Overview

Project Summary

EXCELScIOR: EXCELlent Science with Impact, Open and Reliable

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EXCELScIOR (doi: 10.3030/101087416) is a Horizon Europe ERA Chair project that aims to develop, extend and fully unlock UC’s research potential through the implementation of a new interdisciplinary Chair devoted to Meta-Research (i.e., “research on research”, also known as Meta-Science). Under the guidance of its senior scientific consultant - Professor John P.A. Ioannidis (from Stanford University, USA) - and other leading international advisors, the project aims to improve research methods and practices and to enhance approaches to integrate information, to generate reliable evidence and to maximize its impact, primarily focusing on Biomedical Sciences, the long-term goal being to expand to multiple other research areas, within UC and beyond.

For that, the project will create a permanent and excellent research group in Meta-Research, recruiting the Team Leader (future ERA Chair holder) and 5 other core members [check our Announcements].

Main Goals

EXCELScIOR is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with the following core objectives:

O1. To create the core research group in Meta-Research, complete with an ERA-level, permanent group-leader and a multidisciplinary team that will include experts in diverse fields who address meta-research and can cover a wide spectrum of scientific enterprise, among which Biomedical Sciences.

O2. To restructure the research organization and management of Biomedical Research at UC (notably, at CIBB|CNC-UC), in order to uplift its R&I capacity to the ERA level and increase UC’s R&I performance and visibility.

O3. To implement a Doctoral level programme on Meta-Research, Research Methods and Practices, to train and empower a new generation of researchers with tools that will allow them to thrive professionally in the sector of their choice: academic, clinical or entrepreneurial.

O4. To widen and diversify UC’s participation in international/inter-sectoral and cross-disciplinary collaborative networks and RD&I projects, notably in major competitively funded programmes like Horizon Europe and ESIF financial instruments.

O5. To establish Meta-Research as an effective tool to help improve UC’s organizational performance in R&I, along with its impact, competitiveness and international recognition, and lay the foundations to create a new research to action center at UC ‒ METRIC C ‒ bound to operate in tandem with other international efforts in the field, such as the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS).

Lectures and Seminars:

April 26, 2023 - Evaluating research practices and the academic reward system by John P.A. Ioannidis (more info)

May 18, 2023 - Using Unbiased Many-Teams Replication Data to Evaluate Meta-Analytic Estimators by Amanda Kvarven (more info)

June 19, 2023 - Can we trust meta-analyses in psychology? Real-life meaning of the heterogeneity of effects by Kinga Bierwiaczonek (more info)

EXCELScIOR in the News:

Dec 2022 - EXCELScIOR approval announced at regional (as Beiras) and national (RTP) level

April 2023 - EXCELScIOR kick-off meeting (UC)

August 2023 - News article on Meta-Research (Campeão das Províncias: pg.17-18; Notícias do Nordeste; Jornal de Proença)

Announcements:

WE ARE RECRUITING FOR A TEAM LEADER in META-RESEARCH!

We are actively recruiting for an open Team Leader position (the future permanent ERA Chair holder). Our official job posting through EURAXESS is here: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/141079

Primary contact: excelscior@uc.pt