BioISI | Instituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas

Instituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas
BioSystems & Integrative Sciences Institute
Acronym: BioISI
Website
Video
Publications

• FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA

• NOT APPLICABLE

BioISI is a new institute established in January 2015, merging three former research centres (BioFIG,CFMC,LabMAg) and created to understand and address biological questions using integrative – Systems – approaches, at the forefront of life sciences research at both national and international scales.

By gathering scientists from bio-, physics and computational sciences, BioISI benefits from a unique multidisciplinary environment which (together with its core-facilities) is offered to its researchers and advanced students. This fosters creative thinking to solve problems through integrative approaches.

BioISI researchers are clustered into 8 Research Groups (RG), with its PIs reporting to the RG leader (RGL). Given BioISI’s multidisciplinary nature, each RG contributes to four Thematic Lines (TLs) headed by Coordinator (TLC). This structure promotes cooperative interactions to foster integrative research. The BioISI Director, assisted by TLCs and RGLs (Scientific Committee) and advised by the external Scientific Advisory Board will be responsible for the implementation of the strategic plan.

BioISI research is mostly conducted at the FCUL campus but given its national and international links it has nation-wide impact and world-wide relevance. Other participating institutions include the Portuguese National Institute of Health (close to FCUL campus) comprising the BTR research group and two labs in the GER research group; Universities of Porto and Minho with one lab each, both integrated in the PFG research group. Recently, UTAD also joined BioISI.

International relations are fostered and maintained through several Visiting Professorships, BioSys PhD programme and collaborations with top institutions and joint international projects.

BioISI has a Communication & Outreach Working Group to disseminate its activities and a Company Liaison Working Group to foster BioISI Industrial Relations in collaboration with Tech-Labs, FCUL’s organization for the creation and economic valorising of scientific knowledge.

BioISI aims to solve emergent complex problems in biology and biomedicine. Biological systems display complex properties that require integrative analyses combining high-throughput methods with quantitative science and computational tools to describe and predict dynamical behaviours.

To achieve its goal BioISI pursues 5 major missions:

1. Carry out forefront research on biosystems and integrative sciences
2. Drive research and progress through technology development and innovation
3. Train the next generation of scientific leaders on biosystems and integrative sciences
4. Provide research facilities and services to BioISI and external researchers
5. Take a major role in industry interactions and technology transfer of life science research

These objectives will be implemented along four Thematic Lines:

1) Biomedicine: translating genes and genomics into personalized and systems medicine; elucidating mechanisms of disease; developing innovative therapeutic strategies & drug discovery; performing pharmaco-genetics & pharmaco-resistance tests.

2) Biotechnology and BioResources: plant health & crop improvement; plants as biofactories; phytoremediation; microbial pharmacogenomics; marine microbial biotechnology; wine microbial biotechnology.

3) Condensed Matter & Biological Physics: development of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM); novel simulation approaches to study protein (mis)folding; optimization of nanostructured magnetic systems for application to biosensors/biodevices.

4) Bioinformatics & Modelling: producing pre-processing pipelines for data analysis; generating data mining tools & data analysers; new computational tools to manage, integrate & interpret data

Overall expected outcomes will contribute to improve human health, well-being, environment, as well as to create innovative biodevices, keeping the country at the forefront of innovation and generating economic opportunities. Notably, 25% of BioISI activities are on applied research.

(MAS) Agents and Systems Modelling

(BTR) Biomedical & Translational Research

(FunGP) Functional Genomics and Proteostasis

(GER) Gene Expression and Regulation

(MagNano) Magnetic Nanosystems: Theory and Applications

(M&B) Microbiology & Biotechnology Research

(PBS) Physics of Biological Systems

(PFG) Plant Functional Genomics

E-mail: BioISICom@ciencias.ulisboa.pt

Telephone: +351 217 500 857

Address: Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa