Biology and Medicine (PGDBM) followed by the Gulbenkian PhD Programme in Biomedicine (PGDB). In 2013, 20 years after the first structured PhD programme in Portugal, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) started supporting the PhD Programme in Integrative Biomedical Sciences (PDIGC - PIBS) that has been continued as the PhD Programme in Integrative Biology and Biomedicine (IBB), the current programme. In 2014, a new and ambitious PhD programme was launched, the Graduate Program Science for Development (PGCD) that aims to educate a new generation of excellent scientists and university professors in life sciences in the African countries of Portuguese language (PALOP) and East Timor. The IGC is also part of a joint PhD Program Biology at the Host Microbe Interface (INTERFACE) ran by the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB NOVA), Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) and Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM). The IGC has also had two other PhD Programmes, the PhD Programme in Computational Biology (PDBC) the first doctoral programme in computational biology in Portugal launched in 2005, and the Programme for Advanced Medical Education (PGMFA), both important to fulfil gaps in research and training of these two fields. Science Outreach The dialogue between scientists and society is crucial and the IGC is committed to promoting this interaction, both at the Institute and wider afield. Open Days, Researchers' Night, school's outreach and informal education programmes reach every year hundreds of students, teachers and the public. Infrastructure The IGC is resourced with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, and run by highly qualified staff. Facilities include bio-computing services, animal SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) facilities including a "germ-free" unit, transgenics unit, plant facility, high-speed cell sorting, electron and advanced microscopy, next generation sequencing, monoclonal antibody preparation and histopathology. Other services include a library, a dedicated in-house data center and IT team, as well as a research funding office and project management team. References External links Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência PGCD - Graduate Programme Science for Development Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Research institutes in Portugal Genetics or genomics research institutions Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation