The National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) is a centennial institution, founded in 1899 by the doctor and humanist Ricardo Jorge (Porto, 1858 - Lisboa, 1939) as the laboratorial arm of the Portuguese health system.
Nowadays, INSA develops its activity as State laboratory of the health sector, national reference laboratory and national health observatory, with the mission to contribute to gains in public health, either on the laboratory dimension or through specialized health care.
INSA ensures its mission through research and technological development; epidemiological and health services research; external quality assurance for laboratories; diffusion of scientific culture; fostering capacities, knowledge and skills and by providing specialized services, including the prevention of genetic diseases.
INSA cooperates with several international organisms, among which are the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), being one of its competent bodies for Portugal. INSA is also a member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) and of several European and international scientific networks. It also maintains collaborations with numerous foreign institutions in the scope of R&D projects.