‘I view this election as a responsibility. The Portuguese Council for the Brain occupies a unique place in the Portuguese scientific panorama, bringing together members of the Portuguese Societies of Neurology, Psychiatry, Neuroradiology, Neuropediatrics, Neurosciences and Neurosurgery, for the common purpose of promoting brain health, recognising the complementarity of the various aspects,’ says the professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) and specialist in Neurosurgery at the ULS São João.

In this three-year period, Pedro Alberto Silva aims to ‘promote initiatives and actions with the aim of expanding knowledge about the brain, sustain the cooperation established with the European Brain Council (a body that pursues the same objectives in the European Union, bringing together associations from various European countries with specific interests in nervous system research), strengthen links with associated organisations, expand the CPC’s fields of action and involve young people’.

In the coming years, he says, ‘our energy will go towards demonstrating its preponderance as a social mechanism for protecting life and quality of life. Without targeted investment, we run the risk of losing working vectors and the best people working in this field. We believe that every effort is worthwhile.’

The Portuguese Council for the Brain is a non-profit organisation created at the end of 2017, which brings together scientific societies, individuals, professional groups and associations of patients and their families, with a common interest in the study and care of the nervous system. Alongside promoting research, its mission is to disseminate relevant information on advances in neuroscience and to demonstrate the relevance of investing in scientific research as a way of improving the care and treatment of patients with nervous system disorders.

In addition to Pedro Alberto Silva, another researcher from the RISE-Health Unit, FMUP professor and doctor at the Neurology Department of the same hospital, Pedro Abreu, was appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Portuguese Council for the Brain, a position he will also hold for the next three years.