For the first time, the IPB-CIMO will receive award for Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Brazilian researcher Dr. Annelise Rosa-Fontana will develop innovative research along with the group headed by Dr. Alice Pinto. It will take place in the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB)-Mountain Research Centre (CIMO) and will have the collaboration of Dr. Dora Henriques. Partnerships will be strengthened with Dr. Raquel Martín-Hernández and Dr. Simone Tosi, from the Apicultural and Agro-environmental Research Centre of Marchamalo – Spain and from the University of Turin - Italy, respectively.

The proposal presents an integrative approach between the population genetics and bioinformatics, areas lead by CIMO, and ecotoxicology, the expertise of Dr. Rosa-Fontana. The project will create a tool for optimizing pesticide risk assessments of honeybees.

Funding comes from a European research programme regarded as one of the most competitive and prestigious in the world. The MSCA (https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/news/marie-sklodowska-curie-actions-award-eu257-million-to-postdoctoral-fellows-in-2022) offers to researchers a unique opportunity to acquire and transfer knowledge and skills, as well as to expand their networks and disciplinary boundaries through international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility.

The European Research Executive Agency received 7,044 proposals for the 2022 call, of which 17.5% were selected for funding. The selected applicants represent around 80 nationalities. The projects cover all scientific disciplines: social sciences and humanities, life sciences, information sciences and engineering, chemistry, physics, environment and geosciences, mathematics, and economic sciences.

The evaluation consists of three criteria: excellence (50%), impact (30%) and implementation (20%). Considering all areas of knowledge, the cut-off score for funding was above 92%. In 2022, less than 1% of applicants reached a score of 100%, and our proposal was included in this select group. The project will receive a grant of over 172,000.00 euros and will start in the summer of 2024.