A team composed of nutritionists, professors, and researchers from NOVA Medical School was awarded the “Project of the Year – Research” prize at the 2025 Healthy Living Awards. The award-winning study reveals new data on the mechanisms that may contribute to the progression of metabolic complications associated with obesity, such as diabetes, and a new perspective on the role of food in the gut microbiota.
The MAESTRO project – Gut-adipose tissue axis: a new perspective on the impact of diet on the microbiota and metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity – developed in partnership with Hospital CUF Tejo, involved 50 participants with severe obesity who underwent bariatric surgery. Using an integrated methodology, which included the collection of clinical data, metabolic parameters, and blood, stool, and adipose tissue samples, the study explored the role of microbial DNA in adipose tissue dysfunction and the impact of diet on the modulation of the microbiota and intestinal permeability. In an innovative way, it also sought to further investigate the existence of an intestine-adipose tissue axis with relevant implications for the pathophysiology of obesity.
Although obesity is defined by the excessive accumulation of adipose tissue, it is the dysfunction of this tissue—whose environmental factors are poorly understood—that may be at the root of metabolic complications. For the Metabolism and Nutrition laboratory team, led by Conceição Calhau: “this recognition highlights the relevance of this research and its potential for the development of personalized therapeutic strategies based on the modulation of the intestinal microbiota and metabolic health.”
The 5th edition of the VIVER SAUDÁVEL Awards took place on November 27, at the Salão Preto e Prata of the Estoril Casino, where projects with an impact on health and clinical practice were honored.
MAESTRO is part of a broader clinical study and was carried out as part of Shámila Ismael's doctoral thesis, under the supervision of NOVA Medical School professors Cláudia Marques and Diana Teixeira.