Professor Fernando Schmitt

Professor at the Medical Faculty of Porto University
Director of RISE (Clinical and Translational Research Network) 

Fernando Schmitt is a Full Professor of Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, and Head of Molecular Pathology at IPATIMUP. He also serves as the Director of RISE (Clinical and Translational Research Network) and is the President of the International Academy of Cytology (IAC). Recognized globally as a leading expert in cytopathology and breast cancer, his research focuses on breast pathology, particularly on molecular markers, cell adhesion and invasion, as well as therapeutic targets and resistance mechanisms.

He has authored over 500 scientific publications, with a total H-index of 86 (46 in the last 5 years) and 28,857 citations. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Pathobiology and Associate Editor of six major scientific journals. Additionally, he has edited ten books and contributed to 47 book chapters. He is a standing member of the WHO-IAC Classification of Tumours.

He has received numerous awards, including the Educator of the Year 2011 by the PSC, the Goldblatt Award 2013 by the IAC, the Dario Cruz 2018 Award from the Portuguese League Against Cancer for his career in breast cancer research, and the 2021 International Achievement Award from the American Society of Cytopathology.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3711-8681 and https://rise-la.pt/fernando-schmitt/

Doctor Martin J. Whitaker

Research Fellow at the Imperial College London
Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence
Director of D3 Pharma Limited

Martin Whitaker is currently the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence working with the University of Nottingham creating closer links between academia and industry.  Previously, Martin was Chief Executive Officer of Diurnal Group plc and led the £75m floatation of the company on the London Stock Exchange: AIM.  During his time at Diurnal, Martin led Diurnal the development of the pharmaceutical products - Alkindi® and Efmody® - from concept through Phase III clinical trials to marketing authorisation.  In the process Martin transformed Diurnal into a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, having its own sales force in Europe and licensing the company’s products around the world.  Martin was also founder and Director of D3 Pharma Limited, a specialty pharmaceutical company that commercialized Plenachol®, a high dose Vitamin D product prescribed in the UK. Previously, Martin worked for Fusion IP plc at the University of Sheffield, and, at the beginning of his scientific career, Martin spent a year working for the pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Sandwich (UK) and was Operations Director of Critical Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin-Whitaker and www.linkedin.com/in/martinjameswhitaker/        

Professor Monika Stoll

Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Münster
Professor at the University of Münster

Monika Stoll is Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Muenster and Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics. Monika Stoll is engaged in research in complex genetics and genetic epidemiology particularly relating to cardiovascular diseases and inflammation. Current research projects address the genetic and genomic basis of arrhythmogenic diseases and heart failure. Her research group is running a core facility for genomics which supports high-density arrays and next-generation sequencing applications and a (bio)informatics infrastructure for management and analysis of large data sets.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.carimmaastricht.nl/research/divisions/division_blood/blood_coagulation_venous_thrombosis_bleeding/people/monika_stoll

Doctor Kristof Vercruysse

Chief Executive Officer at TargED Biopharmaceuticals
 

Kristof Vercruysse has over 20 years of experience in bringing biopharmaceutical compounds from preclinical proof of concept towards market authorization. He holds a Masters in Biomedical Science from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Kristof gained hands-on experience with the development of Caplacizumab for the treatment of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura during his time at Ablynx from 2007 to 2013. Subsequently, Kristof joined Sourcia, a full-service boutique contract research organization that delivers tailor-made clinical drug development for biotech companies, where he developed expertise in the development of biopharmaceuticals and gained valuable insights into the clinical trial process. Currently, Kristof holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at TargED Biopharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that develops first-in-class biological drugs to improve the treatment of thrombosis.

Learn more about our speaker at:  ​ https://targedbiopharmaceuticals.com/employee/kristof-vercruysse/ ​

 

Doctor João Neves

 Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Beira Interior Integrated member of NOVA Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics (NOVA LINCS).
 

João Neves is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Beira Interior and an integrated member of NOVA Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics (NOVA LINCS). Previously, he was an adjunct professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu and a Computer Vision Engineer at TOMI.

Recognized for his contributions to computer vision, his research focuses particularly on biometrics, surveillance, and medical imaging. He has been involved in several national projects, such as AIRS and DeepNeuronic, as well as international initiatives like InovFarmer.MED.

He has authored more than 50 scientific publications, with an h-index of 19 and numerous citations. He serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE Access and Multimedia Tools and Applications journals.

He is a regular reviewer for top-tier computer vision conferences, including CVPR, WACV, BMVC, and ICME, he has received multiple Outstanding Reviewer Awards, including the Best Reviewer Award at IJCB 2023 and BMVC 2024, for his contributions to the research community.
 Learn more about our speaker: https://cienciavitae.pt/5815-C97A-C8ED