CBMA is organized in two research groups. They are designated according to their identity and goals: Yeast Biology and Biotechnology – bioYtec, and Environmental Biology and services – bioEser. Each group comprises several Research Areas, which within the bioYtec group belong to two distinct Research Domains, Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Biotechnology.
Noticeably, the emerging research area predicted in 2007, on Pharmacological evaluation of natural and synthetic compounds, thrived into the present Biochemical Pharmacology and Molecular targets for human diseases. This was accomplished through the reinforcement of human resources of the Department of Biology in this field.
In spite of this organization, the members of the CBMA closely interact with each other taking advantage of their colleagueship and diverse expertise, reason why it is often difficult to allocate each permanent member to a unique area of research. This is emphasized by the tradition deeply rooted in the Department of Biology, and consequently also in the Centre, of sharing equipment, space and human resources. This is effective within the team of CBMA and to a large extent between our team and the remaining researchers of the Department of Biology. This natural interaction that is also favoured by the absence of separated disciplinary groups within the Biology Department, generates an internal networking, which is a valuable tool for scientific progress and quality.
Additionally, the CBMA is inserted in a large network of scientific institutions in Portugal and abroad. First and foremost, the Centre relates intimately with the Portuguese Wildlife Society - Sociedade Portuguesa da Vida Selvagem, SPVS (http://socpvs.org/) with the headquarters located in the Biology Department of Minho University. Moreover, the society’s managing team is shared between members of the CBMA bioEser group and members of CESAM (Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar) from Aveiro University. This interaction between both centres extends to the co-orientation of PhD theses and the interchange of Master students, and creates a functional and extremely active interface between both Universities.
The synergy developed between the SPVS and CBMA has been extremely fruitful at promoting a considerable financial support for Conservation Ecology activities, environmental education 8 programmes and science promotion.
