The ICVS/3B's - Associate Laboratory centers its activities in the Health Sciences, namely in Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, in Biomedical Engineering and Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. It works particularly, in the interface Health-Sciences/Technologies, pursuing the goal of generating value through the development of innovative products and services, resulting from internationally highly competitive research.
The ICVS/3B's results from the partnership of two research units from the University of Minho: the ICVS – Health and Life Sciences Research Institute and the 3B's Research Group on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics. The ICVS is an R&D unit in Biomedicine and Clinical Sciences, incorporating the Clinical Academic Center in partnership with the affiliated network of Health Care Institutions, while the 3B's Research Group is a R&D unit in Technologies Applied to Regenerative Medicine, including Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Nanomedicine, being the leader of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.
The collaboration and complementarities established between the ICVS and the 3B's is strengthened in the PATH PhD program by: (i) the establishment of the Clinical Academic Center by the ICVS, (ii) the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, coordinated by the 3B's, and (iii) the spin-offs and entrepreneurial activities ongoing on both research units. The human resources and research facilities allows maximizing the scientific progress, advanced training of postgraduate students, technology transfer and commercialization, as well as the development of innovative products and services and the dissemination of knowledge and innovation, with sustained benefits for scientific production, health care and the socioeconomic development of the country.