OLISSIPO is a project coordinated by INESC-ID, which was recently approved by Twinning | Horizon 2020. The project focuses on Computational Biology, a strongly interdisciplinary area that combines Computer Science, Mathematics , Probability and Statistics, Machine Learning, Molecular Biology and Medicine. The project will be coordinated by Susana Vinga, Técnico professor and INESC-ID researcher, will last 3 years and will receive a EUR 900 000 funding. The project consortium is composed of INESC-ID, the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
The main goal of the project is to intensify, increase and consolidate the world-class research in Computational Biology, carried out at INESC-ID in partnership with the European partner institutions. “Our goal is to strengthen our skills in Computational Biology, not only at INESC-ID, but also at Técnico. I hope that this project allow the whole School to be involved in this research and teaching area”, says professor Susana Vinga, project coordinator. “My joint appointment in two departments (Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Department of Bioengineering) and my collaborations with Técnico research centres, namely IDMEC, iBB and IT, will allow us to further strengthen this area in our School”.
“The planned actions are focused mainly on researchers mobility (international internships), visits of international experts, organisation of workshops and seminars, participation in conferences and institutional exchanges”, explains professor Susana Vinga. “The link to society is also included in the project, namely through science communication to secondary school students and general public”, adds the professor. This project will be very important for researchers who are beginning their careers, because they will have the opportunity to do an internship at renowned European institutions working in this field.
“We are aware that this project will bring great challenges in terms of full implementation of tasks. Senior researchers, PhD students, project managers and science journalists will have to be involved, in order to ensure coordination with our current activities”, stresses the project coordinator.
OLISSIPO brings together three renowned international institutions and scientists, Marie-France Sagot (INRIA, France), Niko Beerenwinkel (ETH Zurich, Switzerland), and Wolfgang Huber (EMBL, Germany), who will be crucial for “fully achieving the goals”. “This consortium was created based on previous successful collaborations, namely in the context of previous European projects, such as BacHBerry (FP7) and SOUND (H2020). This is a relatively small consortium, which will allow us to streamline our collaboration in more specific areas and in a very close way”, says the INESC-ID researcher. One of the expected results of the project is strengthening “the collaboration between the institutions and give impetus to future joint projects and activities”, stresses the Técnico professor.
In total, 437 proposals were submitted to TWINNING, of which 51 were Portuguese. 13 Portuguese projects were among the 77 winners (representing a EUR 69 million funding) and won EUR 12 million. “It shows that Portugal is well positioned in the area of computational biology and that we can significantly improve our image abroad”, points out the project coordinator.
Computational biology is increasingly important nowadays, taking into account the advanced medical research. “It is clear to the entire scientific community that complex biological systems require a strong quantitative analysis and theoretical approach. It is also clear that the advances in medicine are intertwined with computing and mathematics ”, says professor Susana Vinga, who quotes the title of an article (Joel E Cohen, 2004):“ Mathematics Is Biology’s Next Microscope, Only Better; Biology Is Mathematics’ Next Physics, Only Better ”.
