An immunological hub of excellence in porto tailored to fulfil the era priorities
The mission of an ERA Chair in Immunology (ImmunoHUB) is to create a Platform of excellence in research and innovation at IBMC-i3S (Portugal). Cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmunity and neurodegenerative disorders are major problems affecting our society. These pathologies are studied at IBMC-i3S and result in in part from deregulated immune responses, which makes Immunology a core pillar in our institute. Moreover, the successful usage of immune checkpoint blockade therapies has revolutionized the treatment of cancer and highlights the importance of understanding how to harness the Immune system for future development of vaccines or therapeutics against these diseases. Despite the contributions of our research groups for the understanding of how immune responses are orchestrated in health and disease, the international visibility of IBMC-i3S as a research center of Excellence in Immunology remains modest.
The ImmunoHUB action will (1) project Immunology at IBMC-i3S towards the forefront of basic and translational biomedical research, (2) provide knowledge of fundamental and economical value,  (3) promote the finest academic practices to train the next generation of Immunologists and (4) widen public awareness for the importance of Immunology. Taking advantage of our high-quality scientific, technological, administrative and governance structures, we have set a comprehensive work plan to facilitate the integration and sustainability of the ERA Chair team and the implementation of the ImmunoHUB project. Our proposal is aligned with the existing scientific policy in Portugal and with the Societal Challenges and the ERA priorities identified by the European Commission under the H2020 program. Together, these synergistic actions will play a pivotal role to equip Portugal with the cornerstone infrastructures and human resources of the highest level to reach scientific excellence in Biomedical Research across Europe.