Jorge Diogo da Silva, researcher at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS) of the University of Minho’s School of Medicine (EMUM), was awarded today the João Monjardino Prize 2024 for his pioneering study on spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 / Machado-Joseph disease—a rare, hereditary neurodegenerative disorder that currently has no effective treatment.

ICVS researcher Carina Cunha was recognized with the ISN Young Scientist Lectureship Award, granted by the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN). The award ceremony was conducted on August 21st, 2025, at the ISN-ASN Biennial Meeting in New York, USA.

Agostinho Carvalho, a principal investigator at ICVS, has received more than $450,000 in funding from the Ann Theodore Foundation to lead a two-year research project focused on the mechanisms of sarcoidosis, a rare complex inflammatory disease that remains poorly understood.  The research will be conducted in close collaboration with Dr. Hélder Bastos and the FIBRALUNG consortium, the largest nationwide patient registry and biobank for interstitial lung diseases.

ICVS researcher Joana Silva was distinguished with the Career Developmental Grant 2024 from the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN). The award was officially given in June 2025.

Aging is typically seen as a driver of neurodegenerative diseases – but what if it could be harnessed as part of the solution? A new study, published in the journal Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, by researchers at ICVS suggests that.

University of Minho has once again demonstrated its strong scientific impact with 58 of its researchers featured in the 2025 Best Scientific Rankings by Research.com. Among them, five investigators from the ICVS — Fernanda Marques, João José Cerqueira, Luísa Pinto, Patrícia Maciel, and Nuno Sousa — stand out for their influential contributions to medical and biomedical sciences.