ASSOCIACAO BIOPOLIS

Their core work

Biopolis is a Portuguese research centre focused on environmental biology, biodiversity science, and ecosystem research. They combine field ecology, genomics (metabarcoding, next-gen sequencing), and evolutionary biology to study biodiversity from molecular to ecosystem scales. Their work spans biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem services valuation, and fundamental research into animal behaviour and colouration — with applications ranging from conservation policy to climate adaptation. They are also building research capacity through a major Teaming for Excellence initiative to become a top-tier European centre in environmental biology and agrobiodiversity.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2018–2019), Biopolis engaged in broader topics including urban planning, democratic innovation, research infrastructure (ENVRI-FAIR), and general biodiversity/ecosystem services mapping. From 2020 onward, their focus sharpened significantly toward fundamental evolutionary biology — sexual selection, cooperation, animal colouration — alongside climate-oriented biodiversity research. This shift reflects a maturing institution that secured its flagship Teaming grant (BIOPOLIS, €9.8M) and then built a portfolio of ERC-level basic science alongside applied environmental work.

Biopolis is deepening its fundamental biology research (evolutionary ecology, genomics) while maintaining applied environmental work — expect them to seek partners who bridge basic science with conservation and policy impact.

How they like to work

Biopolis acts as both a consortium leader and an active partner, coordinating 5 of 10 projects including their largest grants. Their 154 unique partners across 31 countries show they are a well-connected hub rather than a closed group working with repeat collaborators. This wide network and balanced coordinator-to-participant ratio make them a reliable partner who can both lead ambitious initiatives and contribute specialized expertise to others' projects.

With 154 unique consortium partners spanning 31 countries, Biopolis has built a remarkably broad network for a relatively young research centre. Their connections extend well beyond Europe, with tropical biodiversity work (TROPIBIO) linking them to African research communities.

What sets them apart

Biopolis combines a rare dual strength: deep fundamental research in evolutionary biology (ERC-level grants on sexual selection and cooperation) with large-scale applied biodiversity monitoring and ecosystem services work. Their €9.8M Teaming grant signals EU-level confidence in their trajectory to become a centre of excellence. For consortium builders, they offer both scientific credibility in ecology/evolution and practical capacity in environmental genomics, biomonitoring, and policy-relevant biodiversity assessment — a combination few Portuguese institutions can match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BIOPOLIS
  Flagship Teaming for Excellence project (€9.8M) — the largest single grant, designed to transform the centre into a top European hub for environmental biology and agrobiodiversity.
• COOPERATIVE PARTNER
  ERC Consolidator Grant investigating the evolution of cooperation through partner choice — reflects strong PI-level scientific leadership in fundamental biology.
• EYESPOT
  ERC Consolidator Grant combining genetics, molecular biology, and photonics to study avian structural colouration — an unusually interdisciplinary project bridging biology and physics.