The FoundationA reference in the support of scientific research

Awards

Among its activities the Bial Foundation manages the Prémio Bial de Medicina Clínica, created in 1984, which is focused on the recognition and enhancement of basic and clinical research. Over 21 editions it has distinguished 111 written works of major impact on medicine and has become acknowledged as a prestigious prize in the Health field. In 2018, the Bial Foundation created the Bial Award in Biomedicine, in order to extend its scope of activity and to recognize the most outstanding and relevant discoveries that have been made in the broad biomedical field. This prize has been awarded, since 2019, every two years alternating with the Prémio Bial de Medicina Clínica. In 2020, to honour the memory of the physician and great immunologist Maria de Sousa, the Portuguese Medical Association and the Bial Foundation decided to promote, in partnership, the Maria de Sousa Award, to support young Portuguese researchers, up to the age of 35, with scientific projects in the area of Health Sciences, including a mandatory internship in an international center of excellence.

Grants

The Bial Foundation also supports scientific research projects for the neurophysiological and mental study of the human being, in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology. To date the Bial Foundation has already approved for funding 946 projects, involving around 1900 researchers from 31 countries. The research funded by the Bial Foundation in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology from 1994 to February 2025 has resulted in the publication of 2141 articles in indexed journals (in Scopus or Web of Science), 1897 of which in journals with an average impact factor of 4.1 and 389 in journals with an impact factor greater than or equal to 5. Almost half of the articles were published in journals belonging to the first quartile (Q1) in their respective scientific field. By February 2025, there was a substantial number of citations (54.359), with 691 publications cited more than 20 times. In 2022, to honour the renowned physician, researcher, and professor, the family of Nuno Grande, together with ICBAS and the Bial Foundation, created the Nuno Grande Doctoral Scholarships. These scholarships aim to support research work by physicians who, collaborating in medical teaching at any Portuguese medical school, are enrolled in a doctoral programme in the area of Fundamental Health Sciences at a Portuguese university.

Symposia

In 1996 the Bial Foundation began to organize the Symposia entitled "Behind and Beyond the Brain", a Forum that gathers every two years world-renowned experts in neurosciences and parapsychology, as well as several researchers supported by the Foundation.

In addition, the Foundation has an online database that can be accessed by the scientific community and by the general public here.​

Patronage

Classified as a non-profit institution of public utility, the Bial Foundation includes among its patrons the Portuguese President, the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities and the Portuguese Medical Association.