Catarina Marques, PhD in Occupational Safety and Health – Infection Prevention and Control, participated in the 7th International IACS Congress 2025, held from October 22 to 24, under the theme “Challenges and Innovation in Infection Control.” She was awarded the Research Prize, worth 700 euros, for her project “Multidrug resistance assessment of indoor air in Portuguese healthcare settings.” The project has been presented in the form of a poster and oral communication at several scientific meetings, and as a published scientific article.

The project was supervised by researcher Sónia Gonçalves Pereira and involved the collaboration of Professor Wolfram Manuel Brück (HES-SO//Valais-Wallis). It resulted from a partnership between the Coordinating Council of Polytechnic Institutes and HES-SO, with funding from the Seed Money for Joint Swiss–Portuguese Academic Projects program in 2021.

The event, organized by ESSNorteCVP and Local Health Unit of Entre Douro e Vouga, brought together national and international experts to promote the exchange of knowledge on Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and antibiotic resistance. Topics discussed at the conference included multidisciplinary environmental control, blood culture procedures, best practices for glove use and management in physiotherapy or the implementation of safe hospital water care.

Photography: ESSNorteCVP