IPATIMUP - INSTITUTO DE PATOLOGIA E IMUNOLOGIA MOLECULAR DA UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO PCUP

Their core work

IPATIMUP is a molecular pathology and immunology research institute based at the University of Porto, with deep specialization in gastric cancer biology and rare disease diagnostics. They develop glyco-engineered 3D models to study how sugar modifications on cell surfaces influence cancer progression and clinical outcomes. Their work bridges fundamental molecular research with personalised medicine approaches, particularly in integrating multi-omics epidemiological data to improve gastric cancer treatment strategies. They also contribute to European rare disease networks by applying expert-driven and data-driven diagnostic methods.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IPATIMUP's H2020 portfolio is compact (3 projects, 2017–2019 start dates), making evolution analysis limited. Their earliest project (GlycoModels, 2017) was a self-coordinated Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship focused on fundamental glycobiology in gastric cancer. Their later projects (Solve-RD and LEGACy, 2018–2019) shifted toward large-scale collaborative health initiatives — rare diseases and personalised medicine — suggesting a move from bench-level molecular work toward translational, data-intensive, and clinically oriented research.

IPATIMUP is moving from fundamental molecular pathology toward translational personalised medicine, with growing involvement in large European health data networks.

How they like to work

IPATIMUP primarily joins projects as a partner (2 of 3 projects), with one coordinated MSCA individual fellowship. Their consortium footprint is notable for a small portfolio: 35 unique partners across 13 countries, driven mainly by two large RIA consortia (Solve-RD and LEGACy). This indicates they are comfortable operating within large, multi-national research networks rather than leading them, contributing specialised molecular pathology expertise to broader health initiatives.

Despite only 3 projects, IPATIMUP has worked with 35 partners across 13 countries, reflecting their participation in two large health consortia (Solve-RD and LEGACy) that span European and Latin American institutions.

What sets them apart

IPATIMUP occupies a distinctive niche at the intersection of glycobiology and gastric cancer — a combination few European institutes can match. Their ability to build 3D glyco-engineered disease models gives them a technical capability that is directly relevant to precision oncology and drug screening. For consortium builders in cancer research or rare diseases, they bring both wet-lab molecular expertise and experience in large European data-sharing networks.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LEGACy
  Largest funded project (EUR 660K), a EU-CELAC collaboration applying omics epidemiology to personalised gastric cancer medicine — notable for its intercontinental scope.
• Solve-RD
  Major European rare disease initiative working through European Reference Networks to diagnose unsolved cases using combined expert and data-driven approaches.
• GlycoModels
  Self-coordinated MSCA fellowship developing 3D glyco-engineered cancer models — demonstrates independent research leadership in a highly specialised field.