Researchers Ana Eulálio and Cristina Márquez from the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra (CNC-UC) will receive funding from the ”la Caixa” Foundation as part of its Health Research call. The projects will investigate the intracellular survival and microbial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (one of the main agents responsible for infections acquired in hospitals and communities) and the brain mechanisms of social behavior and empathy, and will receive a total of around €1.5 million.

The research by Ana Eulálio, leader of the RNA & Infection research group at CNC-UC, will study the intracellular survival and antibiotic resistance of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. “The aim of this project is to identify the genetic factors that allow Staphylococcus aureus to invade, survive, and replicate in different types of host cells,” explains the principal investigator at CNC-UC. The project aims to improve therapeutic strategies against infections caused by this pathogen and may contribute to a paradigm shift in the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections. The project “Study of the intracellular survival and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus” is funded with €473,902.70.

The project by Cristina Márquez, leader of the Neural Circuits of Social Behavior research group at CNC-UC, seeks to decode the brain mechanisms underlying empathy and social behavior, that is, to discover how the brain understands and responds to other people's emotions. “Despite their importance, the brain mechanisms responsible for processing social information remain largely unknown,” explains the principal investigator at CNC-UC. Understanding how the brain perceives the reward states of others could pave the way for treatments for disorders such as depression and autism. The project is the result of a consortium established with researcher Alexandre Charlet, from the Institute for Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience. The project “Neural circuits underlying the perception of others' emotions” is funded with €999,930.

In the eighth edition of the competition promoted by the “la Caixa” Foundation, 714 proposals for basic, clinical, and translational research were submitted. The projects selected in 2025 are led by 25 Spanish and 9 Portuguese research centers, universities, and hospitals. The competition is supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), which is allocating €1.8 million to fund three of the nine Portuguese projects awarded in this edition.

The grant award ceremony will take place today, the 20th, at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona.

Inês Amado da Silva with Catarina Ribeiro (UC)