Joana Marques, a researcher at RISE-Health, has been appointed to the Council of Scientists of the Human Frontier Science Programme Organisation (HFSPO), representing the European Commission.

According to the researcher, who is also a specialist at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP), “this appointment represents recognition of my career to date as a researcher, and it is an honour for me to be appointed by the European Commission to this important position at one of the world’s most prestigious science funding agencies”, she says.

With this appointment, Joana Marques will succeed Mart Saarma of the University of Helsinki (Finland), and over the next two years she will support the Human Frontiers in Science Programme Organisation in fulfilling its scientific mission, assist with the peer review and selection process for the allocation of funding, and advise on the introduction of new programmes or the modification or discontinuation of existing ones.

The assessment of potential new members of the HFSPO and nominations for the HFSP Nakasone Prize are also among the challenges that the RISE-Health researcher will take on within the organisation.

It is worth noting that the Council of Scientists of the Human Frontier Science Programme Organisation is an international organisation that promotes frontier research in the life sciences, supporting innovative projects involving high scientific risk through competitive funding at a global level.

The Council of Scientists plays a central role as an advisory body to the Board of Trustees, ensuring that the organisation fulfils its mission to promote pioneering research in the life sciences.

Among other responsibilities, the Council is tasked with monitoring the quality and scope of the science funded on the recommendation of the evaluation committees, as well as reviewing nominations for the HFSP Nakasone Prize and recommending the annual winner of the award to the Board of Trustees.

This distinction enhances the visibility of the research carried out at RISE-Health on the international scientific stage and comes at a particularly significant time for the Portuguese scientific ecosystem.