About us

The Institute

We are committed to being on the frontline of healthy ageing research and innovation, bringing the achievements of the scientific world to the community

Mission & Vision

  • Improve health life expectancy
  • Perform fundamental & translational research
  • Be a Top 5 European Centre in Biology of Ageing
  • Boost an international network on Ageing Research
  • Reduce the socio-economic burden of age-related diseases
  • Foster excellence in a low-performing country.

Strategic Aims

  • Identify lifestyle factors of healthy ageing
  • Unravel underlying mechanisms
  • Develop novel interventions

Scientific Aims

  • Prolonging healthspan
  • Preventing chronic diseases

Governance and Technical Team

Manuel Santos

Scientific Director
mansilvasantos[at]uc.pt

Ana Sofia Varanda

Director of Innovations
aspvaranda[at]uc.pt

Rosa Sancho

Director of Discoveries
rsancho[at]uc.pt

Maria João Freitas

Director of Communications
mjfreitas[at]uc.pt

Luís Simões

IT Manager
luis.m.simoes[at]uc.pt

Sandra Pimenta

Secretary
sandra.p.oliveira[at]uc.pt

Vera Silva

Secretary
vera.silva[at]uc.pt

Sara Lopes

Laboratory Technician
slopes[at]uc.pt

Advocacy Committee

MIA-Portugal Advocacy Committee is a board of advisors emerging from the Civil Society, including distinguished Citizens (including Senior Citizens) and representatives from Patient Association Organizations and Industry. Main functions: to foster opportunities for funding, new partnerships and endeavours; to potentiate the societal impact of the project; to exploit partnerships with wealthy private foundations. The activities of the AC will be paramount to the attraction of external funds.

Ana Abrunhosa

Former President of Centro Region of Portugal Minister of Cohesion, Portugal

Artur Santos Silva

Curator of La Caixa Foundation and Honorary Chairman of BPI UC Alumnus, Portugal

David Sinclair

Co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School, USA

Maria de Belém Roseira

Former Minister of Health Deputy of Portuguese Parliament of Portugal UC Alumnus

Remy Quirion

Chief Scientist of Quebec at the Ministére de l’ Économie de la Science et de l’Innovation, Canada

Isabel Saraiva

President of Respira - Portuguese Association of People with COPD and other Chronic Respiratory Diseases, Chair of ELF - European Lung Foundation, Portugal

Luís Portela

Chairman of BIAL Professor Honoris Causa, University of Coimbra, Portugal

Ethics Advisory Board

Closely follows and monitors all activities of MIA-Portugal to scrutinize and advise on all aspects where ethical questions may arise.

André Dias Pereira

Director of Center for Biomedical Law, Faculty of Law University of Coimbra

Duarte Nuno Vieira

Director of Center for Biomedical Law, Faculty of Law University of Coimbra

Francisco Ambrósio

Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra

Joaquim Murta

Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra

International Advisory Board

Responsible to advise the Installation Committee on the key decisions of the implementation of MIA-Portugal, continuously providing strategic scientific advice, unbiased external opinion, and support with a role of Ambassador.

Björn Schumacher

Executive Board of Cluster of Excellence Cluster in Ageing (CECAD) University of Cologne President of the German Society for Ageing Research DGfA, Germany

Carol Barnes

Evelyn F. McKnight Chair for Learning and Memory in Aging University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

Felipe Sierra

Director of the Division of Aging Biology National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, USA

Folkert Kuipers

Former Dean, Professor of Pediatrics and chair holder Healthy Life Alliance Named Professorship at University of Groningen University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

James Kirkland

Director of Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA

João Passos

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA

Lene Rasmussen

Director of Centre for Healthy Ageing University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Marian Joëls

Dean of Medical Sciences University Medical Center Groningen , Groningen, The Netherlands

Thomas von Zglinicki

Scientific Director of Newcastle University Institute of Ageing Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

Founding Partners

MIA-Portugal teaming was established through the collaboration of the following founding partners

Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Centro

European Comission

Instituto Pedro Nunes

Newcastle University

Universidade de Coimbra

University Medical Center Groningen

Partners

Biocant Park

Mayo Clinic

University of Copenhagen

Funding

ANI- Agência Nacional de Inovação

Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Centro

Company of Biologists

EMBO - European Molecular Biology Organization

European Comission

FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology

FEBS - Federation of European Biochemical Societies

FLAD- Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento

Fundação Santander

Fundación La Caixa

MC

Medalhas de Honra L’Oréal Portugal para as Mulheres na Ciência

PRR - Plano de Recuperação e Resilência

República Portuguesa

Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia

University of Coimbra