GIMM CARE, the clinical and translational research programme of the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM), has awarded two new Flagship Research Projects, each with funding of up to €200,000 over a three-year period, to teams of clinicians and researchers from the Unidade Local de Saúde Santa Maria (ULSSM), GIMM, and the Lisbon School of Medicine (FMUL).

The projects were selected through an open call launched at the end of 2025 and address two critical areas of human health: sepsis, one of the leading causes of in-hospital mortality, and hereditary breast cancer, where significant challenges remain in genetic diagnosis and variant interpretation.

One of the projects is co-led by Miguel Soares (GIMM) and Daniel Costa Gomes (ULSSM, FMUL) and aims to develop a multi-omics atlas of patients with sepsis to identify the cellular mechanisms that lead to organ failure. Building on an important basic research project developed in Miguel Soares’ laboratory, the study will focus on the role of adipocytes and lipid and fatty acid metabolism, with the goal of enabling more precise patient stratification and supporting personalised medicine approaches in the clinical setting.

The second project is co-led by Maria do Carmo Fonseca (GIMM, FMUL) and Ana Berta Sousa (ULSSM, FMUL) and seeks to improve the diagnosis of hereditary breast cancer through the application of long-read sequencing technologies and allele-specific assays to identify genetic variants that escape traditional approaches. The work will begin in the clinic, with standard genetic testing of patients meeting criteria for suspected hereditary cancer, and includes a partnership with the EVITA – Hereditary Cancer Association and the use of the EVITA Platform. Experimental and functional validation of newly identified variants will be carried out in GIMM laboratories.

These two projects reflect the mission of GIMM CARE, which is structured around long-term strategic missions aimed at strengthening clinical and translational research in Portugal, promoting effective integration between basic science, clinical practice, and direct impact on patients.

Within the scope of GIMM CARE, applications are currently open for Proof-of-Concept projects until 9 February 2026, with additional calls planned throughout 2026.