Champalimaud Foundation

The Champalimaud Foundation is a private Portuguese biomedical research foundation, with a long-term commitment to supporting the medical sciences, focused in particular, on the fields of neuroscience and oncology. In addition, the foundation's António Champalimaud Science Award carries one of the highest monetary prizes (1 million Euros) of any science prize and is, financially, the World's largest in the field of vision. The Champalimaud Foundation is headquartered in Lisbon.

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Creation

The Champalimaud Foundation, based in Lisbon, Portugal, was created at the bequest of the late Portuguese industrialist and entrepreneur, António de Sommer Champalimaud. At the end of 2004 it was officially incorporated as the Anna de Sommer Champalimaud and Dr. Carlos Montez Champalimaud Foundation, in honour of the benefactor’s parents.

Objectives

The Champalimaud Foundation has a long-term commitment to supporting the medical sciences. Focus is, in particular, on the fields of neuroscience and oncology. In 2007 the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme[1] was created to support researchers working in this area. Plans are presently underway for the creation of a clinical and research centre in Lisbon which will support work in both of the aforementioned fields. Construction of this facility is expected to have been completed by 2010.

A core element of the Champalimaud Foundation's philosophy is the emphasis on translational research. This is defined as scientific study that begins in the laboratory before progressing to the clinical arena, or patient’s “bedside”. In particular, the Champalimaud Foundation gives priority to research that will contribute to the improvement of the health and well-being of people worldwide, in particular those in developing countries.

Executive

Acting President - Maria Leonor Beleza is a graduate of the University of Lisbon Law School, where she has also worked as an Assistant Professor. During a distinguished professional career she has held a number of high-profile public offices. Among other positions, she was Secretary of State of the Presidency of the Cabinet (1982-83), Secretary of State for Social Security (1983-85), and Minister of Health (1985-1990) in the Portuguese Government. She has been elected as a Member of Parliament on several occasions and on two occasions she has served as Vice-President of the Parliament (1991-94, 2002-2005). In addition to her prominent role in public affairs Dr Beleza has also played an active role in the private sector.

Leonor Beleza is currently the Chairman of the Portuguese League for People with Physical Disabilities, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the D. Pedro IV Foundation, and a member of the General Councils of the CEBI Foundation and of the Gil Foundation. She is also a vigorous campaigner for women’s rights, a cause she has supported for many years. In 2004, Leonor Beleza was appointed President of the Champalimaud Foundation by the will of Mr António Champalimaud. She is joined on the Champalimaud Foundation Executive Committee by João Silveira Botelho and António Borges.

General Council

Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Simone Veil
Aníbal Cavaco Silva (emeritus)
António Almeida Santos
António Coutinho
António Damásio
António Travassos
Daniel Proença de Carvalho
Carlos Eugénio Corrêa da Silva
João Raposo Magalhães
Pedro D’Abreu Loureiro

António Champalimaud Vision Award

The Champalimaud Foundation recognises outstanding contributions to research in vision and associated areas through an annual award of € 1.0 million. The Vision Award has a strong bias towards work that has provided major breakthroughs in the understanding of vision or in the alleviation of visual impairment and blindness.

The award is given alternatively between contributions to overall vision research and contributions to the alleviation of visual problems, primarily in developing countries. The recipients of the award are productive research groups rather than single individuals and this may involve groups from more than one institution or discipline.

The winner of the award is chosen by a jury panel consisting of both high profile public figures and esteemed scientists. The members of the jury are:

Mark Bear
Susumu Tonegawa
Alfred Sommer
Carla Shatz
Joshua Sanes
Paul Sieving
Gullapalli N. Rao
Amartya Sen
Mary Robinson
Jacques Delors
José Cunha-Vaz
António Guterres

On the 30th June 2007 it was announced ([2]) that the António Champalimaud Vision Award[3] had been won by the Aravind Eye Care System. Established in 1976 with the mission of eliminating needless blindness, Aravind is the largest and most productive eye care facility in the world and is based in Madurai, India. From April 2006 to March 2007, including the work done in the Managed Eye Hospitals, over 2.3 million out patients were treated and over 270,444 surgeries were performed.

Today the Aravind Eye Care System encompasses five hospitals, a manufacturing centre for ophthalmic products, an international research foundation and a resource and training centre that is revolutionising hundreds of eye care programs across the developing world.

References

• The newly constituted Champalimaud Foundation