INCT

The National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCT) program is an initiative of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), mediated by CNPq, FAPESP and CAPES, and has ambitious national goals, such as mobilizing and bringing together the best research groups in frontier science areas and strategic areas for the country's sustainable development; boosting competitive basic and fundamental scientific research internationally; stimulating cutting-edge scientific and technological research associated with applications to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, in close articulation with innovative companies, within the Brazilian Technology System (Sibratec).

Our INCT in Basic and Applied Optics for Life Sciences aims to take a significant leap in the scientific research we conduct, adding the capacity to transform our main knowledge into platforms of high technological value and social responsibility to help accelerate the economy and provide solutions for health and agriculture problems. More specifically, we will work on converting basic science knowledge into platforms for disease diagnosis, microbiological control, cancer treatment, 'home care' diagnosis, pest treatment and detection in agriculture, disease vector control, food traceability, and incorporation of nanofabrication in the development of new vascular stents for general vascular use. All using optical techniques. In a sense, this proposal complements the excellence we have created over several years.

Do science with high quality and aim to continue doing so. Additionally, we intend to create a national network that can translate and turn our scientific knowledge into highly relevant technologies. To achieve this, we plan to establish procedures in our research lab to make our researchers more participative and collaborative with the productive sector. Several partner companies should be part of this effort, providing co-financing (counterpart) to projects while also translating science into products that solve many societal problems. Our main focus is the optics field and its applications to solve problems in health and agriculture sectors, of great social need and economic importance.

We want to transform the technology landscape in these areas related to optical applications in general. For this, we need to continue performing basic research in the area to generate the necessary support for this advancement. The network to be created involves competencies and locations that will be highly benefited by this project. The objectives are ambitious and closely aligned with the strategic areas of the program, which could only be carried out within a national program coverage like this. Part of our goals is to strengthen our work within the state of São Paulo but also extend our experiences throughout Brazil to proliferate how we do science and seek results to advance basic knowledge that leads to new technologies.

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