INVESTIGADOR RESPONSÁVEL
Nome do Investigador Responsável (IR) do projeto: José Paulo Sampaio
Contacto IR: jss@fct.unl.pt
Departamento: Departamento de Ciências da Vida (DCV)
UID: UCIBIO
FINANCIAMENTO
Tipo de Financiamento: Público
Entidade Financiadora: Internacional
Referência da Call: HORIZON-NFRA-2025-01-DEV-03
Referência: 101292674
Entidade proponente: MICROBIAL RESOURCE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
Montante total do projeto: 3 999 452,00 euros
Montante total para a NOVA.id: 56 816,00 euros
Taxa de financiamento: 80%
PROJETO
Acrónimo: MIRRI-FIRM
Título do Projeto: Making MIRRI FAIR for Globally Impactful Research
Data de início: 1/10/2026
Data de fim: 30/09/2030
Breve descrição do projeto:
MIRRI-FIRM is a transformative project that builds on the ESFRI Landmark status of MIRRI-ERIC, Europe’s leading Research Infrastructure for microbial biodiversity. The project will consolidate and expand MIRRI-ERIC’s role as the central, FAIR data-aligned infrastructure supporting research and innovation across academia, industry, and society. By modernising and defragmenting Europe’s
microbial resource landscape, MIRRI-FIRM will enhance the accessibility, quality, and sustainability of microbial resources and associated data, enabling Europe to respond more effectively to global challenges such as climate change, food security and safety, infectious disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental pollution.
The project will strengthen the governance and operational capacity of MIRRI-ERIC’s Central Coordinating Unit, National Nodes, and microbial Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs), equipping staff with advanced managerial and technical skills. It will upgrade and FAIRify the microbial resources catalogue, harmonise quality management practices, and promote environmentally responsible operations. MIRRI-FIRM will also expand MIRRI-ERIC’s membership to underrepresented regions, democratise access to services, and deepen engagement with industry and SMEs for greater socioeconomic impact. Strategic collaborations with European and global RIs will reinforce MIRRI-ERIC’s position as a cornerstone of microbial R&I in the European Research Area, fully aligned with EU priorities such as One Health, the European Green Deal, and the Digital Europe Agenda.
By improving the interoperability of its data repository it will be able to integrate with leading repositories in the mid- long-term (e.g., MGnify, MycoBank, MALDIBANK, Bioindustry 4.0) and onboarding the EOSC Federation, MIRRI-FIRM will accelerate Europe’s leadership in microbial sciences and contribute to making the EU the most attractive destination for life sciences R&I by 2030.
