The Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon became the first national centre for biomedical research to obtain international quality certification when it obtained an ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certificate following auditing by TÜV Rheinland, the internationally recognised independent inspection body, which conferred this positive rating on IMM after it demonstrated its ability to comply with the demanding requirements of this prestigious certification standard.

With the certification audit in 2014 and involving about 70 researchers “this project has demonstrated itself to be of great complexity, not only because it is an organization that brings together researchers from diverse nationalities and cultures, it is currently experiencing tremendous growth” said Bruno Silva-Santos, Vice-President of IMM. Margarida Pinto Gago, Manager of the Institute of Molecular Medicine, added that this Institute "will continue to improve and streamline processes. The more the procedures are instituted, the greater the freedom that can be granted to our researchers."

"TÜV Rheinland is very proud to certify the excellence of the services provided by the structural units of the IMM. However, this is just the first step on a long and demanding journey,” Fernando Lamares, Managing Director of TÜV Rheinland stated. The head of the inspection organization concluded, “the implementation of ISO 9001 will improve internal efficiency, eliminating processes and inefficiencies, enhancing the satisfaction of the institute’s different stakeholders, from internal and external researchers, to universities, hospitals and associated companies".

An institution of reference in biomedical research, the IMM is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science. Its laboratories equipped with the state of the art technology are staffed by researchers, leaders in their fields, who are dedicated to understanding the mechanisms of disease, and the development of new therapeutic approaches, as well as predictive and diagnostic tests.

^{(source IMM Press Releas}

 

Editorial Team
news@medicina.ulisboa.pt