The award ceremony of the 20th edition of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica took place on February 8 at the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP), being presided over by the President of the Republic, with the presence of the Minister of Health, Manuel Pizarro, the Secretary of State for Higher Education, Pedro Teixeira, and the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira.
Miguel Castelo-Branco was the winner of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica 2022, with the work "The challenges of Neurodiversity: A Translational Journey into Personalized Medicine in Autism Research", which represents a 15-year vision of the career path of the author in basic and clinical research in the area of neurodevelopment, and in particular in autism, influenced by his personal history as a father of a young man with autism.
Cláudia Faria was distinguished with an Honorable Mention for the work “Brain Tumors 360º: from biological samples to precision medicine for patients”, which focuses on Brain Tumor Target, a patient-centered platform, aiming to contribute to scientific knowledge in the brain tumors and thereby to improve the treatment of patients.
The team coordinated by Albertino Damasceno was awarded an Honorable Mention for the work “Contribution to the study of Arterial Hypertension in Mozambique and sub-Saharan Africa: Results of a 25-year struggle”, which aimed, among other objectives, to identify various factors determinants that can support decisions about more adequate preventive and therapeutic measures to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with hypertension.
In addition to the closing speech by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the ceremony included speeches by the director of the FMUP, Altamiro da Costa Pereira, the chairman of the BIAL Foundation, Luís Portela, and the president of the Jury, Manuel Sobrinho Simões, who was honored with a video for his contribution to the success of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica over the last years.
It is worth remembering that Manuel Sobrinho Simões chaired the Jury for four editions of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica (2006, 2018, 2020, and 2022), the current edition being the last time. José Melo Cristino, full professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon and current Jury member, will assume the presidency of the Jury in the next edition, announced the chairman of the BIAL Foundation during the ceremony.
Miguel Castelo-Branco wins Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica with research work on autism
The work that won the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica 2022, awarded with 100 thousand euros, presents the concept of neurodiversity applied to Medicine, particularly to autism, and shows that, despite the similarities between individuals, our brain carries unique marks that lead to very different biological and behavioral manifestations, creating the need for differentiated treatments tailored to each person, that is, Personalized Medicine.
With this “molecule to man” approach, linking molecular biology, brain imaging, and cognitive neuroscience, several clinical trials were carried out, using medicines, but also scientifically based non-pharmacological therapies, especially human-machine interfaces, and serious games, to try to improve aspects such as emotion recognition, emotion regulation and anxiety in autism.
“The work confirmed that to better understand and rehabilitate autism, it is necessary to take into account neurobiological markers that allow a better characterization of Neurodiversity, to implement Personalized and Precision Medicine approaches, with the work of multidisciplinary teams being crucial”, explained Miguel Castelo-Branco, physician and scientific coordinator of the Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT/ICNAS), and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra.
For Manuel Sobrinho Simões, “the winning work reflects a life path dedicated to research, based on the author's personal history, which contributed substantially to the understanding of the health/disease duality, allowing the development of personalized treatments to improve social skills and of emotional regulation in autism”.
The jury of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica also decided to award two Honorable Mentions, worth 10 thousand euros each. Manuel Sobrinho Simões stated that “two works were distinguished, within the scope of the molecular pathology of brain tumors and the epidemiology of arterial hypertension in the Mozambican population, which demonstrate the importance of scientific research for the evolution of medicine in particular and society in general”.
Platform for 360º view of brain tumors grants Honorable Mention to Cláudia Faria
Distinguished with an Honorable Mention, the work by Cláudia Faria, a neurosurgeon at Hospital de Santa Maria (Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte – CHULN), researcher at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM) and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University de Lisboa (FMUL), intends to contribute to improving the scientific knowledge of brain tumors, through the development of the Brain Tumor Target (BTTarget).
This platform allows a 360º view of brain tumors, which begins with the analysis of biological material, goes through the integration of clinical data and pathological anatomy, through the creation of models that simulate the human disease, and culminates in the discovery of biomarkers or new treatments that return to the patient in the form of clinical trials.
BTTarget promotes collaboration in national and international research projects, intending to help to better understand how brain tumors are formed and how it is possible to improve the treatment of patients.
Cláudia Faria explained that “despite advances in the knowledge of molecular biology, malignant brain tumors continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adults, so these discoveries, after being validated in clinical trials on patients, can contribute to the improvement of their survival and quality of life”.
Team coordinated by Albertino Damasceno receives Honorable Mention for work on hypertension
The Jury also awarded an Honorable Mention to work coordinated by Albertino Damasceno, a cardiologist at the Maputo Central Hospital and an emeritus professor at the Eduardo Mondlane University, recognized by the Mozambican Medical Association as the “Father of Cardiology in Mozambique”. In addition to Albertino Damasceno, the awarded work had as co-authors Jorge Polónia (FMUP and Hospital Pedro Hispano), Nuno Lunet (FMUP and Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto), António Prista (Maputo Pedagogical University), Carla Silva Matos (Ministry of Health of Mozambique) and Neusa Jessen (Maputo Central Hospital and Eduardo Mondlane University).
This work presents the results of extensive research into the field of arterial hypertension in the population of Mozambique, carried out over the last 25 years, as a collaboration between the Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique) and the FMUP (Portugal), as well as other institutions African academics and international working groups.
The aim was to collect new information regarding arterial hypertension in black individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically in Mozambique, to achieve a better knowledge of its epidemiology and pathophysiology, as well as to identify several determining factors that can support decisions on more appropriate preventive and therapeutic measures to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with arterial hypertension.
According to Albertino Damasceno, “hypertension is the main risk factor for heart failure, stroke and ischemic heart disease in Africa”. In this context, the researcher says that “this work may help to individualize strategies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of arterial hypertension for many Portuguese or immigrants of African origin residing in Portugal”.
The Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica seeks to recognise an intellectual, original work in any freely chosen medical topic on clinical practice, which represents work with results of high quality and relevance. Created in 1984, with over 20 editions this Award distinguished 310 authors and awarded 108 works of great repercussion in medicine, 42 of which were published and distributed free of charge to health professionals. The next edition of the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica will take place in 2024.
