i3S researchers win Albino Aroso Award

The project entitled "Pairing rehabilitation and Axonal Regenerative therapies towards promoting Spinal cord repair", led by Ana Paula Pêgo and Mónica Sousa, has just been granted the Albino Aroso Award, in its first edition following its intitution by Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto.

Every year, an estimate of 30 in a million people are affected by spinal cord injuries and roughly 500 in a million people are afflicted with sequelae due to ineffective treatment. Joining i3S researchers and Centro de Reabilitação do Norte, this project has developed an integrative approach to the processo, thus encompassing basic and clinical research while integrating clinical methodologies that might condition pre-clinical results. In other words, this is a comprehensive research project comprising basic biology of nerve cell repair, biomaterials permeated with therapeutic agents intended to speed regeneration, and rehabilitation techniques, often overlooked in early stages of studies of this sort.

The 50K stipend that comes with the award allows only for the purchase of laboratory supplies, so for the research team it is primarily a symbol of acknowledgement of an important research field.