Universidade do Porto
The mission of the Competence Centre on Active and Healthy Ageing of the University of Porto is to promote the population’s quality of life and well‑being by supporting research and innovation within the regional ecosystem, providing training and capacity‑building for 21st‑century skills, and managing a quadruple‑helix partner network that fosters interdisciplinarity, knowledge transfer and valorisation, and cooperation between companies, care providers and academia.
Role: Coordinating institution; WP 5 leaders – Coordination and Management; Responsible for the Exchange Programs (Task 3.2)
Elísio Costa
Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto and researcher at RISE-Health. He is also the Coordinator of the Competence Centre on Ageing of the University of Porto, which aims to work as a convergence Centre of all the skills and knowledge of the University in the field of ageing. He has been member of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA). He is author of more than 350 publications (orcid.org/0000-0003-1158-1480) and has collaborated in national and international research projects in the field of chronic diseases, namely digital health and ageing (SACHI2; SKILLS4ADHERENCE; ICTSKILLS4ALL, FAIR4HEALTH, INNOV4LIFE, SHIFT-HUB, SHAPES).
Daniela Melo
Daniela Melo completed a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences - Speciality in Biochemistry, at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto in 2024. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry (2015) and a Master in Biochemistry (2017) by Faculty of Sciences and School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in University of Porto. Between 2022 and 2025, she served as an Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto. Since March 2025, Daniela has been a researcher at Porto4Ageing - The Competence Centre on Active and Healthy Ageing of the University of Porto where she worked as a project manager within EIT Health.
Joana Carrilho
Joana Carrilho holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and is a researcher at RISE Health, focusing on collaborative innovation ecosystems in digital health, technology adoption, and real‑world validation. With over a decade of experience in scientific research, innovation management, and cross‑sectoral collaboration, she has worked in technology transfer, entrepreneurship programs, and European policy‑improvement initiatives. At the University of Porto’s Competence Centre for Active and Healthy Ageing, she manages several international projects, including coordinating INNOV4LIFE, a cross‑border Living Lab in Digital Health, and leading activities of HUMAN, initiative dedicated to Health 5.0. She also played a role in the EIT Health Hub University of Porto. A certified Innovation facilitator, she is actively involved in capacity‑building, knowledge transfer, and skills development in the health innovation ecosystem. She also teaches in an award‑winning Digital Health course at the University of Porto, contributing to the development of future R&I talent.