Tackling the Challenges of Neuroscience: from molecules to minds
Date: 8 April 2026
Location: Main Auditorium, Building Abel Salazar
Understanding the brain remains one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time. Despite remarkable advances in genetics, molecular biology and imaging technologies, neurological and psychiatric disorders continue to affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
This session brings together leading researchers working across different scales of neuroscience — from the molecular mechanisms of neuronal degeneration to new tools, including artificial intelligence, which promise to revolutionise our understanding of diseases and the development of new therapies.
Kicking off the celebrations for i3S’s 10th anniversary, this session reinforces i3S’s commitment to tackling complex biological problems through interdisciplinary research, spanning from fundamental research to clinical application.
The program concludes with a tribute to Maria João Saraiva, whose scientific work and dedication to training young researchers have left a lasting mark on neuroscience in Portugal.
Language: Session in English
Registration: Free but mandatory
Venue
Main Auditorium, Building Abel Salazar
Address: Largo do Prof. Abel Salazar, 4050-202, Porto
Program
17h00 Commemorations opening
i3S 10th Anniversary
Claudio Sunkel, i3S Director
17h15 Alzheimer’s disease: imperfect mechanistic therapies and the way ahead
John Hardy, University College London, United Kingdom
17h45 A brief history of the dawn of Neuroscience from an Iberic/sunset perspective
Fernando Castro, Centro de Neurociencias Cajal-CSIC, Spain
18h10 Intervalo
18h30 Regeneration of the nervous system: impossible or not?
Mónica Sousa, i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
18h50 AI to Decode Diseases, Design Therapies and Deliver Cures
Paulo Fontoura, Xaira Therapeutics
19h20 Tribute to Maria João Saraiva
Memory as legacy, science as continuity
Presentation of a commemorative piece by Gabriela Queiroz, Councillor of the Porto City Council.
20h00 Closing
Speakers
John Hardy
University College London, United Kingdom
Professor Sir John Hardy is the Chair of Molecular Biology of Neurological Disease at the UCL Institute of Neurology. John was appointed as Alzheimer’s Research UK’s second Vice President in 2024, in recognition of his longstanding support for the charity and his outstanding contribution to dementia research. In 1991, John discovered the first mutation directly linked to Alzheimer's disease. This led to his research group developing the ‘Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis’ and him being the first researcher to identify the role of the amyloid protein in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, a prevailing theory of how the disease is caused. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to science, John was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009. In 2022, he was awarded a Knighthood in New Year’s honours in recognition of his contributions to human health and dementia research. To date, John has over 23,000 citations to his research.
Fernando Castro
Centro de Neurociencias Cajal-CSIC, Spain
Fernando de Castro is CSIC’s Investigador Científico and PI of the Myelin Dynamics & Repair lab (Centro de Neurociencias Cajal-CSIC, Spanish Research Council). M.D. by the Universidad Complutense (1991) and PhD by Neuroscience Program of the Universidad de Alicante (1996), he has been working since then in the development of the CNS and since 1998 in oligodendrogliogenesis and myelination. Since 2010, his group has published significant works on the physiopathology of demyelination and is focused on preclinical development to promote spontaneous (re)myelination for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and leukodystrophies. He also has a relevant trajectory studying the History of Neuroscience.
Mónica Sousa
i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Mónica Sousa is a leading neuroscientist and Principal Investigator at the Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) of the University of Porto, where she heads the Nerve Regeneration Group. She also serves as Director of the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), one of the founding institutes of i3S. Her research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate axon growth, degeneration, and regeneration. Her team made a landmark discovery by demonstrating that the spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) is the first known mammal capable of spontaneous spinal cord regeneration. This finding reshaped scientific understanding of central nervous system repair and opened new therapeutic possibilities for spinal injury. In 2025, Mónica Sousa was awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant to support her research on the regenerative mechanisms of the spiny mouse. Mónica Sousa’s scientific contributions have significantly advanced the field of neuroregeneration.
Paulo Fontoura
Xaira Therapeutics
Paulo Fontoura is a distinguished neurologist and internationally recognised leader in translational neuroscience and drug development. During 20 years in biopharma, he has had multiple senior leadership roles at Roche/Genentech and is currently Chief Medical Officer at Xaira Therapeutics, an AI-native company dedicated to solving the major challenges in drug R&D. Over his career, he has contributed to the development of over 60 new molecular entities, including 7 FDA/EMA-approved medicines. He is a board member and advisor to several biotechnology companies, and a visiting professor at the European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine and at NOVA Medical School.
Maria João Saraiva
i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Maria João Saraiva is a neuroscientist whose work has been central to the development of molecular and cellular neuroscience at the University of Porto. She served as Director of the Molecular Neurobiology Group at the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC) and, since 2015, also at i3S, where she led pioneering research on transthyretin biology, amyloidosis, and neurodegeneration, establishing her research group as a national and international reference in these fields. A long-standing leader in the Portuguese neuroscience community, she played key roles in the evolution of the IBMC Neurosciences Division, including coordinating the Basic and Clinical Neurobiology Division and directing the Amyloid Unit, helping shape research strategy and talent development. She was also vice-director of IBMC. Over her career, Maria João Saraiva has received major national and international scientific distinctions—including the Gulbenkian Prize in Science and the national Medal for Merit in Science—and remains one of the most influential researchers in amyloid diseases and neurobiology in Portugal.
