A story about curiosity, ingenuity and reinvention

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. She could have stayed in the USA with a Research Scientist position, but she would have had to move to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) along with her supervisor at the time. Still unaware of all the major changes that her career in Portugal would bring, she saw this move as synonymous with a life (and a destiny) in the USA, something she wasn't sure about.

She tells me about neuroscientist Rui Costa, now President and CEO of the Allen Institute, who was one of the first researchers in the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, and how, while they were still in the USA, his support and mentorship were crucial. She tells me how she already admired his work, which she describes as brilliant, and how he supported her during her PhD journey. Interestingly, we're in Rui Costa's old office here at the Foundation, which we decided to use as a hiding place so we could have this conversation. We laugh when we realise this coincidence.

Cátia eventually moved to Lisbon in 2011 as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Laboratory of Neurobiology of Action, led by Rui Costa. The laboratories were initially located in Oeiras, and the iconic CF building we know today was nearing completion. Her memories of her first days at the new laboratory are of a dynamic team with truly exciting projects, where she integrated with ease. A few months after her arrival, they moved to the new site near the Tagus River, the home of the centre that investigates the unknown.

Cátia's path at CF also took her into the unknown. One of her greatest contributions was the opening of the Health and Safety Unit in 2018, which she currently coordinates. The major shift in her career began in 2016, when, by invitation of Rui Costa, she joined the team preparing for the opening of the Physiology and Cancer Programme. They started from scratch, she tells me, with a completely empty Open Lab that needed furniture, equipment, facilities, and many other things that Cátia brought to reality. Besides being one of her greatest contributions, this was also her greatest challenge. She initially resisted, she confesses, because she thought this path would distance her from science. Today, she is grateful that Rui recognised her calling and led her on this journey, which makes her very happy and keeps her in contact with science daily.

She quickly fell in love with her new project, and today, all the manuals on chemical or biological products, emergency procedures or reagent incompatibility, and basic or complex safety rules were developed by Cátia. She highlights the companionship and creativity of Artur Silva, Hardware and Software Platform Coordinator at CF, who helped her with this project and created customised, intuitive, and visual manuals that were crucial to establishing the safety culture she desired. Cátia pauses, and I ask her, already knowing the answer, if it's good to see this safety culture established. She replies without hesitation, her eyes wide with joy: "It is!".

This major challenge was followed by two more: in 2020, she was appointed COVID Operations Manager, and became responsible for the daily management of safety regulations at Champalimaud Research; and in 2023, she made an outstanding contribution to the opening of the Botton-Champalimaud Pancreatic Cancer Centre, where she played an active role in managing spaces and infrastructure, as well as recruiting technicians, almost as if it were a startup.

Cátia has reinvented herself multiple times, always with ingenuity, and she did so because she tells us she found a home in the Foundation, where there is a culture of connection between people, which makes her happy. She highlights the support of the Board and recalls the day she received a phone call, shortly after the launch of the first health and safety manual, to meet with Leonor Beleza, President of CF, who wanted to know more about the process that had led to the final product of that project.

Our conversation ends with laughter and lightheartedness, where Cátia recalls moments from the annual Champalimaud Research retreats, which bring back hilarious memories of collective activities, as well as key moments of personal growth. For the next 20 years, she dreams of seeing the integration of all these research programmes she has seen – and helped – grow, with particular curiosity for the Centre for Restorative Neurotechnology, always being able to support the development of science, a desire worthy of a true behind-the-scenes heroine. 
 

Cátia Feliciano, Operations Manager, Champalimaud Foundation.
 

Text by Diana Cadete, Digital & Events Manager of the Champalimaud Foundation's Communication, Events & Outreach Team
 

Full 20 Years, 20 Stories Collection here.