When Joaquim Teixeira first heard about the Champalimaud Foundation (CF), it wasn’t in the media or a job ad, it was through a friend, who then invited him for a Happy Hour. “There were maybe twenty people at most, but the atmosphere had gravity. You could sense that something meaningful was about to happen and you wanted to be part of it”, he recalls.

The story of Cátia Feliciano and the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) began when she was still finishing her PhD in Neurobiology at Duke University in Durham, in the United States (USA). With a broad smile, she states that her great passion has always been neuroscience, and that when she heard of the plans to build a large research centre in Lisbon dedicated to this field, returning to Portugal became a possibility.

João Santinha graduated in Biomedical Engineering from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa during one of the longest economic crises Portugal has ever experienced and it was during this time that he heard about the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) for the first time. In a period when there were few opportunities in his field of study, a position opened up on the Scientific Software team that interested him. “I wasn’t selected,” he says smiling, but he adds proudly, “I was invited to another position a few years later.”

Albino Oliveira-Maia, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and Director of the Neuropsychiatry Unit at the Champalimaud Foundation, has been elected to serve as President-Elect for the 2026–2029 term. He will subsequently assume the full presidency of the SPPSM from 2029 to 20321. Upon accepting the position, Oliveira-Maia emphasized the importance of advancing scientific progress and ensuring its real-world impact, stating: “Through leadership of this Society I hope to continue and expand on the work needed to make science and innovation accessible to those that most need it.”

For Leonor Beleza, Rui Costa’s arrival represents an invaluable contribution to the development of the Foundation’s scientific and clinical mission in the fields of cancer and neuroscience. She highlights: “The strategic vision and remarkable career of Professor Rui Costa strengthen our ability to generate knowledge and transform it into real benefits for patients and for society. It is also an investment in the future and in the continuity of our ambition and vision.”

The Use of Defensive Responses to Study Patterned Sequences of Behaviour

Marta Moita, Behavioral Neuroscience Lab

Circuit Mechanisms Driving Movement Disorders

Joaquim Alves da Silva, Neural Circuits Dysfunction Lab

Moderation

Rita Fior, Cancer Development and Innate Immune Evasion Lab

Host

Michael Orger, PhD, Vision to Action Lab

Venue

Seminar room

Before there was a building by the river, before there were retreats and bustling labs, there was only an idea and a handful of conversations sparked across Lisbon, Boston, and New York.