João Bettencourt Relvas elected Secretary-General of International Brain Organization
The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), which represents more than 69 scientific societies and federations from 57 countries worldwide, has appointed new members to its Board of Directors, electing Portuguese researcher João Bettencourt Relvas as its Secretary-General.
The election took place during the IBRO's annual assembly on the 6th of October in Chicago, USA. The assembly was attended by representatives of IBRO member societies and scientific federations, the executive committee, and the chairs of the IBRO world congress. From the 1st of January 2025, the new leaders will join the IBRO Advisory Board in an elected capacity for one year, before assuming their roles as President, Secretary-General, and Treasurer on the 1st of January 2026. Their terms will run until the 31st of December 2028.
For the Portuguese neuroscientist, being elected Secretary-General of IBRO represents “a unique opportunity to promote brain and nervous system research in all its aspects at a global level, within a collaborative, interdisciplinary, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable context”. João Bettencourt Relvas also adds that “IBRO’s commitment to creating opportunities through its educational and support programmes for young scientists at the beginning of their careers, particularly those in various parts of the world who lack or have limited access to training, guidance, and financial resources, is also an extra motivation and a privilege.”
About João Bettencourt Relvas
A neuroscientist specialising in glial cell biology, João Bettencourt Relvas conducted his PhD studies at Imperial College London, undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, and was a Junior Group Leader at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ). He is currently the leader of the Glial Cell Biology group at i3S and a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP). His career includes leadership roles in prominent scientific organisations, including the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN), and as a member of the Executive Committee of NetworkGlia, which promotes global research on glial cells.
The three elected officers have extensive experience in neuroscience and leadership. The elected President is Shubha Tole, a neuroscience researcher at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India. She has held senior positions on the IBRO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), and is currently President of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience (ISDN). She has also chaired the Women in Science Committee of the Indian Academy of Sciences and is an active contributor to the ALBA network, which advocates for diversity in neuroscience. The elected Treasurer is behavioural neuroscientist David Belin, who currently leads interdisciplinary research at the University of Cambridge.
About IBRO
Founded in 1961, the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) is a global association of neuroscience societies (including FENS and SfN) that aims to promote and support neuroscience worldwide through training, education, research, outreach and awareness-raising activities, and the publication of two scientific journals, Neuroscience and IBRO Neuroscience Reports. The organisation represents the interests of more than 85,000 neuroscientists worldwide.