Health Marathon awards cancer research prizes

The Health Marathon Awards for Cancer Research were presented today to Maria do Carmo Pereira from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto and Adriana Sánchez Danés from the Champalimaud Foundation for their work in the field of brain cancer.

The main aim of this year's annual Health Marathon Awards for Cancer Research is to foster knowledge and the discovery of innovative therapeutic solutions to combat this disease. The funding for these prizes, worth a total of 40,000 euros, came mainly from donations raised during the Health Marathon television show, held in partnership with RTP in March 2019, as well as other support from civil society. In this 6th edition dedicated to Cancer, Janssen was one of the main partners of the Health Marathon and will associate its name with one of the Awards.

During the Call, organized in partnership with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and aimed at researchers and doctors who wanted to develop a research project at an institution based in Portugal, 109 applications were received. The proposals were assessed by an international panel of 76 scientists in the field of cancer and by the Health Marathon's scientific council, which selected the two researchers, one in the senior category and one in the junior category, who will receive this edition's Awards.

Health Marathon Prize Senior Category
Maria do Carmo da Silva Pereira
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
"Nanotechnology in the treatment of brain cancer"

Janssen Health Marathon Award Junior Category
Adriana Sánchez Danés
Champalimaud Foundation
"Identifying tumor cells in pediatric cancer that are resistant to therapy"

The Health Marathon Awards Ceremony for Cancer Research takes place today at 5pm and will be broadcast live on Health Marathon's YouTube and Facebook pages. The event will feature presentations of the projects of the two award-winning scientists as well as the participation of Maria de Belém Roseira (President of the Board of Directors of Maratona da Saúde), Gonçalo Reis (Chairman of the Board of Directors of RTP), Helena Pereira (President of the Foundation for Science and Technology) and Filipa Costa (Managing Director of Janssen Portugal).

According to Maria de Belém Roseira, president of the Health Marathon, "these awards are a demonstration that civil society is also involved in funding scientific research for health in Portugal, in a broadly participatory way."

The annual editions of the Health Marathon consist of various awareness-raising initiatives organized throughout the country and culminate in a day of solidarity broadcast live on RTP 1 and RTP Internacional for several hours (television marathon). This project is only possible in Portugal thanks to the support of all the organizations associated with the Health Marathon, including the Altice Portugal Foundation, the Gulbenkian Science Institute, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, Creative Minds, Cev Fiscalidade, Vieira de Almeida, Janssen, Sanofi, Roche, Pfizer and various patient associations and medical societies. The annual Health Marathon Solidarity Day has also enjoyed the high patronage of the Presidency of the Republic for several editions.

Donations to the Health Marathon can be made throughout the year by calling 760 20 60 90 (€0.60+VAT) or IBAN: PT50 0035 0413 00044189730 73 BIC SWIFT: CGDIPTPL.

Find out more at www.maratonadasaude.pt.