José C. Machado (JCM) is Full Professor in the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, vice-president of the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (Ipatimup), and Coordinator of the Cancer Program at i3S. He studied Biology at the University of Porto and developed his PhD in the Universities of Tubingen, Germany and Porto, Portugal. The scientific goal that drives JCM's research group is to understand the biological significance of communication among cells of the tumor microenvironment, and determine how it influences cancer onset, progression, and clinical response. JCM has been awarded research projects by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), by the Portuguese Agency for Innovation (ADI), by the Portuguese Ministry of Health, by Worldwide Cancer Research and by the European Union. JCM is also the head of R&D at the molecular genetics laboratory of the IPATIMUP Diagnostics Unit. This is one of the reference laboratories in Portugal for the detection of cancer biomarkers, genetic diagnosis of hereditary cancer syndromes and pathology. As of November 2021, JCM co-authors 181 publications, with 12383 total citations, and with an h-index of 46 (Scopus Author ID 7102792651).