Maria de Sousa Award 2026 supports young Portuguese scientists in innovative health sciences projects

Young Portuguese researchers receive the Maria de Sousa Award 2026 for research projects in the fields of infections, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases and neuroscience.

The award ceremony for the sixth edition of the Maria de Sousa Award took place on November 6 at the Portuguese Medical Association in Lisbon, honouring five young researchers in the health sciences: Luísa Fialho (i3S, U.Porto), Sara Isabel Fernandes (VIB, Belgium), Tatiana Morais (ICVS, U.Minho), Simão Teixeira (INL) and Ana Verónica Domingues (ICVS, U.Minho).

The awarded projects focus on research into infected wounds, lung cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune arthritis and the brain mechanisms underlying learning. They were selected from 61 applications submitted by researchers affiliated with 28 higher education institutions and research centres.

In a partnership of the Portuguese Medical Association and the Bial Foundation, this award pays tribute to the leading Portuguese immunologist and great researcher, Maria de Sousa, who will always be remembered as a unique personality in science worldwide.

In the opening speech of the ceremony, the President of the Portuguese Medical Association recalled that “science advances because someone is willing to work on a question that remains unanswered. Maria de Sousa deeply understood this connection, once saying that, in order to truly help people, research was essential. In medicine, we seek to know more so that we can provide better care”.

In his speech, the Chairman of the Bial Foundation paid tribute to Maria de Sousa, recalling that the scientist “always fought to create the conditions that would enable Portuguese scientists to stand alongside the best internationally, devoting particular attention to younger scientists.” Luís Portela also highlighted that, by co-creating the “Graduate Program in Basic and Applied Biology” (GABBA) at the University of Porto in 1996, Maria de Sousa succeeded in inspiring “many young people to pursue remarkable paths in science”.

The President of the Jury emphasised that “this award is a very special way of honouring Maria de Sousa, a scientist of remarkable originality who truly thought differently. For a researcher, discovering the world means working with people who think differently, recognising that a problem can be approached using a different method, and that a secondary observation can open up a new path in medicine”.

At the closing of the session, the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão, thanked “the Bial Foundation for its active role in civil society and in both the medical and scientific communities, as well as for all the support it has provided through its various awards.” With the Maria de Sousa Award, “we bring together scientific research, education and training, and internationalisation”, she concluded.

The jury for the 2026 edition is once again chaired by neuroscientist Rui Costa (Allen Institute, USA) and includes renowned scientists who had a close relationship with Maria de Sousa: Miguel Castelo-Branco, director of the Center for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT) of the University of Coimbra; Maria Manuel Mota, CEO of the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM); Joana Palha, full professor at the School of Medicine of the University of Minho; and João Relvas, researcher and group leader at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) of the University of Porto.

The Award, first launched in 2021, is awarded annually to five young researchers, each receiving up to €30,000, including a mandatory internship at an international centre of excellence.

Awarded projects:

Luísa Fialho | “3DWoundControl - Bioactive 3D Scaffolds for Wound Monitoring and Treatment”
Antibiotic resistance is increasingly limiting the effectiveness of conventional therapies for treating infections. In skin wounds, this challenge increases the risk of serious complications and impairs the healing process, highlighting the need for innovative antimicrobial approaches that do not rely on conventional antibiotics. The project aims to develop a multifunctional bioactive wound dressing capable of preventing and treating infections, promoting tissue regeneration, and accelerating wound healing. At the same time, it enables real-time monitoring of the wound’s infection status.

Sara Isabel Fernandes | “Targeting lipid metabolism of alveolar type II cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer”
Lung cancer remains the most common and deadliest form of cancer worldwide. Despite significant advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapies, disease progression remains inevitable for most patients with advanced-stage disease, highlighting the need for new therapeutic approaches. This project will enable us to determine whether tumour cells hijack normal resident lung cells, stimulating them to produce lipids that are then used as an energy source to sustain tumour growth. If confirmed, this metabolic communication between tumour cells and resident lung cells could be explored as a potential therapeutic target against lung cancer progression. It may also contribute to improving the selection criteria for identifying patients most likely to benefit from this treatment, thereby improving their prognosis.

Tatiana Morais | “Modulation of behavioral and cognitive outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease by Astrocytic lipid metabolism”
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by cognitive decline and early alterations in neuronal network activity. These alterations include hyperexcitability, abnormal synchronization, and epileptic seizures, which may precede the onset of cognitive deficits. Excessive neuronal activity may contribute to disease progression by impairing synaptic function and disrupting communication between different brain cell types. This project will investigate how alterations in astrocyte lipid metabolism may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. Astrocytes are brain cells that play a critical role in maintaining normal brain function. The aim is to determine whether these metabolic changes can increase brain instability, leading to abnormal neuronal activity, a higher susceptibility to seizures, and the memory impairments associated with the disease.

Simão Teixeira | “Mech-Arthur - Dissecting PIEZO1-Mediated Mechanotransduction in Autoimmune Arthritis”
Autoimmune arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the body's own joints, causing inflammation and pain. This project will investigate how T lymphocytes, key cells of the immune system, respond to mechanical forces and how these responses may contribute to disease progression. To achieve this, the researchers will use magnetically controlled smart microparticles to activate cellular sensors in these immune cells and monitor their responses. By uncovering the role of these cellular sensors and understanding how cells respond to the physical forces acting within the joints, this research may provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying autoimmune arthritis. This knowledge could support the development of more targeted therapies, reducing the side effects of current treatments and improving the quality of life of people living with arthritis.

Ana Verónica Domingues | “Endogenous opioid control of the ventral tegmental area circuit during associative learning”
Our brain is constantly learning from what happens around us. These learning processes depend on communication between neurons, the brain cells that exchange different types of signals with one another. This project aims to investigate a small brain region known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which plays a key role in learning and motivation. It is well established that dopamine, one of the brain’s best-known chemical messengers, is critically involved in these functions. However, neurons also use other messengers about which far less is known, including dynorphin. By identifying the sources of dynorphin signals reaching the VTA, determining which cells respond to these signals, and examining what happens when this communication is disrupted, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how the brain learns. This work may uncover previously underexplored mechanisms involved in the regulation of learning and motivation.