Project Summary
Healthcare in the 21st century is still burdened by the prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases.
To this end, Microphysiological Systems (MPS) have emerged as a promising tool. MPS are cellular models that replicate aspects of organ and tissue functions in vitro and are capable of replicating near-native human physiology. Despite this, the application of MPS in Portugal still lags behind, primarily due to the high level of expertise required.
Coordinated by ITQB NOVA in partnership with NOVA Medical School of the NOVA University of Lisbon (UNL), MPS_NOVA is a collaborative network that aims to bridge this knowledge gap. It brings together leading European institutions in MPS and stem cell research, including Universitätsklinikum Jena UKJ (Germany), Max Delbrück Center MDC (Germany) and Fondazione Human Technopole FHT (Italy). Each institution will bring its own approach, expertise, and methodologies with the goal of broadening our knowledge in this field. Hence, a variety of networking and research activities have been devised to guarantee the best possible integration of MPS technologies at UNL.
MPS Research: click on 
to to discover our team
Blood Brain Barrier
Adipose tissue-on-chip
Carotid Body-on-chip
Breast Tumoroids
Breast-on-chip
Cancer-on-chip
Organ-on-chip
Retina Organoids
Liver Organoids
Heart Organoids
Heart-on-chip
Kidney-on-chip
Cancer organoids
Skin Organoids
Human Blood Vessel Organoids
Nasopharynx Organoids
Neuro-on-chip
Retina-on-chip
Tonsil Organoids
All
Work Packages
WP1 – Project Management (Part I) Lead Beneficiary – UNL
WP1 aims to manage the first half of MPS_NOVA project in accordance with available resources, European Commission contractual obligations, as well as time and budget limitations.
Task 1.1 – Kick-off and Interim Project Management Meetings
Task 1.2 – Financial, Administrative, and Communication Management
Task 1.3 – Ethics and Data management (I)
Task 1.4 – Project Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) monitoring, Risk Management, and contingency plans
WP2 – Project management (Part II) Lead Beneficiary – UNL
WP2 aims to manage the second half of MPS_NOVA project in accordance with available resources, European Commission contractual obligations, as well as time and budget limitations.
Task 2.1 Final Project Management Meeting
Task 2.2 – Ethics and Data Management (II)
WP3 – Strategy, Exploitation, and Sustainability Lead Beneficiary – UNL
WP3 aims to develop and support a sustainable strategy within ITQB NOVA and NMS in MPS R&I. It will establish an MPS_NOVA Joint Roadmap for MPS R&I to be implemented by the partners within and beyond the project. The goal is to increase the network, brainstorm possible avenues around the main challenges in this field and elevate UNL research institutions to an EU leadership position in MPS research.
Task 3.1 – Exchange Missions for Institutional Project Alignment
Task 3.2 – Intellectual Property Management and Exploitation
Task 3.3 – Joint Roadmap Plan for MPS R&I
WP4 – Exploratory Research Project Lead Beneficiary – UNL
WP4 will implement the exploratory project, which was defined through previous assessments of internal and international research needs and opportunities within the consortium.
Task 4.1 – Leveraging MPS to Study Mechanisms of Chronic Disease and Host-Microbe Interactions and Develop Therapeutic Strategies
Task 4.2 – Establishing Organ-on-Chip Models for Microbe-Host Interactions
Task 4.3 – Establishing Advanced Brain-on-Chip models for Chronic Disease Mechanistic Studies and Therapeutic Testing
Task 4.4 – Perfectioning skin-on-chip models by incorporating microfluidics, and generating novel epithelial models on chip
Task 4.5 – Establishing advanced liver-on-chip models for chronic disease and host-microbe interactions mechanistic studies
Task 4.6 – Incorporating ‘Omics’ Readouts to advanced organ-on-chip models
Task 4.7 – Incorporating stem cells and organoids on organ-on-chip models
WP5 – Training Programme (Part I) Lead Beneficiary – UKJ
WP5 aims to structure and implement the career and training programme for the first half of the project. The goal is to elevate ITQB NOVA and NMS researchers’ expertise according to the latest state-of-the-art, in both theoretical and practical dimensions.
Task 5.1 – Scientific meetings
Task 5.2 – Thematic Round Tables (I)
Task 5.3 – Hands-on training Workshops (I)
Task 5.4 – Virtual Seminars Series (I)
- Task 5.5 – Researchers Exchange Programme (I)
WP6 – Training Programme (Part II) Lead Beneficiary – UKJ
WP6 aims to structure and implement the second part of a career and training programme with the goals described in WP5.
Task 6.1 – Final project scientific meeting
Task 6.2 – Thematic Round Tables (II)
Task 6.3 – Hands-on training Workshops (II)
Task 6.4 – Virtual Seminars Series (II)
- Task 6.5 – Researchers Exchange Programme (II)
WP7 – Career development of early-stage researchers Lead Beneficiary – MDC
WP7 aims to improve the knowledge of ITQB NOVA and NMS early-stage researchers on career perspectives and leadership skills.
Task 7.1 – Career pathway series
Task 7.2 – ECR Mentoring Programme
WP8 – Professionalisation of research management staff Lead Beneficiary – MDC
WP8 aims to improve the expertise, skills and capacity of ITQB NOVA and NMS Research Management staff by providing twinning and training opportunities with the leading partner organisations.
Task 8.1 – TW6 – Strategy in R&I Management Workshop
Task 8.2 – TW7 – Gender Equality in Hiring and Job Promotion Workshop
Task 8.3 – TW8 – Upskilling Pre- and Post-Award Processes Workshop
Task 8.4 – SE5 – R&I Management visit to UKJ
WP9 – Outreach & Dissemination (Part I) Lead Beneficiary – UNL
WP9 aims to deploy a set of dissemination and outreach activities to maximise the impact of the first half of the project among the most relevant stakeholders’ ecosystems. This WP is closely connected with WP1 (Project Management) and WP3 (Strategy, Exploitation, and Sustainability).
Task 9.1 – Outreach and Dissemination Plan (ODP)
Task 9.2 – Visual identity, communication toolkit, website and social media
Task 9.3 – Dissemination, co-promotion and participation at relevant events (I)
Task 9.4 – SE6 – Communication hands-on staff exchange (I)
Task 9.5 – Conference Attendance Fellowships (I)
WP10 – Outreach & Dissemination (Part II) Lead Beneficiary – UNL
WP10 activities will focus on maintaining and improving the project’s communication and dissemination, according to the Outreach and Dissemination Plan (WP9). This entails the update of communication platforms, maintenance of outreach activities and close monitoring of the progress and relevance of these activities.
Task 10.1 – Maintenance of website and social media
Task 10.2 – Dissemination, co-promotion, and participation at relevant events
Task 10.3 – SE7 – Communication hands-on staff exchange (II)
Task 10.4 – Communication capacitation within the consortium
Task 10.5 – Conference Attendance Fellowships (II)
