Results of Call Studentships de Sousa Studentships Call 2022

The FCT has announced the provisional results of Call Maria de Sousa 2022 PhD Studentships Call , launched in collaboration with the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB). Ten Studentships will be funded, representing an investment of around €773,000.

This Call to fund PhD Studentships focused on obtaining new knowledge that would enable the creation of skills to respond to virological phenomena, including pandemics, and that would translate into effective prevention measures, better healthcare, and effective support for citizens.

Forty-two applications Call submitted to this edition of Call , of which 37 met the requirements for evaluation. The 10 Studentships be awarded correspond to a success rate of 27% of the applications evaluated. The provisional results of the evaluation show that 60% of the selected candidates are women, 20% of the candidates are foreign nationals, and 30% of the work plans are carried out in collaboration with foreign researchers and institutions.

The Studentships be awarded contribute to the following objectives defined in the Call notice:

1. Epidemiology and risk factors for infection and severe disease caused by viruses;
2. Human-animal interaction, mechanisms of resistance and interspecies transmission of viruses, and risk of pandemics;
3. Prevention and preparedness strategies for new epidemics of virological origin, including vaccines;
4. Innovative approaches, including new methods and technologies, for the diagnosis of virological diseases;
5. Characterization of viral infection mechanisms;
6. Characterization of the host's cellular and serological immune response to viral infection, impact of age and comorbidities;
7. Development of new therapies and new therapeutic approaches, including life support and personal protective equipment to combat virological diseases;
9. Psychological impact and behavioral changes associated with epidemics or pandemics of virological origin.

The alignment of the work plans of the funded applications with the objectives of Call a greater incidence in objective 3, with a total of 4 Studentships 22%), followed by objectives 5 and 7, with a total of 3 Studentships (17%).

Applications were evaluated by a scientific panel using a peer review system, with three evaluation criteria: merit of the candidate, merit of the work plan, and merit of the hosting conditions. Eleven experts from the scientific community participated in this evaluation panel, of whom six (55%) were women.

The title given by Maria de Sousa to this Call PhD Studentships , which had its first edition in 2021, is a tribute to the researcher, Professor Emeritus at the University of Porto and Researcher Emeritus at the i3S Institute, as well as retired professor at the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, internationally renowned for her studies in the field of immunology, particularly in the thymus-dependent area, or T area.