LATEST NEWS

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

Pharmaceutical company promotes scientific session on food supplements in ciTechCare

5 June 2025

On June 2, Beatriz Ferreira, a nutritionist from PharmaNord, were present at the Health Innovation Hub of the Polytechnic of Leiria – ciTechCare, at 11am, for a Synergies event, created to stimulate the approach of the business sector to science, encouraging the sharing of ideas and scientific discussion. The theme of the session was “Selenium deficiency: a silent threat” and aimed to disseminate scientific advances in the area of food supplements, in particular, in this pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and sells food supplements and medicines derived from plants, based on optimal bioavailability, safety and scientific documentation. Selenium is an

ciTechCare researchers and research fellows participate in the XXIV Congress of Nutrition and Food

1 June 2025

The XXIV Congress of the Portuguese Nutrition Association, held in Braga on 8 and 9 May, was attended by several ciTechCare researchers, research fellows and undergraduate students in dietetics and nutrition at ESSLei, where they shared their latest scientific work. One of the posters presented by researcher Cátia Braga-Pontes entitled “Influence of sociodemographic and anthropometric factors on knowledge, willingness to experiment and consumption of vegetables in preschool children: Results of the Veggies4myHeart project” is co-authored by Rita Novo, Leonel Vieito, Sara Simões Dias, Marlene Lages and Maria P. Guarino. This study revealed that factors such as age, sex and nutritional

ciTechCare celebrates 6 years of research and scientific innovation

22 May 2025

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