Health Marathon awards support Portuguese research on neurodegenerative diseases

Available only in Portuguese.

The 2016 Health Marathon Awards ceremony will take place tomorrow, March 16, at 11:00 a.m. in the Auditorium of the Center for Chronic Disease Studies at NOVA Medical School | Faculty of Medical Sciences, NOVA University Lisbon.

The 2016 edition of the Health Marathon received 57 applications, which were evaluated by an international panel composed of 31 scientists in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and the Health Marathon's scientific council. The two winning projects will receive a total of €50,000, which comes from donations raised during the charity show broadcast by RTP in April 2016, support from Biogen (a biotechnology company), and other funding obtained through various civil society initiatives during the edition.

Cláudia Almeida Gomes, researcher at the Center for Chronic Disease Studies at NOVA Medical School|Faculty of Medical Sciences of NOVA University Lisbon (CEDOC-NMS|FCM), is one of the winners, with her work "Study of the genetic impact on late-onset Alzheimer's disease." The scientist will receive the Biogen Award.

The second award-winning project is byRodrigo Cunha, a researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra (CNC), and is entitled "Study of caffeine derivatives in the inhibition of Alzheimer's disease and as a basis for new drugs." The researcher from Coimbra will receive the Health Marathon award.

Previous editions of the MdS Awards in Biomedical Research have recognized projects in areas such as cancer and diabetes. In total, the Maratona da Saúde Awards have supported nine scientists in developing their research work in these areas in Portugal. 

The MdS Awards are a joint initiative of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Health Marathon Association. The 2016 edition was supported by Biogen, which associated its name with one of the Awards.

The fourth edition will be dedicated to Cardiovascular Diseases.