Researchers, professors and students were together last May 16 at the Health Innovation Hub of the Polytechnic of Leiria to celebrate the 4th anniversary of ciTechCare, marked on May 13.

May 16, also the National Scientist’s Day, was dedicated to research, in particular to developed projects in the field of Nutrition and Food Innovation, but also to the discussion on ‘Education, Citizenship and… Science’, which took place in the morning.

Álvaro Laborinho Lúcio, former Minister of Justice and a defender of the freedom of scientific research and Maria Guarino, Coordinator of the Research Unit, boosted this discussion where the impact and meaning of the investigation was the subject of reflection, since it is so often conditioned by the ‘instantaneity of the time’, in a society that also ‘needs time to create values’.

ciTechCare researchers also presented several communications in the area of Pharmaceutical Technology, Design and Nutrition in type 1 diabetes. The oral communications were presented by Marisa Gaspar, PhD researcher in Pharmaceutical Technology, responsible for the Advanced Laboratory of Diagnosis and Therapeutics, Sandra Neves, design researcher and Vice-Director of LIDA (Laboratory of Research in Design and Arts) and Raquel Oliveira, researcher and nutritionist at the Leiria Center Hospital.

Two of the products developed with ciTechCare’s support were also protagonists on this day. Researcher Rui Lopes introduced his Medronho bread, side by side with Marisa Gaspar, the main researcher for the creation of Pear Gelly Gum project, a product that results from the application of laboratory techniques, such as lyophilization.

The spirit of sharing scientific culture was present throughout the day, both through the posters’ exhibition, and the presentations that guided the program and that contributed to a global perception of the importance of health research, in particular, the scientific work developed by ciTechCare in the last 4 years.