Call DOCTORATES 4 COVID-19 presents final results

FCT has announced the final results of theDOCTORATES 4 COVID-19 Call , after the prior hearing phase. Opened in collaboration with the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB), the Call awards 50 PhD research Studentships , corresponding to a total investment of 3.5 million euros. The successful candidates can now sign their Studentship contract.

Created in the context of the pandemic situation caused by the new coronavirus, this Call aimed to fund doctoral research Studentships geared towards obtaining new knowledge, with a focus on COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as future viral infections and epidemics, through a multidisciplinary approach, involving all scientific areas, from engineering to biomedical and social sciences.

The Call received 128 applications, 110 of which were considered for evaluation. The 50 Studentships awarded correspond to a success rate of 45.5% of the applications assessed. The results show that 70% of the selected candidates are women and 8% are of foreign nationality, with 17% of the work plans being carried out in conjunction with foreign researchers and institutions.

The Studentships to be awarded are distributed among the following areas of intervention:

• "Psychological impact and behavioral changes associated with the pandemic" (13 Studentships);
• "Development of new therapies and new therapeutic approaches, including life support and personal protective equipment to combat the disease" (12 Studentships);
• "Characterization of viral infection mechanisms" (9 Studentships);
• "Innovative approaches, including new methods and new technologies, for diagnosing the disease" (9 Studentships);
• "Strategies to prevent and prepare for new epidemics, including vaccines" (4 Studentships);
• "Epidemiology and risk factors for severe virus infection and disease" (4 Studentships);
•  "Characterization of the host's cellular and serological immune response to virus infection, the impact of age and comorbidities" (2 Studentships);
•  "Human-animal interaction, mechanisms of resistance and interspecies transmission of the virus, and the risk of pandemics" (1 Studentship).

The doctoral programs that the scholarship holders will be attending are taught at the following universities: Universidade do Porto (15 Studentships), Universidade de Coimbra (9 Studentships), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (7 Studentships), Universidade de Lisboa (7 Studentships), Universidade do Minho (5 Studentships), Universidade da Beira Interior (2 Studentships), Universidade de Aveiro (2 Studentships), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2 Studentships) and ISPA - Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida (1 Studentship).

TheDOCTORATES 4 COVID-19 Call is part of a wide range of support, Calls and other initiatives launched this year by the FCT to combat Covid-19, including: the RESEARCH 4 COVID-19 special support, with two editions; the Gender Research 4 Covid-19 special support; the Call for R&D projects AI 4 COVID-19: Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration; the Summer with Science support, in collaboration with the Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES); the Science 4 COVID-19 portal; increasing the capacity of the RCTS - Science, Technology and Society Network, which supports the internet connections of the education and research community; the reinforcement of the capacity of the services that ensure distance learning and teleworking in the academic and scientific community (Colibri, NAU, Educast, Videocast); and the creation of a COVID-19 page on the FCT website, which gathers all the information that is being issued, directly or indirectly related to this pandemic situation.