Science

An anti-fascist activist in his youth (see Waiting for Godinho, Editora Bizâncio, 2009), José Carlos Junça de Morais was exiled in Brussels with UN political refugee status from 1968 to 1974. He has a PhD in Psychological Sciences from the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and he was a full professor at that university, Director of the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Dean of the School of Psychological Sciences and Education, Chairman of the Committee of Psychological Sciences at the Royal Academy of Belgium and a member of the National Reading Observatory (France). He is a doctor honoris causa at the University of Lisbon, a specialist in the cognitive psychology of reading and has published about 150 articles in international scientific journals. He is now an emeritus professor and continues to take part in scientific research within the framework of the Unité de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives at the ULB Institut de Neurosciences. He has done a lot of work to promote reading, such as publishing books, participating in a report presented to the Education and Culture Commission of the Brazilian parliament in 2003, directing a psycholinguistic study on learning to read and write in Portugal within the framework of the National Reading Plan, and helping to draw up the curricular goals for Portuguese, approved by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2012. He has published three works of fiction. He is an emeritus professor at Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Last updated: September 2013

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal, and an integrated researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, where she promotes the working group Mind, Brain and Education. She is an education psychologist, has a PhD in Health Sciences and co-authored «When your Son’s Brain goes to School» (2017) and «Neuromyths» (2020). She has allied research and the dissemination of transdisciplinary science.

Last updated: April 2024

He is a neuroscientist at Stanford University and the author of international bestsellers such as «Incognito» and «The Sum of Everything». He is the co-founder of two venture-backed companies, Neosensory and BrainCheck, and also directs the Center for Science and Law, a national non-profit institute. He is best known for his work on sensory substitution, time perception, brain plasticity, synesthesia and neurolaw.

Last updated: November 2023

Anthropologist from the University of Coimbra. She is Director of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Lisbon and author of the book «How We Became Human».

Last updated: October 2019

She has a PhD in Human Population Genetics, a Master's Degree in Applied Human Genetics and a degree in biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto.
She is Lead Researcher at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S). She studies the evolution of human populations and assesses their susceptibility to complex diseases.
She collaborates with anthropologists, geneticists and international clinicians to continue generating knowledge about the genetic diversity of populations from all continents.

Last updated: October 2023

Swedish biologist specialising in evolutionary genetics. He won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2022 for sequencing the Neanderthal genome and discovering a previously unknown hominid. He is considered one of the founders of paleogenetics. Director of the Genetics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. He has won several awards, including the Princess of Asturias Award in 2018. He is the author of the book «Neanderthal Man» (Gradiva, 2019), translated in partnership with the Foundation.

Maria Manuel Leitão Marques has a bachelor degree in Law from the University of Coimbra, and later obtained her PhD in Economics from the same University. She is a Full Professor at the Economics School of the University of Coimbra and researcher at the Centre for Social Studies since its foundation. She is also the Vice-president of Association Internationale de Droit Économique. Throughout her career, Maria Marques has participated and coordinated several national and internationl projects on the subjects of Economic and Competition Laws, as well as Legal Sociology and Public Administration. She has authored several books and articles on these specialized themes. Between 2005 and 2011, she was appointed Secretary of State for Administrative Modernization, being responsible for the Simplex program, under which the online acess platforms to government and public administration were implemented. Her current research interests focus on regulation of economy by the Government and innovation of public services. Currently serves as member of the High Level Group on Administrative Burdens of the European Commission. Resign in lieu of her election to the Portuguese Parliament, October 4, 2015.

Last updated: october 2023

Graduated in Marine Biology from Lisbon Classic University, in 1986, with executive education at IMD (1995) and Harvard (1997), and Alumni Member of Stanford (2000). Executive President of Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos B.V., the main shareholder of Jerónimo Martins, SGPS, S.A., since its establishment in 2012. Member of the Board of Directors of Jerónimo Martins SGPS, S.A. from 1995 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2015. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Company since April 2019. Chairman of Unilever Fima, Lda., Gallo Worldwide, Lda., JMDB Representação e Distribuição de Marcas Lda. and miMed, Cuidados de Saúde S.A. Chairman of Movendo Capital B.V., since 2017. Since May 2020, he is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos, of which he was a Board Member from 2009 to 2018. Since September 2015, he is the Chairman of Oceanário de Lisboa, S.A., and, since December 2016, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of the Oceano Azul Foundation.

Last updated: may 2020

He has a PhD in Economics from the University of Rochester, USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Portugal. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an associate professor at the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, where he has devoted himself to teaching and research in the areas of public economy, social policies and health economics, seeking to create theories of practical application.

Last updated: May 2023

Professor Charles Boxer at King’s College London. He has a PhD from the European University Institute, taught at Nova University Lisbon and he was director of the National Library and director of the Gulbenkian Cultural Centre in Paris. Among his monographs, we highlight «Racism from the crusades to the 20th century» and «History of Inquisitions», published by Círculo de Leitores in English, French, Italian and Spanish versions.

Last updated: May 2023