FMUL News
Professors of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon win Neuroscience Awards
The Santa Casa 2017 Neuroscience awards honoured two Professors of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, Maria José Diógenes and Bruno André Miranda.
At a ceremony held at the Ajuda National Palace on 30 November, three works received awards by Santa Casa da Misericórdia, which, once again, awarded scholarships to researchers in the field of Neuroscience.
Maria José Diógenes, a Researcher and Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, received the Mantero Belard Prize, and a team from the University of Minho, led by António Salgado, was granted the Melo e Castro Prize, both worth 200 thousand euros. For the first time this year, in honour of the deceased surgeon, Santa Casa also awarded the João Lobo Antunes Prize to Bruno André Miranda, a Guest Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon. It is a prize worth 40,000 euros, intended to honour intern doctors who have excelled in clinical research projects.
Knowing that there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, the 40-year-old researcher, Maria José Diógenes, together with her team, intends to deepen knowledge about the disease, test an innovative drug and research a new biomarker.
In Alzheimer's disease, there is dysregulation of the functioning of a neurotrophic factor that is crucial for neuronal survival and differentiation and for synaptic plasticity, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This team discovered the mechanisms underlying such deregulation and designed a new drug to prevent it. This drug will now be tested in vivo on animal models of the disease. On the other hand, a new biomarker will be studied in the human cerebrospinal fluid, also related to deregulation of the actions of the same neurotrophic factor. If validated, this biomarker will make the diagnosis and evaluation of disease progression easier.
Bruno André Miranda is also researching Alzheimer's and has included in his research patients with frontotemporal dementia. Through neuropsychological tests and questionnaires on past and future thinking, he analyses how patients decide their tasks and process their routines. These tests enable understanding how episodic memory (personal experiences) and generalized memory (based on acquired global concepts) are affected. Through the analysis of magnetic resonance imaging and by comparing the affected memories, the researcher can later find a solution for the problems encountered now.
The Santa Casa Neuroscience awards are already in their 5th edition and account for two million euros. All these awards are an investment in the area of neuroscience research, promoting knowledge and ensuring that medicine never fails to progress.
The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon congratulates its researchers and is proud to see that, on a large scale, it contributes to the advance of Science in Portugal.
[su_slider source="media: 20505,20511,20510,20509" limit="27" target="blank" width="800" height="640" title="no" arrows="no" pages="no" autoplay="5500" speed="9600"][su_slider source="media: 19344,19346,19396,19359,19351,19348,19356,19372,19343,19371,19373,19382,19385,19386,19388,19393,19377,19394,19401,19342,19318,19316,19315,19313,19310,19308,19306,19303,19299" limit="13" link="lightbox" width="920" height="580" responsive="no" title="no" mousewheel="no" autoplay="5300" speed="2100"][/su_slider]
At a ceremony held at the Ajuda National Palace on 30 November, three works received awards by Santa Casa da Misericórdia, which, once again, awarded scholarships to researchers in the field of Neuroscience.
Maria José Diógenes, a Researcher and Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, received the Mantero Belard Prize, and a team from the University of Minho, led by António Salgado, was granted the Melo e Castro Prize, both worth 200 thousand euros. For the first time this year, in honour of the deceased surgeon, Santa Casa also awarded the João Lobo Antunes Prize to Bruno André Miranda, a Guest Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon. It is a prize worth 40,000 euros, intended to honour intern doctors who have excelled in clinical research projects.
Knowing that there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, the 40-year-old researcher, Maria José Diógenes, together with her team, intends to deepen knowledge about the disease, test an innovative drug and research a new biomarker.
In Alzheimer's disease, there is dysregulation of the functioning of a neurotrophic factor that is crucial for neuronal survival and differentiation and for synaptic plasticity, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This team discovered the mechanisms underlying such deregulation and designed a new drug to prevent it. This drug will now be tested in vivo on animal models of the disease. On the other hand, a new biomarker will be studied in the human cerebrospinal fluid, also related to deregulation of the actions of the same neurotrophic factor. If validated, this biomarker will make the diagnosis and evaluation of disease progression easier.
Bruno André Miranda is also researching Alzheimer's and has included in his research patients with frontotemporal dementia. Through neuropsychological tests and questionnaires on past and future thinking, he analyses how patients decide their tasks and process their routines. These tests enable understanding how episodic memory (personal experiences) and generalized memory (based on acquired global concepts) are affected. Through the analysis of magnetic resonance imaging and by comparing the affected memories, the researcher can later find a solution for the problems encountered now.
The Santa Casa Neuroscience awards are already in their 5th edition and account for two million euros. All these awards are an investment in the area of neuroscience research, promoting knowledge and ensuring that medicine never fails to progress.
The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon congratulates its researchers and is proud to see that, on a large scale, it contributes to the advance of Science in Portugal.
[su_slider source="media: 20505,20511,20510,20509" limit="27" target="blank" width="800" height="640" title="no" arrows="no" pages="no" autoplay="5500" speed="9600"][su_slider source="media: 19344,19346,19396,19359,19351,19348,19356,19372,19343,19371,19373,19382,19385,19386,19388,19393,19377,19394,19401,19342,19318,19316,19315,19313,19310,19308,19306,19303,19299" limit="13" link="lightbox" width="920" height="580" responsive="no" title="no" mousewheel="no" autoplay="5300" speed="2100"][/su_slider]
