Mission & Vision - LS4FUTURE Associated Laboratory

Our DNA

The Associate Laboratory Life Sciences for a Healthy and Sustainable Future (LS4FUTURE) is a unique infrastructure in Portugal dedicated to the study of Life Sciences, at different levels of complexity through fundamental, applied, and translational research.

It gathers top-level scientists and critical mass in the Life Sciences area by bringing together:

Four Research Units: MOSTMICRO-ITQB NOVA, iNOVA4Health, Green-it and Gulbenkian Ciência.
Five Institutions: ITQB NOVA, NOVA Medical School, iBET, IGC and IPO Lisbon.

Our vision

The mission of LS4FUTURE is to create knowledge, innovate and translate research in life sciences towards a sustainable future for humankind and our planet.

Our mission & goals

LS4FUTURE subscribes to the One Health concept, working towards environmental and human health to ensure a sustainable future for humankind and our planet. We rely on our distinctive expertise in fundamental, clinical, and applied research and strong complementarity, coupled with strategic partnerships in Health, Industry, Education, Government and Municipalities. At LS4FUTURE we work to:

i) Create knowledge, innovate and swiftly translate novel findings to society in the areas of Health and Sustainability;

By supporting the performance of top-quality fundamental and applied research in Life Sciences, embracing its openness and digital transformation, and following the scientific programme of its four Thematic Lines;

ii) Train scientists and implement a recruitment plan to attract and retain top-level PhD holders;

By implementing a programme to develop scientific and technical careers of PhD holders within the framework of HRS4R;
By developing an integrated approach to attract, empower and retain internationally competitive researchers and staff, from the level of PhD students to the level of PIs, increasing the capacity of Portugal to attract and retain the best scientific talent;

iii) Increase our capacity to secure international funding and be part of global networks;

By achieving a high level of internationalization of teams, projects and funding that can compete with top world performers in R&D;

iv) Support public policies and respond to societal challenges, through strategic research and services able to give a rapid response to expected and unexpected threats.

By translating our knowledge into healthcare, products, services and processes, directly addressing societal, environmental and economic needs, and aligned with National and European priorities;

Our History

LS4FUTURE, previously known as Laboratório Associado de Oeiras (LAO), was created in 2000 joining ITQB NOVA, iBET, IGC and later CEDOC.

LAO’s mission was to explore the growing links between basic and applied research, to provide advanced scientific and technological training, to act as a consultant in areas of public interest, and to foster the development of new activities and products of economic interest.

LAO is a national case study for promotion of scientific careers, having set up a pioneering and very successful program to hire PhD researchers.

In 2021, the FCT, responsible for conducting the process of evaluating proposals for the creation and renewal of Associate Laboratories, as well as monitoring them, allowed the creation of LS4FUTURE as the largest Associate Laboratory in Life Sciences in a 10-year term.

The Associate Laboratory LS4FUTURE is supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the funding LA/P/0087/2020 (DOI 10.54499/LA/P/0087/2020).

The Associated Laboratory LS4FUTURE is supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the funding LA/P/0087/2020.