-called “graft-versus-host disease”.
The 3rd module addressed aspects in the area of “Biofeedack”, functional stimulation of the brain and “Brain-Computer Interfaces”, and was moderated by Professor Patrícia Figueiredo, from the Bioengineering Department and the Systems and Robotic Institute of IST. Professor João Miguel Sanches, from the same Department and Institute, spoke about key aspects of this topic, stressing in particular the importance of the latest technological advances that allow using “Bio/ Neurofeedback” in ambulatory situations, which increases the possibility for clinical application of these techniques. Professor Tiago Maia, from the Physiology Department of FMUL, presented the recent advances in the field of therapeutic strategies for brain stimulation in a variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases, namely stimulation using electrodes implanted in the brain (Deep Brain Stimulation – DBS) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). He also stressed the importance of developing neurocomputational models together with the results of Brain Imaging in order to identify the neural substrates underlying some pathophysiological situations in the brain so as to adopt the most appropriate therapeutic strategies.
Professor Raquel Seruca, from the Institute of Molecular Pathology of the University of Oporto (IPATIMUP), was the guest speaker. This part of the meeting was moderated by Professor Paulo Freitas, from the Department of Physics of IST. Professor Raquel Seruca, who leads the Cancer Genetics Group of IPATIMUP, dedicated her conference to the topic of carcinogenesis at molecular level, particularly the important role played by the glycoprotein “E-cadherin” of the membranes of epithelial cells. The research she has conducted on stomach carcinoma has shown that the loss of “E-cadherin” can be an initiator of carcinogenesis.
In addition to these conferences, five students (Michel Cânovas, Eduardo Branco, Alexandre Domingues, Carlos Carreiras and J. Amaral), gave a brief presentation on their findings as part of their master degree projects, and Professor Ana Sebastião moderated this part of the meeting.
Finally, Professor Fernando Lopes da Silva closed the meeting by stressing two challenges, one scientific and the other of a practical nature, which currently confront health and life sciences. As a vital scientific challenge, he referred to the need to develop and deepen the convergence between health and life sciences, engineering and physics in the development of new knowledge, both from a theoretical point of view and in terms of practical application to the field of health. The other challenge he mentioned was the employability of bio-medical engineers which, despite the growing trend, must be stimulated with measures that facilitate and foster the entrepreneurship spirit among recent graduates in this field, and the creation of start-up companies. In this context, the importance of recruiting bio-medical engineers to hospitals was highlighted, as well as the need to raise awareness among medical professionals to the importance of the contribution of bio-medical engineers to medical teams, at both academic and medical practice.
In conclusion, this ninth meeting has demonstrated that the partnership between FMUL and IST is developing very positively in Portugal, fostering a growing number of creative activities in terms of research in this field of convergence and in the development of new forms of undergraduate and postgraduate education.
Fernando Lopes da Silva, M.D., Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor, Center of Neuroscience, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Amsterdam and Guest Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (Higher Technical Institute) and at the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon. Member of the Coordinating Committee of the Integrated Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering IST/FMUL.