Category: Awards and Distinctions

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Gonçalo Ribeiro wins Youth Start-Up Competition 2025 for innovation in cancer treatment

FLASHGuard Project

On November 2025, Gonçalo Ribeiro won the Youth Start-Up Competition (YSC) 2025 with his pioneering medical technology project FLASHGuard.

Presented at the SME Assembly 2025 in Copenhagen, FLASHGuard enables the safe clinical use of FLASH Radiotherapy, a cutting-edge cancer treatment that protects healthy tissue while maintaining tumor control. By bridging science, technology, and care, the project places Europe at the forefront of advanced health tech innovation.

Selected as one of three finalists by the expert jury from over 70 entries, Gonçalo’s project went on to win the audience vote at the SME Assembly, where participants chose the most promising start-up among this year’s finalists. FLASHGuard impressed with its potential to enhance Europe’s competitiveness in medical research and improve the quality of life for patients worldwide.

Gonçalo will now take FLASHGuard to the 2026 European Innovation Council Summit in Brussels, where he will gain greater visibility and connect with Europe’s leaders in innovation and healthcare.

Congratulations to Gonçalo and the FLASHGuard team on this achievement! A word of appreciation also to the other two finalists, Michael Strudler (Austria) and Jonas Kewenig (Germany).

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Gonçalo Roriz awarded Gulbenkian “Novos Talentos” Grant 2025

FLASHGuard Project

On November 2025, Gonçalo Roriz, a Master's student of Engineering Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), was awarded a prestigious Gulbenkian “Novos Talentos” Grant in the field of Physics.

This highly competitive grant, promoted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, aims to support outstanding university students in Portugal who demonstrate exceptional academic performance and a strong motivation for scientific research. It provides financial support, advanced training opportunities, and mentoring activities that encourage the development of new scientific skills and innovation.

Within the scope of the grant, Gonçalo will carry out his research work at the Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP), as part of the Particles4Health group led by Prof. Pedro Assis. His project will be developed within FLASHGuard, a project that focuses on developing ultra-fast monitoring devices for FLASH Radiotherapy — an emerging technology that promises more effective and less invasive cancer treatments through precise particle detection.

This recognition not only highlights Gonçalo’s academic excellence and research potential but also reinforces the importance of LIP and IST as institutions that foster young scientific talent and innovation at the intersection of physics and health.

Congratulations to Gonçalo on this amazing achievement!

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Gonçalo Ribeiro successfully defended his Master’s Thesis

FLASHGuard Project

On 3 November 2025, Gonçalo Ribeiro successfully defended his Master’s thesis at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), obtaining the highest grade of 20/20.

The thesis was conducted at the Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP), within the Particles4Health research group led by Prof. Pedro Assis. The work was supervised by Prof. Pedro Assis and Prof. Patrícia Gonçalves.

The jury was composed of Prof. Guilherme Milhano and Prof. Bernardo Tomé, whose evaluation and insightful discussion contributed to the successful defense.

This achievement reflects years of rigorous study and research, and acknowledges the formative role of both LIP and IST in Gonçalo’s academic development.

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Prof. Pedro Assis and Gonçalo Ribeiro represented the FLASHGuard Project in Barcelona at the official kick-off of the CaixaImpulse Health Innovation Grant

FLASHGuard Project

On September 16th and 17th, Prof. Pedro Assis and Gonçalo Ribeiro represented the FLASHGuard Project in Barcelona at the official kick-off of the CaixaImpulse Health Innovation Grant.
The event marked the beginning of the program and included the first week of business training, bringing together selected projects from across Portugal and Spain.

Being part of this highly competitive initiative, with a success rate of only 6.7%, is a major milestone for FLASHGuard and reinforces our mission to translate cutting-edge physics into medicine.

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FLASHGuard Project awarded CaixaImpulse Health Innovation Grant

FLASHGuard Project awarded CaixaImpulse Health Innovation Grant

FLASHGuard Project

We are proud to announce that the FLASHGuard Project has been awarded the CaixaImpulse Health Innovation Grant 2025 – Improve Cancer Treatments. This highly competitive program, with a success rate of just 6.7%, is open only to excellent research centers in Portugal and Spain, and supports the development of innovative medical technologies with the potential to transform patient care.

The grant includes an initial €50,000 and provides a pathway to securing up to €700,000 over five years, distributed across three stages. Beyond funding, it offers 5 hours of mentoring, 10 hours of expert advice with top specialists from the “la Caixa” Foundation network, and four weeks of business training.

Receiving this grant marks a major milestone for FLASHGuard and strengthens our mission to enable the safe clinical adoption of FLASH Radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) by developing a saturation-free, real-time beam monitoring device. This support will accelerate our path towards bringing cutting-edge physics into medicine and improving cancer treatment worldwide.

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Gonçalo Roriz delivers a talk at IST-PhysFront’25 in the session Outstanding Student Talk

Roriz

On September 10, the FLASHGuard Project was in the spotlight at IST-PhysFront’25, the inaugural Physics Frontiers Symposium at Instituto Superior Técnico. Representing the project, Gonçalo Roriz delivered an Outstanding Student Invited Talk, after being personally invited by Prof. Filipe Joaquim and the Department of Physics. Selected from among hundreds of students thanks to his outstanding academic track record – including a perfect score (20/20) in PIC1, winner of JEF Awards, and helping the project achieve victory in the Lab2Market@Técnico competition – Gonçalo Roriz presented FLASHGuard as a pioneering initiative within the Particles4Health group at LIP, aimed at pushing the boundaries of cancer treatment monitoring. His talk emphasized the vision, ambition, and progress that are driving the project forward.

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Gonçalo Roriz to Present at IST-PhysFront’25: Featured in Outstanding Student Talks

IST-PhysFront’25 Banner

July 13, 2025 – We are proud to announce that Gonçalo Roriz, a student researcher involved in the FLASHGuard Project, will be presenting his work at IST-PhysFront’25 as part of the highly selective Outstanding Student Talks segment.

IST-PhysFront, organized by the Department of Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico, is an annual showcase of cutting-edge research by students and early-career scientists. The 2025 edition will take place on 10th September at Técnico Innovation Center.

Gonçalo Roriz's talk will highlight recent advances developed under the FLASHGuard Project. His presentation exemplifies the impactful student-led research being conducted within the project and at Técnico more broadly.

The Outstanding Student Talks segment features some of the most promising young physicists across various fields, selected based on academic excellence, research quality, and presentation skills. This recognition not only honors Gonçalo’s scientific contributions but also underscores the importance of FLASHGuard’s mission in advancing frontier technologies in physics.

For more information on the event and full program details, visit the IST-PhysFront’25 official website.

Congratulations to Gonçalo Roriz!

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FLASHGuard Project wins Lab2Market@Técnico 2025

FLASHGuard Project

Lisbon, 3 June 2025 – The Particles4Health research group at LIP, led by Pedro Assis, has captured the top innovation award at the 9th edition of Técnico’s Lab2Market accelerator programme. Their pioneering FLASHGuard Project clinched the António Brandão Vasconcelos Prize as the most innovative initiative of the year.

FLASHGuard Project represents a leap forward in FLASH Radiotherapy, an emerging treatment that delivers ultra‑short radiation pulses designed to spare healthy tissue and reduce side effects.

The winning team draws from Particles4Health’s emerging talent pool, including:

  • Gonçalo Ribeiro (PhD Student)
  • Carolina Miranda (MSc Student)
  • Gonçalo Roriz (BSc Student)
  • Pedro Assis
  • Bernardo Tomé
  • Patrícia Gonçalves

This recognition follows previous accolades: FLASHGuard was showcased at the FRPT 2024 international conference and secured two first prizes at the JEF Awards 2025, celebrating LIP’s promising young researchers.

As the first-ever LIP/IST Physics Department‑based project to win Lab2Market, FLASHGuard underscores Particles4Health’s commitment to translating advanced detector R&D into real-world clinical tools.

FLASHGuard Team:
Pedro Assis (group leader), Gonçalo Ribeiro (team leader), Carolina Miranda, Gonçalo Roriz, Bernardo Tomé, Patrícia Gonçalves