Nova Medical School is organizing, together with EIT Health Innostars, a EIT Morning Health Talk on "Partnerships between academia and healthcare units - An open innovation ecosystem to create health solutions." at the Cascais International Health Forum on 21st March. This significant event will be attended by key healthcare decision-makers from across Portugal.
PROGRAM
15:30-15:50 | Michela Bertero - Strategy Director at IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
15:50-17:00 | Round Table Discussion: Partnerships between academia and healthcare units - An open innovation ecosystem to create health solutions
- Michela Bertero, Strategy Director at IDIBAPS
- Isabel Fernandes, Head of the Oncology Department at CUF
- João Conde, Deputy Director for Research at NOVA Medical School
- Hugo Soares, AICIB & National Cancer Hub
Discussion Moderated by Marta Passadouro, EIT Health Innostars
17:00 - 17:15 | Q&A and Closure (Mariana Silva | Nova Medical School)
17:15 - 18:00 | Networking Coffee-break
The audience for this parallel session is reserved for key stakeholders and partners: Health Leaders and Managers, Academic and Research Leaders, Health Industry, Government and Health Funding Agencies, Facilitators of Academia-Health Collaborations, Innovation Managers, among others.
If you are interested in participating in this session, please fill out the following form here.
Our special guest will be Doctor Michela Bertero, Strategy Director at the Agusti Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) in Barcelona (Spain). She oversees the strategic plan of the institute, and coordinates diverse areas, including technology transfer, science communication, scientific career development and training, as well as the technology platforms and laboratory support services. Previously, Michela Bertero held the position of Head of International and Scientific Affairs at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. Her department´s mission was to strengthen the international and interdisciplinary dimension of the institute and create new opportunities for the scientific community by fostering new strategic partnerships and alliances. She played a fundamental role in the creation of the European Alliance in life sciences, called EU-LIFE, that she represented in the European Open Science Policy Platform advising Commissioner Moedas. She also coordinated the H2020 project ORION on Open Science. Prior to joining the CRG, she worked as postdoctoral researcher in molecular and structural biology at the Gene Center of the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (Germany), and at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada), where she focused on the functional and structural characterization of large macromolecular complexes. Michela holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pavia (Italy), where she studied transcription regulation in bacterial motility.
Isabel Fernandes: Isabel Fernandes, MD, Ph. D., is a doctor and clinical research scientist in oncological and health matters. She is the Oncology Coordinator at CUF Descobertas, CUF Santarém and CUF Torres Vedras Hospitals. Works as an assistant to the director of the National Programme for Oncological Diseases, a consultant to the Health Technology Assessment Commission, and a founding member of the Portuguese Sarcoma Group (GPES). Member of the European Society of Oncology (ESMO) and the Portuguese Society of Oncology (SPO). She is currently a visiting Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology and Oncobiology at the Nova Medical School. Isabel Fernandes graduated with distinction from ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal, with a PhD in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship.
João Conde: João Conde is a Group Leader, Professor, and Vice-Dean for Research at NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. He earned his PhD in Biology (NanoBiotechnology) in 2014 and later became a Marie Curie Fellow at prestigious institutions including MIT and Harvard. In 2019, he received an ERC Starting Grant for his work on genetic biobarcodes in breast cancer. He co-founded TargTex, a biotech company focused on glioblastoma therapy, and in 2023, partnered with Vector Bioscience and AstraZeneca to develop RNA-based cancer therapies. He has published over 140 articles in leading journals, with more than 30 as first author, and holds over 10 patents on nanomaterial-based cancer therapies. His research has earned him international recognition, including multiple awards and a position on several prestigious scientific boards. In 2025, NOVA Medical School received €4.5M to establish a preclinical-to-clinical hub under his leadership.
Hugo Soares: Hugo Soares is a Science Manager at AICIB – The Portuguese Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation – where he co-coordinates the European project ECHoS, aiming at creating a network of support to EU Mission on Cancer, and the Portuguese National Cancer Hub (NCH-PT), a structure dedicated to connecting people and organizations to foster the translation of scientific evidence into policies. The NCH-PT is oriented towards the implementation of EU Mission on Cancer and EBCP initiatives in the full spectrum of cancer - from fundamental research to clinical research and clinical practice. The NCH-PT catalyses the development of multi-stakeholders’ projects and connections to the community in Health, Research and beyond. Hugo holds a PhD in Biotechnology by NOVA University of Lisbon.