Three Portuguese physician-researchers win the Nuno Grande Doctoral Scholarships 2025

Three Portuguese physician-researchers were awarded the Nuno Grande Doctoral Scholarships (BDNG), with a total of €75,000 to support research in Fundamental Health Sciences.

The winners of the 2025 edition, which received 38 applications, are Daniela Oliveira, Francisco Almeida, and Francisco Vasques-Nóvoa, whose projects focus, respectively, on the link between the gut and joint inflammation, the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, and the mechanisms of cardiac inflammation.

The scholarships will be presented at a ceremony to be hold on May 13 at the Abel Salazar building of the Universidade do Porto, as part of “Dia do ICBAS,” which celebrates the 51st anniversary of the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS).

Established in 2022 by the family of Nuno Grande, ICBAS, and the Bial Foundation, the scholarships honour the physician, researcher, and professor who founded the ICBAS, and member of the board of the Bial Foundation, recognising high-quality scientific projects developed by physicians in doctoral training.

From the 2025 edition onwards, the BDNG will award three annual scholarships of €25,000 each and expand its scope to all Portuguese universities, strengthening their position as one of the leading initiatives supporting the advanced training of physician-researchers in Portugal. In this way, the initiative aims to contribute to the development of a new generation of physician-researchers, reinforcing the link between clinical practice, teaching, and scientific research.

“BDNG represent a decisive contribution to the differentiation of young physicians’ training in the field of Fundamental Health Sciences, by encouraging the integration of research as an essential component of their education and by providing the opportunity to develop innovative ideas that contribute to excellence in medical teaching and the training of future generations”, said Henrique Cyrne Carvalho, president of the jury and dean of ICBAS.

The president of the jury also emphasised that “the awarded projects clearly reflect the diversity and clinical relevance of research currently being carried out in Portugal, with a focus on structural challenges such as chronic inflammatory diseases, ageing, and cardiovascular conditions”.

Since their creation, BDNG have recognised projects of significant scientific relevance, including work in the fields of hemato-oncology, encephalitis, and autoimmune diseases.

Three projects addressing key health challenges

Daniela Oliveira, a rheumatologist at ULS de Entre Douro e Vouga and a professor at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto (FMUP), where she is also a PhD student, was awarded for the project “GUT JOINT AXIS STUDY - Gut glycome and intestinal permeability as drivers of the gut-joint axis: impact in the interplay between inflammatory bowel disease and spondyloarthritis”, to be conducted at the Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S).

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the relationship between the gut and joint inflammation in patients with spondyloarthritis, a group of chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases often associated with extra-articular manifestations, particularly inflammatory bowel disease.

The research is based on a hypothesis developed within the i3S group that alterations in the intestinal barrier and in glycosylation patterns of the intestinal mucosa - processes that influence microbiome composition and immune response - may contribute to joint inflammation and differences in treatment response. The project will combine clinical data from Portuguese patients included in the Registo Nacional de Doentes Reumáticos (Reuma.pt) with advanced laboratory analyses, including blood, stool, synovial fluid, and colon biopsy samples.

The goal is to explore new pathophysiological mechanisms and identify biomarkers of disease severity and treatment response, contributing to more innovative and personalised treatment strategies for patients with spondyloarthritis.

Francisco Almeida, a neuroradiology resident at ULS Santo António and a professor at ICBAS and the Escola de Medicina da Universidade do Minho, where he is also a PhD student, was awarded for the project “Locus coeruleus integrity as an early imaging marker of susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body pathology.”

This project focuses on the development of early imaging biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body pathology. The research centres on the locus coeruleus, a small structure in the brainstem that plays an important role in various cognitive processes and may be one of the first regions affected by changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Using advanced neuromelanin-sensitive MRI techniques, the project aims to assess the integrity of this structure in the early stages of disease.

In the context of an ageing population and the expected increase in dementia prevalence, this approach may help identify susceptibility markers before later and less specific brain changes, such as atrophy, enabling improved early diagnosis, risk stratification, and understanding of disease progression.

Francisco Vasques-Nóvoa, a physician at ULS São João and a professor at FMUP, where he is also a PhD student, was awarded for the project “Myocardial Inflammation: The Counterpoint of Intensity and Time.”

This project proposes a new framework for understanding cardiac inflammation, considering two key axes: the intensity of the inflammatory response and its duration over time.

It is based on the idea that intense, short-lived inflammatory responses may be associated with acute cardiac dysfunction, such as in septic shock, whereas persistent low-grade inflammation may contribute to structural myocardial changes, fibrosis, and increased cardiac stiffness, which are relevant in forms of heart failure.

The research will integrate clinical and experimental models, molecular analysis, and advanced cardiac MRI techniques to better characterise different patterns of myocardial inflammation. The aim is to establish a more precise basis for distinguishing disease phenotypes, improving risk stratification, and supporting more targeted therapeutic decisions.