Champalimaud Foundation (Fundação D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr. Carlos Montez Champalimaud), a private, non-profit research institution in Lisbon, Portugal, is looking for a Research Operations Officer fellow to join our team. 

Champalimaud Foundation is actively looking for a Research Funding Manager. If you are passionate about science and ready to be challenged daily while you help bring some of the most promising research ideas in neuroscience, behaviour, physiology and cancer into reality, this opportunity may be for you.

Even though he still contemplates the universe with awe – and confesses that one of his favourite podcasts is Sean Carroll’s Mindscape – his curiosity for systems engineering, robotics, and electronics unexpectedly steered him towards neuroscience. 

Juan Alvaro Gallego, an Associate Professor at Imperial College London, has very recently joined the Champalimaud Foundation’s new Centre for Restorative Neuroscience, is set to continue exploring how the brain controls movement, blending fundamental research with cutting-edge technologies.

It’s easy to read emotions on people’s faces — each one has its clear, unmistakable signature. But what about thoughts? A study published in Nature Neuroscience shows that mice’s problem-solving strategies can be deciphered from subtle facial movements. According to the authors, this is a proof of concept that the contents of the mind can be read out from video recordings, potentially offering powerful new research and diagnostic tools.   

Host

Ibrahim Taştekin, PhD, Behavior and Metabolism Lab

Venue

Seminar room

Blending in-depth lectures with guided laboratory sessions, the workshop offered a dynamic introduction to core molecular biology techniques. Participants engaged directly with methods such as RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, PCR, restriction enzyme digestion, electrophoresis, plasmid DNA isolation, sequence analysis, and experimental design for cloning projects.

By combining expert instruction with hands-on practice, the programme not only reinforced fundamental concepts but also fostered confidence in applying these tools to real-world research challenges.

Nicole explores how moving away from the “domino-chain” view of the brain toward seeing it as a complex dynamical system – full of feedback loops and interactions – is opening doors to exciting new discoveries. They talk about the challenges of measuring brain disorders, why fundamental research is so essential, and how predicting salmon populations can help predict seizures in the brain.

“The spinal cord isn’t just a passive relay station executing brain commands”, says Susana Lima, Principal Investigator of CF’s Neuroethology Lab and senior author of the study. “It integrates sensory inputs, responds to arousal, and adjusts its output based on the animal’s internal state. It’s much more sophisticated than we imagined”.