CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials welcomed Ana Paula Girol, Professor at the University Centre of Rio Preto (UNIFIPA, Brazil), for a two-day scientific programme that brought together researchers, students and healthcare professionals around emerging approaches in biomedical research and translational medicine.

The visit, organised within the framework of the NanoPlanet project, included a workshop on 21 July and a theoretical-practical training course on 22 July, reinforcing international collaboration between the University of Aveiro and UNIFIPA.

Rethinking biomedical research through New Approach Methodologies

The programme began with the workshop "Rethinking the Lab: How NAMs and the 3Rs Are Redefining Biomedical Breakthroughs", dedicated to the growing role of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in biomedical investigation.

The session explored how innovative experimental models, guided by the principles of the 3Rs—Replacement, Reduction and Refinement—are contributing to more human-relevant, ethical and predictive biomedical research while reducing reliance on animal experimentation.

Ana Paula Girol delivered the keynote lecture, "Mimicking Human Complexity: Skin Explants at the Frontier of the 3Rs", presenting skin explant models as advanced alternatives for translational research.

The programme also featured presentations by Marco Alves (iBiMED and Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro), who discussed non-invasive biomarkers and metabolomics in the NAMs era, and Miguel Oliveira (CESAM and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro), who presented zebrafish-based approaches to support One Health research on environmental contaminants and human disease. The workshop was moderated by Maria de Lourdes Pereira, researcher at CICECO and the Department of Medical Sciences.

Hands-on training in ocular research

On the following day, Ana Paula Girol led the theoretical-practical training course "Morphophysiology of the Eye and Translational Research in Ocular Lesions", held at the Anatomical Theatre of the Department of Medical Sciences.

The course combined lectures with practical laboratory activities, introducing participants to the anatomy and histology of the eye and examining the relationship between ocular morphophysiology and clinical eye disorders. Participants also learned about translational research developed at CEPEC (UNIFIPA) on the application of biomaterials and bioactive compounds for ocular regeneration.

The practical session included a guided dissection of a pig eye (Sus scrofa domesticus), enabling participants to integrate anatomical knowledge with functional and biomedical perspectives relevant to ophthalmic research.

By bringing together expertise from Portugal and Brazil, the initiative provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge on innovative biomedical methodologies while strengthening international scientific cooperation in translational medicine, biomaterials and advanced in vitro models.