LATEST NEWS

Córtex School Bag among the top 8 initiatives shortlisted for the Alzheimer Europe Anti-stigma Award 2026

13 October 2026

The Córtex School Bag project, developed by researchers at ciTechCare – Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology, has been shortlisted for the Alzheimer Europe Anti-Stigma Award 2026, selected from more than 80 applications submitted across Europe. This year’s edition focuses on the theme “Music and Dementia” and recognises initiatives that use music to promote a more positive and inclusive understanding of dementia. Córtex School Bag combines stories, music, games and experiential activities to help children understand ageing and dementia in an accessible, sensitive and scientifically informed way, thereby contributing to the fight against dementia-related stigma from an early age.

SeedCare internal initiative funds two projects

6 October 2026

The first edition of the SeedCare internal funding programme, an initiative aimed at promoting and supporting the development of research projects with translational potential, received eight applications, two of which were selected as winning projects. In the scientific area of Health Promotion and Care, the winning project was “CAREP@ll-CONNECT”, led by Carlos Laranjeira, principal investigator. The project aims to complement the care provided by healthcare professionals in the field of palliative care through the participation of specially trained volunteers who support people with advanced illness and their families. This approach seeks to reduce social isolation, alleviate the burden on family

ciTechCare researchers on health promotion in COPD presented their work at the ERS Congress, in Spain

27 September 2026

From 5th to 9th September, Barcelona received the International Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2026, and ciTechCare was represented by 5 PhD research fellows and a PhD researcher. Joana Cruz, PhD, and principal investigator in several projects on COPD and pulmonary rehabilitation participated as part of the faculty of the Skills Workshop entitled “Physical activity assessment & enhancement strategies”, together with Elena Gimeno-Santos, Fábio Pitta and Thierry Troosters, integrated in the “Academy of Pulmonary rehabilitation – Advanced” course of the ERS. Also, several PhD students had the opportunity to share the most recent results from their research on

ciTechCare researchers present two posters at ESPEN Congress 2026, in Berlin

26 September 2026

Maria Guarino and Marlene Lages, researchers at ciTechCare presented two scientific posters at the 2026 ESPEN Congress, organised by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. The congress took place from 5 to 8 September in Berlin, Germany. The first poster presented results from the NutriClock project, identifying two distinct chrononutritional phenotypes in a sample of Portuguese adults. Late eaters trended toward a higher body mass index, an extended eating window, and changes in circadian clock gene expression, findings that support the value of integrating meal timing with molecular circadian markers in future nutritional assessments. The study was co-authored

ATIVA+SAÚDE project takes researchers to the 2026 European Congress of Epidemiology in London

26 September 2026

The presentation of research on health literacy among 5th and 6th Grade Students, together with participation in a business meeting of the International Epidemiological Association and national epidemiology societies, brought Sara Simões Dias, PhD, researcher, and Maria João Batalha, PhD fellow, to the European Congress of Epidemiology, held at Queen Mary University of London from 9 to 11 September. “Exploring Factors Associated with Health Literacy Among School-Aged Children: Insights from 5th and 6th Grade Students” was presented by Maria João Batalha and is part of her ATIVA+Saúde PhD project. The study aimed to characterise health literacy levels and identify associated

ciTechCare research fellows receive FCD PhD studentships

26 August 2026

The FCT recently announced the provisional results for the awarding of 1,600 PhD scholarships. The applications submitted by research fellows Solange Castanheira and Neuza Barros were accepted, giving both researchers the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in their respective fields over the next four years. In Solange Castanheira’s case, an FCT PhD scholarship in a non-academic environment was awarded in the field of Medical and Health Sciences, specifically Basic Medicine/Biomedicine. The aim of the study is to further investigate the relationship between circadian rhythms, chronotype and cardiometabolic risk among healthcare professionals working shifts, contributing to the development of more personalised