CF Scientific Committee meets in Lisbon

Tuesday, May 19th, saw the second annual meeting of the Champalimaud Foundation’s Scientific Committee, chaired by the Nobel Laureate, James Watson.

Leonor Beleza presents the construction site for the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown to Martin Raff (left), Paul Marks (centre) and James Watson (right).

On Tuesday, May 19th, a group of the world’s leading figures in science and medicine gathered in Lisbon to participate in the annual meeting of the Champalimaud Foundation’s Scientific Committee. The Foundation was honoured to once again welcome James Watson to Portugal in his capacity as Committee Chairman, and Dr. Watson was joined on the committee by Alan Ashworth (Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, U.K.), Maria Blasco (Spanish National Cancer Research Centre), Ronald Blasberg (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, USA - MSKCC), Barry Dickson (Institute of Molecular Pathology, Austria), Paul Marks (MSKCC), J. Anthony Movshon (New York University, USA), and Martin Raff (University College London, U.K.).

As the work of the Champalimaud Foundation continues to gather momentum, the Committee sought to address the main focal points of the Foundation’s activities: cancer research, neuroscience research, and the construction of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown. Discussions on cancer research figured prominently and the committee was joined by Dr Raghu Kalluri, from Harvard Medical School, and Dr David Lyden, from Weill-Cornell Medical College, to address the Foundation’s requirements for a world-class cancer research programme. Likewise, when the focus turned to the Champalimaud Foundation’s activities in neuroscience, the committee welcomed Zachary Mainen, Coordinator of the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, and António Coutinho, member of the Foundation’s General Council and Director of the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, to detail the progress being made in this area.

In order to show first-hand the development of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, the committee members were given a guided tour of the construction site in Lisbon. Since the first stone was laid on October 5th 2008, work has developed rapidly and the committee members were able to see first-hand the area that will ultimately host the great majority of the Champalimaud Foundation’s scientific work.

The Scientific Committee will continue to convene annually to advise and guide the Foundation on all scientific and medical matters.

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