keynote lectures

keynote lectures

Learning from the Best

Brace yourselves and prepare to be inspired by four unique and inspiring personalities of the Medicine and Scientific World. Adding up to our three thematic modules, these lectures will broaden your horizons and unravel some of the most relevant topics of today.

You will also be able to learn from the best by witnessing a lifelong passion and dedication to science in our Nobel Lectures.

At AIMS Meeting 2024 we’ll welcome…

John E. Walker, PhD | 17th of April

Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997
Discovered the enzymatic mechanisms for ATP synthesis

Sir John E. Walker, winner of the Nobel prize in Chemistry in 1997, is a British biochemist, who is Emeritus Director and Professor at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit of the University of Cambridge. He gained worldwide recognition for describing the mechanism through which ATP is generated, and has since established himself as the leading authority on ATP synthase and related enzymes. He was awarded the Copley medal (the highest scientific award in the UK), and is a member of the Royal Academy, the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the EMBO, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and is also an advisor for the Campaign for Science and Engineering.

Mario R. Capecchi, PhD | 18th of April

Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2007
Discovered the method of creating knockout mice for genetic research

Professor Mario R. Capecchi, an accomplished Italian geneticist and current faculty member at the University of Utah, garnered international recognition by receiving the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2007. He shared this prestigious award with Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies for pioneering a groundbreaking method to selectively deactivate specific genes in mice. This innovation opened the door to a myriad of genetic research possibilities that were previously unattainable. The impact of his work is reflected in the widespread use of nearly 2 million knockout mice annually in scientific research.
In addition to his Nobel Prize, Professor Capecchi has been the recipient of several other esteemed accolades. These include the Alfred Sloan Jr Prize in 1994, the Lasker Award in 2001, and the Wolf Prize in 2003, underscoring his significant contributions to the field of genetics.

Dina Zielinski, PhD | 19th of April

Head of Scientific Partnerships and Innovation at WhiteLab Genomics
Whitehead Institute of MIT, NY Genome Center, Institut Curie, INSERM

Dr. Dina Zielinski is Head of Scientific Partnerships and Innovation at WhiteLab Genomics, a research affiliate of Harvard Medical School as well as Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her background includes the Whitehead Institute of MIT, the NY Genome Center, Institut Curie, and INSERM. She is known as a captivating speaker, and her stage presence has led to widely acclaimed TED Talks, most notably on the use of DNA as a means of data storage. By connecting the fields of genomics and informatics, she is leading the charge into a paradigm of novel uses for DNA, as it proves to be a highly efficient natural technology.

Moderator

Rúben Oliveira, MSc

Biologist, Ecologist, and Science Communicator

Rúben Sousa de Oliveira is a biologist, ecologist, and science communicator. He has a Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, and a post-graduation in Ecology and Environmental Management. He is a member of cE3c‘s Communication Office, the National Board for the League of Nature Protection (LPN), the Portuguese Society of Ecology (SPECO), where he coordinates the Network for Communication and Dissemination of Ecology, and the Portuguese Society of Etology (SPE). He is co-founder of the Science Festivals Pint of Science Portugal and FIC.A, as well as co-author of “Um Pouco Por Toda a Parte: A Ecologia no Século XXI”.