On May 13th, the auditorium of the School of Health Sciences of Polytechnic of Leiria hosted the event that celebrated the 6th anniversary of ciTechCare.

Over the past 6 years, ciTechCare has been creating innovative and impactful solutions for the community, improving health care and developing distinctive proposals for the promotion of healthy lifestyles, based on the acquired scientific knowledge.

The opening session was attended by the President of the Polytechnic of Leiria (PL), Rui Pinto, the Pro-President of the PL, Carolina Henriques and the Coordinator of ciTechCare, Maria Guarino.

Marco Lemos, researcher at MARE- Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre/Polytechnic of Leiria, focusing his research on marine biotechnology and sustainability of marine resources for the industry, was the keynote of the session by presenting his communication ‘Patents or Papers? – Science and impact’. The researcher highlight the projects and patents in which he was involved, such as the seafilm: a marine polymer developed to replace the plastic coating on frozen fish. An innovative solution that enhances food quality and reduces waste.

Researchers, fellows, partners and other collaborators joined the session to celebrate science and in particular the commitment and the path built by the whole team over these 6 years, in a scientific event that included the presentation of several PhD projects focused on digital health, respiratory rehabilitation or chrononutrition, but also communications from researchers who addressed the impact of science in different ways.

Maria Guarino expressed her gratitude and proud on the growth of ciTechCare team over the years and stressed the importance of the presence of partners such as NERLEI CCI or Local Health Unit of Leiria Region (ULSRL), which allow adding value to the research that is produced in this research unit.