Foundation

The BIAL Foundation was created in 1994 by Laboratórios BIAL in conjunction with the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities. BIAL Foundation’s mission is to foster the scientific study of the human being from both the physical and spiritual perspectives. It is managed by representatives from both institutions.

Along the years the BIAL Foundation has developed an important relationship with the scientific community, first in Portugal and after worldwide. Today it is an institution of reference, particularly in the Neuroscience research, which aims to stimulate new researches that may help people, promoting more health and contributing to new milestones to gain access to knowledge.

Among its activities the BIAL Foundation manages the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica, created in 1984, which is focused on the recognition and enhancement of basic and clinical research. Over 18 editions it has distinguished 102 written works of major impact on medicine and has become acknowledged as a prestigious prize in the Health field. At least one of the authors must be a native physician of a Portuguese speaking country. In 2017, the BIAL Foundation created the BIAL Award in Biomedicine with the aim of extending its scope of activity and recognising the most outstanding and relevant discoveries made in the biomedical field. This prize will be awarded for the first time in 2019 and every two years since then, alternating with the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica. Only works nominated by the members of the Jury, some Board members of the Foundation and Scientific Societies may be considered candidates.

The BIAL Foundation also supports scientific research projects for the neurophysiological and mental study of the human being, arousing the interest of researchers in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology.

To date the BIAL Foundation has already supported 692 projects, about 1500 researchers and research centers from 25 countries. The research funded by the BIAL Foundation in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology from 1994 to March 2018 has resulted in the publication of 1260 papers, 910 of which in indexed journals and 749 in impact factor journals. Almost half of the papers were published in journals that ranked in the first quartile (Q1) in their subject area. In March 2018, 756 papers were cited on average 17 times and 113 papers ranked in the top 10% most cited papers, based on the number of citations received when compared to other papers published in the same field in the same year.

The results of a study that assessed the scientific production of the supported research projects were presented at the 12th BIAL Foundation’s Symposium, held in Porto from April 4 to 7, 2018, and can be accessed here. In addition, the Foundation has an online database that can be accessed by the scientific community and by the general public here.

In 1996 the BIAL Foundation has begun organizing the Symposia entitled "Behind and Beyond the Brain", a Forum that gathers every two years world-renowned experts in neurosciences and parapsychology, as well as several researchers supported by the Foundation.

Classified as a non-profit institution of public utility, the BIAL Foundation includes among its patrons the Portuguese President, the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities and the Portuguese Medical Association.

BIAL Foundation at a glance