João Lobo Antunes (1944-2016) was born in Lisbon. He graduated in Medicine from Universidade de Lisboa in 1968. He completed his PhD in Medicine from Universidade de Lisboa in 1983. From 1971 to 1984, he worked at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia University, and was nominated Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the same university. He was a Fulbright and Matheson Foundation Fellow. He returned to Portugal in 1984 as Full Professor of Neurosurgery at Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa (F.M.L.). He was President of the Scientific Council of F.M.L (1996-2004); President of Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM) (2002); President of Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurocirurgia; European Vice-President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (1990); President of the European Neurosurgery Society (1999-2003); President of the Sociedade das Ciências Médicas de Lisboa (2000); President of the Academia Portuguesa de Medicina (2006); Guest Professor at the University of Beijing (2001); President of the Conselho Superior de Ciência Tecnologia e Inovação (2003); President of the Ethics Commission of Medicina de Lisboa; member of the Scientific Council of the Merck Sharp & Dohme Foundation (2003); member of the Conselho Nacional de Ética para as Ciências da Vida; member of the General Council of Universidade de Lisboa (2008); member of the Board of Trustees of the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos (2009); Trustee of the Higher Education Assessment and Accreditation Agency Consultant in the area of Health Sciences for the National Assembly of Scientific and Technological Research and State Counsellor nominated by the President of Portugal (2006).