FCT opens Call for Research Studentships for Doctorate Maria de Sousa

On April 14, the day that marks one year since the death of researcher Maria de Sousa, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), in collaboration with the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB), announces the opening of a Call for PhD Research Studentships named after Maria de Sousa. The Call aims to award 50 research Studentships in the field of epidemiology and virology and applications will be open from June 1 to 30, 2021.

The aim of the Call is to encourage the acquisition of new knowledge that will enable skills to be created for responses to epidemiological and virological phenomena, including pandemics, and which will translate into efficient prevention measures, better health care and effective support for citizens. 

Applications will be considered in any scientific field, with projects that contribute to increasing knowledge on the following topics:

•  epidemiology and risk factors for infection and serious illness by the virus;
• human-animal interaction, mechanisms of resistance and interspecies transmission of the virus, and the risk of pandemics;
• strategies to prevent and prepare for new epidemics, including vaccines;
• innovative approaches, including new methods and new technologies, for diagnosing the disease;
• characterization of viral infection mechanisms;
• characterization of the host's cellular and serological immune response to virus infection, the impact of age and comorbidities;
• development of new therapies and new therapeutic approaches, including life support and personal protective equipment to combat the disease;
• repercussions of viral infection on maternal and newborn health;
• psychological impact and behavioral changes associated with the pandemic.

More information on the Call page.

Maria de Sousa (1939-2020)
Photograph by Luísa Ferreira, in "Women in Science" - 1st edition

The title Maria de Sousa given to this Call for PhD Research Studentships is a tribute to the researcher, emeritus professor at the University of Porto and emeritus researcher at the i3S Institute, and also retired full professor at the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, internationally renowned for her studies in the immunological area and especially in the thymus-dependent area, or T area. On the occasion of her death, FCT published a vote of condolence with Maria de Sousa's biography, available here.

Love letter in a viral pandemic

Bagpipes played in Scotland
Tenors sing from balconies in Italy
The dead will not hear them
And the living want to mourn their dead in silence
Who do you want to animate?
The children?
But children are also dying
In my circumstance
I can die
Wondering if I will see you again
But before I die
I want you to know
How much I like you
How much I care about you
How much I remember the moments shared and
dear ones
Moments then
Eternities now
Poetry
Laughter
The sunset
at sea
The pity that the seagull took to our table
Breakfast
Gold cufflinks
The magnolia
The hospital
Pajama socks and other cautionary things
All moments then
Eternities now
Because I can die and you will have to live
In your life the hope of my life

Maria de Sousa