It is seen as an "important" step throughout the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) project. This Thursday, February 20, the renowned Champalimaud Foundation signed collaboration protocols with ABC, a consortium that brings together the University of the Algarve (UAlg) and the Hospital and University Center of the Algarve (CHUA). The idea is to share knowledge and training, with a view to improving the link between research and practice.
The event took place at Palácio Gama Lobo, in Loulé, the municipality that will host the two buildings of the Algarve Biomedical Center: one in Loulé, the other in Vilamoura. The Municipality itself, moreover, is a partner in the entire project, investing an amount of 17 million.
Ao Sul Informação, Nuno Marques, president of the ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, began by explaining that, from the beginning, this consortium and the Champalimaud Foundation «have had very similar concerns».
“This involves, for example, linking research, which is carried out in the health area, passing it on to clinical practice. The two institutions, having the same assumption in terms of research, training and improvement of health care, decided to join forces and established a collaboration agreement aimed at these three areas, being continuously in collaboration», he added.
For this reason, a “specific” protocol was signed in which, from now on, “our researchers will begin to collaborate with the Foundation's researchers, in a strategic partnership”.
"We believe that the link between the two realities and, above all, the relationship between the protagonists of both sides, will lead to important progress so that the fight against the disease has greater success", stressed Leonor Beleza, at the session in Loulé.
Basically, the intention is to «bridge» between scientists (laboratories) and doctors – «professionals from theoretically different areas but who come together so that health care (whether prevention or treatment) is better».
“What is planned is this articulation and sharing. We will have researchers from the Champalimaud Foundation coming here to collaborate and vice versa: it is a mutual exchange for joint training», explained, in turn, Nuno Marques to our newspaper.
Within the scope of this partnership, for example, in 2020 several postgraduate courses organized by the ABC and aimed at researchers from the Champalimaud Foundation are starting.
But what will this ABC project be? In practice, there will be the construction of two buildings: the ABC Loulé Health Research Center, in the county seat, with 3500 square meters, and the ABC Active Life, in Vilamoura (4000 square meters).
On the other hand, the project also aims to decentralize services from national institutions in the health area, such as the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge and Infarmed, to the Algarve. In other words: what will be transferred are only some of the institutions' services and not their headquarters.
In the Loulé building, which will be named after the Algarvean José Mariano Gago, the Public Bank of Células do Cordão Umbilical will be installed, which is currently in Porto. But this will not only be the wide-ranging valence to be installed there. The Seroteca Nacional will also have the city of Loulé as its headquarters, as well as the Center for Studies on the Safety of Medicines and Medical Devices.
In this context, a System of Drug Interactions will also be developed from the ABC Loulé Health Research Center.
As for the Algarve Entomological Research Centre, also to be installed in Loulé, it will study diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.
Also in the county headquarters building, the Biobanco do ABC will be created, which will enable innovative investigations, the Pharmacovigilance Unit of the Algarve and Alentejo, a pole of the National Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation and a Center for Clinical Research of ABC.
In Vilamoura, ABC's Active Life Center will start operating, a center that will focus on promoting active life, focused on seniors.
After being publicly presented in May of last year, everything is, at this moment, «in the phase of the architectural projects that are almost finished».
The goal is launch the work «still this year», guaranteed Nuno Marques to our newspaper, also leaving praise for the Câmara de Loulé.
«This bet is also starting to be seen elsewhere, with the recent approval of the creation of the university Health Center. The council is here to gain a national prominence in the area of health», he considered.
Even so, who will win "will be the whole region".
"We hope that there is better access to health care because these projects are also the basis for securing good professionals," he concluded.
For Vítor Aleixo, Mayor of Loulé, this very significant moment was «another pebble in an ambitious building, in a very specific project aimed at scientific research, innovation and diversification of the economic base of the Algarve region with the Algarve Biomedical Center ».
The rector of the University of Algarve Paulo Águas considered that the relationship between the University of Algarve and the Hospital Center allowed, from the outset, "a rapprochement between scientists and doctors".
As for this “community of interests” between the Champalimaud Foundation and an academic center, it makes perfect sense as there are “common interests that must be explored and promoted”.
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