“I have always had interest and dedicated myself to research because I really believe it helps me become a better doctor. It obliges us to an internal auditing and continuous sense of education”, states the gastroenterologist Marília Cravo . “It is no coincidence that hospitals that do research are the finest. That obliges us to reflect and maintain a critical attitude”, corroborates Rui Maio , general surgeon and clinical director of Hospital da Luz Lisboa. And his predecessor in the job, cardiothoracic surgeon José Roquette, also never doubted: “I felt right from the start that we needed to be different and focus on research”. These were interventions made during the 5 th Hospital da Luz Congress of Research , on May 15, which has gathered in Lisbon the group’s professionals who have contributed with their projects to the enhancement of healthcare provided to patients, and specialists from other institutions of reference, both national and international . “Bits, Molecules and Humans” was this year’s topic, viewing to reflect on “the integration of technology and data, molecular biology, and clinical practise, and the impact of that combination on healthcare”, explains neurologist Raquel Gil-Gouveia , president of Hospital da Luz Research Committee. The 30 th company that invests the most in R&D in Portugal Francisca Leite, director of Hospital da Luz Learning Health, reminded that Hospital da Luz is presently in the top 5 of national health institutions with the highest investment in Research and Development (R&D) , being the one that specifically most invests in the area of Health Sciences. And “in terms of total national investment in R&D, in all sectors, Luz Saúde is the 30 th company” – a remarkable path after 10 years of existence of Hospital da Luz Learning Health, the company of the group dedicated to activities of research and innovation. Also, researcher Pedro Simas commended Hospital da Luz Lisboa for its capability to become a university hospital, classifying its relationship with the Catholic University as “excellent”, which on its turn has “obliged” to the growth of CBR (Católica Biomedical Research Centre). This “can help create translational research groups within Luz Saúde group”. The research projects promoted and financed by Hospital da Luz are developed in four areas: precision medicine, prevention medicine and early diagnosis, research in outcomes, and innovation in health technologies (computational medicine and imaging). One of the panels in the congress focused precisely on taking stock of the situation concerning the projects of the six groups currently operating. The auditorium has heard the representatives of each group about its creation, the work developed, the experiences of success, the “growth pains”, and the optimization needs: Pedro Vilela (Luz Innovation on Neurosciences group – Lion), Joana Torres (Luz Saúde Research Group on Digestive Pathology – GENIUS), Hugo Marques (AIRC – Advanced Cardiac Imaging Research), Jorge Lima (WHALE – Women’s Health and Maternal Foetal Research Group), Bruno Cardoso (Cardiovascular Research Centre), and Jorge Alves Correia (FACe-It group – Fight Against Cancer through Investigation). It was made evident that there are factors that are fundamental in research – willpower, teamwork, technology, financing, and motivating environment – and that these actually exist in the group. “We have here today a very suitable ecosystem for education and research, and the goal is to grow even more”, highlighted Rui Maio, referring the “quality and complex assistance activity, the training of over 100 medical interns, the partnerships with universities for the education of students, and the development of research projects with external and competitive financing capacity”. Pharmacogenomics and AI in cancer Moreover the congress has featured two conferences by international guest speakers: Adrián Llerena, director of Extremadura University Hospital Clinical Research Centre and INUBE (Institute for Biosanitary Research of Extremadura), who has led in Spain a pioneer project for the integration of genetic information in medication prescription in the public health system; and Aleksander Bagaev, chief product officer of BostonGene, pioneer in the use of biomedical software and AI for the assessment and stratification of patients with cancer, and the creation of customized products and medication in oncology. Genetic sequencing tests and the sequencing of tissue and liquid biopsies in patients with cancer towards precision medicine, were the topics brought by Synlab, partner of Hospital da Luz Network. The congress has also included a scientific papers competition destined to professionals of the Group. The winners were José Ferreira Santos – 1 st place in abstracts, with the paper entitled “Large Language Models approach clinician performance in cardiovascular risk stratification: a vignette-based benchmark study” – and Inês Margarido , who won 1 st place in scientific posters, for the work entitled “Predicting efficacy and toxicity of immune checkpoint inhibitors: a role for Interleukin 7”. Hospital da Luz thanks all the participants, sponsors, and trainers of the congress. Together we can do more and better research focused on the needs of our patients. Our Research Congress will be back in 2027! In the photo below, elements of the organizing and scientific committees: Rita Cunha de Eça , Ana Morgadinho , José Luís Passos Coelho , Daniel Beirão , Raquel Gil-Gouveia, Pedro Moraes Sarmento , Nuno André da Silva, Patrícia Patrício , Filipa Malheiro , Joana Bragança, Francisca Leite, Jesús Luque and Joana Torres.
