Newsletter PAPS. Who is PAPS? Portuguese American Post-Graduate Society. Issue 56 June 2011

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1 Portuguese American Post-Graduate Society Editors Bárbara Vidal, Ricardo Vidal Graphic Design R. Vidal, R. Candeias, F. Delgado Who is PAPS? New Chapter Leaders Graduations Opportunities and News Career P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 PAPS Newsletter Issue 56 June 2011 Who is PAPS? Post-Doctoral Fellow University of California - San Francisco Where does this story start? I guess my academic life started in Coimbra, where I did my biochemistry degree. Living in one of Coimbra s community houses ( republicas ), I was immersed in the Erasmus life, which left me with some serious wanderlust. During the last year of the biochemistry degree, I did an internship in Aveiro, where I learned that one can do biological research using computers (i.e., bioinformatics) and I have been hooked ever since. Thanks to the GABBA PhD program in Porto ( I got a fellowship to go to Germany to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) to do a Ph.D. in bioinformatics. It was a real fun time, doing research in such a mixed international environment. Fun fact the EMBL grounds are not considered to be Germany territory although, unfortunately, the police are still invited to come in and distribute parking fines. During this period, my research focused on the development of computational methods to study protein-protein interactions and their evolutionary dynamics. After the PhD and having explored Europe, I thought it would be a good time to move across the pond. So, about three years ago, I ventured into the Wild West and started a post-doc in San Francisco Page 1

2 Info Place of birth Marinha Grande, Portugal Year of birth 1979 Time in the USA: 3,5 years Webpage at UCSF. I really love the warmth and friendliness of Californians, how they are so obsessed with their exercise and locally grown organic food. As they say, it is just awesome. As a geek myself, living in Silicon Valley also has its peculiar attraction. During the post-doc I have continued to study the evolution of protein-protein interactions taking advantage of some great technology that is available at UCSF PAPS Vice-President Welcoming new chapter leaders Just as we did in the previous newsletter, we re taking this opportunity to share some of the changes that have been taking place at some other PAPS chapters. Our chapter in New York city is getting an amazing duo of leaders. Both Silvia Curado and Vitor Sousa will be taking the lead in NYC. We re really happy to see both of them presiding the NY chapter as they have always been active members and proved extremely helpful in organizing the previous Forum. Seattle is also seeing a change in leadership as Alexandre Neves takes on Andreia Serra s place as chapter leader. Andreia has done a fabulous job in Seattle and we look forward to Alexandre s contributions. We all have busy schedules and ongoing projects in our academic and professional paths. Therefore, it is quite commendable when our members step up to help keep PAPS thriving in their local communities. Please welcome our new chapter leaders! Page 2

3 PAPS Recent graduations! Portuguese Fulbright fellow Jorge Pinto Ferreira completed his doctoral studies in May 2011, in the North Carolina State University Comparative Biomedical Sciences program (concentration areas of Population Medicine and Public Health), with a graduate certificate in Public Policy. His studies focused on the human-animal trans-infection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and involved a partnership between North Carolina State University veterinary school and Duke University medical school. Jorge Ferreira University of North Carolina Degree: PhD Jorge Ferreira & Family Manuela Rebelo (Mother) & Cátia Rebelo Cheryl Wilga (advisor) & Anabela Maia Cátia Rebelo University of Florida Degree: MBA Anabela Maia University of Rhode Island Degree: PhD Cátia Rebelo, MBA from the University of Florida, in Gainesville. Cátia is an Electrical and Computer Engineer who is currently the Managing Director of the MACRO Group, a group of five companies that cover the entire scope of the mould making supply chain. The group is located in Oliveira de Azeméis and Marinha Grande, in Portugal. Anabela Maia completed her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in the University of Rhode Island. Her dissertation, written under the supervision of Dr. Cheryl Wilga, was titled Functional morphology of dorsal fins in sharks during steady swimming and maneuvering. Page 3

4 Opportunities and News > Ciencia Portugal - scientists join efforts to keep innovation and R&D well funded A recent report from the European Union has shown that investment in Research & Development in Portugal over the last decade has been quite substantial and that this scenario should continue. However, with all the financial difficulties, budgets cuts generally hit areas such as scientific research and R&D in general. With the objective of seeing a level of 3% of the GDP within the EU put forward toward R&D, further and sustained investments must be made. With this goal in mind and the strong conviction that R&D plays a key role maintaining a competitive edge, a movement has begun in Portugal named Ciencia Portugal. This growing initiative stands strong in their commitment to keep R&D funding flowing, even amidst the current global financial difficulties. Started by a handful of researchers and group leaders at some of the top research institutions in Portugal such as IGC and IMM, the list of subscribers to their manifesto has just peaked over 2500! What started as a simple web-page with a message has now expanded into a full-fledged website containing the Manifesto, an updated list of subscribers, news articles and most interestingly, a discussion forum. We suggest you give the site a visit and feel free to share with your fellow research colleagues. > Architect Eduardo Souto de Moura won the Pritzker Prize On June 2nd 2011, Eduardo Souto de Moura received the 2011 Pritzker Prize, often referred to as the Nobel of architecture, at the 2011 Pritzker Prize Ceremony, in Washington D.C.. The Portuguese architect received this recognition for, according to the jury citation, an architecture that appears effortless, serene, and simple, and for the care and poetry that permeates each project. The Braga Stadium, perhaps the most famous of Souto de Moura s works, was highlighted in President Obama s presenting speech for being carefully built so that anyone who could not afford a ticket could watch the match from surrounding hill sides. Find out more about the 2011 Pritzker Architecture Prize here at > 1st New York Portuguese Short Film Festival The Festival, held on June 2 and 3, was organized by the Arte Institute, based in New York City. The two-day event, hosted by the Anthology Film Archives and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, featured 20 short films produced by emerging Portuguese film directors. This was the first time a film festival featuring works by Portuguese film directors took place in both New York and Lisbon simultaneously. The festival was broadcast in real time, live stream on the Internet. > 3rd edition of Beta-Start open for candidates Beta-start is a accelerate program where entrepreneurs can pitch ideas to a group of experienced peers and if selected, enter a 4 week program to allow their ideas to blossom with the help of various talented entrepreneurs and professionals. The program provides a great working environment, collaboration opportunities with likeminded partners, mentorship from established professionals and even the opportunity to present their ideas before potential investors. More information about Beta-Start can be found at > First Young Portuguese- American Leaders Summit On June 10th, Dia de Portugal, de Camões, e das Comunidades Portuguesas, The National Organization of Portuguese Americans (NOPA) initiated the first ever Young Portuguese American Leaders Summit (YPALS), or Jovens Líderes Luso- Americanos, in Washington, DC. The summit focused on Portuguese politics, economics, and culture, and the state of relations between Portugal and the United States. Likewise, there were presentations on the Portuguese-American agenda, a concern of the Portuguese immigrant community in the US. These included proud history and achievements of the Portuguese people, economic opportunities,and importance of civic engagement in the US and Portugal. Find more information about NOPA at: Page 4

5 Career Full job descriptions in PAPS website Description Employer Location Postdoctoral position in the field of autoimmune diabetes The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, California, United States Post-Doctoral position at the Infection and Pathogens Laboratory, at the Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology Portuguese language instructor Post-doctoral fellowship: Wolbachia-induced protection to viruses in Drosophila Post-doctoral fellowship: Sistemas de Informação para o Sector da Saúde (ehealth) Infection and Pathogens Lab, C Neurosciences and Cell Bio Executive Language Training Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia Universidade dos Açores Coimbra, Portugal Massachusetts, United States Oeiras, Portugal S. Miguel-Açores, Portugal 3 Group Leader Positions Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology Porto, Portugal Lecturer - Animal Physiology Assistant Professor - Public Economics University of Toronto University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Post-doctoral Scholarship in Economics Post-doctoral fellowship in Electronic Engineering Senior Research Analyst, Multimanager Catolica Lisbon School of Business and Economics INESC Porto - Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores HSBC Lisbon, Portugal Porto, Portugal Toronto, Ontario, Canada Faculty Position in Neuroscience University of South Carolina South Carolina, USA Post-doctoral Research Associate in Processing Satellite data at UND Lecturer in Environmental Management (2 posts) RESEARCH SCIENTIST, Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE)- Quantum Information and Quantum Biology Group Associate Professor in the scientific area of Mathematics Post-Doctoral fellowship: PARK - Identification of molecules to treat Parkinson s Disease using a novel zebrafish model Lecturer: Introduction to Neuroscience, Introduction to Psychology, and Quantitative Methods for Brain and Cognitive Sciences University of North Dakota Manchester Metropolitan University MIT Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Medicina Molecular MIT North Dakota, USA Manchester, United Kingdom Massachussetts, USA Coimbra, Portugal Lisbon, Portugal Massachusetts, USA Page 5