LATEST NEWS

15th Challenges in Cardiology highlights advances and current perspectives in Heart Failure

3 August 2025

Sónia Santos, a doctoral fellow at ciTechCare conducting research in the field of heart failure, participated in the 15th edition of the “Challenges in Cardiology” congress, held on June 27, 2025, at Hotel Villa Batalha in Leiria. Her participation was made possible through the awarding of one of the ten grants allocated to “Students in the Health Sciences.” This scientific event, organized by Professor João Morais—former Director of the Cardiology Department at the Local Health Unit of the Leiria Region and researcher at ciTechCare—brought together several nationally recognized experts in the cardiovascular field. The congress promoted in-depth discussions on current

Catarina Marques completes PhD at ciTechCare in Occupational Health and Safety

30 July 2025

On July 17th, Catarina Marques successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “Infection Prevention and Control in a Portuguese Long-term Healthcare Unit – an ongoing challenge against Antimicrobial Resistance”, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. Under the supervision of researchers Helena Ferreira, from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto, and Sónia Gonçalves Pereira, from ciTechCare, the doctoral project demonstrated that multidrug-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes are widely disseminated in the long-term care unit under study, contaminating surfaces, the air, and colonizing patients. This represents a real risk to patients and healthcare professionals, highlighting

Sónia Santos participates in the Science Meeting 2025 with a poster on Heart Failure

22 July 2025

From July 9 to 11, the Science and Technology Exhibition, organized by the Foundation for Science and Technology and the National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture – Ciência Viva brought together the scientific community and key players from the science and innovation ecosystem at the Nova School of Business & Economics to promote and discuss the scientific research in Portugal, inspiring new ideas and fostering transformative collaborations. Sónia Santos, a PhD fellow at ciTechCare in the area of heart failure and the autonomic nervous system, was present with the poster presentation “Data-driven phenotyping in HFpEF: A protocol paving the way

Joana Cruz is a guest lecturer at the ERS Pulmonary Rehabilitation Course

22 July 2025

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) held an intensive Course on Pulmonary Rehabilitation on June 23, 24, and 25 of 2025, aimed at physicians, physiotherapists, and other healthcare professionals. A team of national and international experts, including Joana Cruz, PhD, a researcher at ciTechCare in Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Physical Activity, taught the course which took place at the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Laboratory (Lab3R) of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Aveiro, bringing together specialists and participants from 17 countries. Professor Joana Cruz was invited to lecture the session “Assessment of physical inactivity and problematic activities of daily living

Polytechnic of Leiria and regional companies join forces to develop an innovative product aimed at increasing therapeutic adherence

10 July 2025

The Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, specifically ciTechCare and CDRSP – the Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, together with the University of Coimbra and the companies BHOUT, the leading entity of this project specialized in automated logistics solutions, and MOLDATA, known for its innovation in precision structures and machining, are the organizations involved in the creation of the MAP02 project – Medication Adherence Platform. This project is funded by the PORTUGAL 2030 program and is currently underway. Its goal is to develop an intelligent medication dispensing system, a medication adherence monitoring platform, and a corresponding data processing application. MAP02

Project on COPD receives Roche Citizenship Grant

15 June 2025

The project ‘Inspire, Activate, Track’, an initiative of RESPIRA – Portuguese Association of People with COPD and other Chronic Respiratory Diseases, supported by the National School of Public Health of the NOVA University of Lisbon (NSPH NOVA) and the ciTechCare, was recognized by Roche Portugal, with a grant worth 5 thousand euros. Through initiatives in the regions of Leiria, Almada-Seixal, Alentejo Coast and northern Alentejo, the project aims to promote physical activity as an essential and accessible intervention in the management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Funding will allow 400 to 800 participants to join, contributing to respiratory health