Instituto de Medicina Molecular facts for kids
| Established | November 2001 |
|---|---|
| Focus | genome research |
| Key people | Professor Joao Lobo Antunes (founder) Maria do Carmo-Fonseca (president) Maria Mota (executive director) Bruno Silva Santos (Vice-director) |
| Location |
The Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, often called iMM for short, is a special research center in Lisbon, Portugal. It works closely with the University of Lisbon.
The iMM focuses on studying the human genome. This means they look at our DNA to understand how diseases work. Their goal is to find new ways to test for illnesses, make better tools for finding them, and create new treatments.
How iMM Started
The iMM was created in November 2001. It brought together five different research groups from the University of Lisbon Medical School. These groups studied things like biology, brain science, blood flow, digestion, and nutrition.
In 2003, another research group joined iMM. This group was from the Portuguese Institute of Oncology Francisco Gentil.
Many of the first scientists at iMM had trained at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC). This was one of the first places in Portugal to use advanced methods for studying cells and molecules.
Honoring a Founder
The iMM is now named Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes. This name honors Professor João Lobo Antunes. He was one of the people who helped start iMM and was its president from 2001 to 2014.
The current president of iMM is Maria do Carmo-Fonseca. She was also the executive director when iMM first began. The current executive director is Maria Mota, a scientist who studies malaria.
