TALENT AWARD 2009 IN SCIENCE

23 of July 2010

Today I (HÉLDER), 29 years old (Portuguese), senior researcher and University teacher at the University of Helsinki, Finland, was awarded with the Talent Award 2009 in Science. This award was attributed by the Portuguese Government, Ministry of Foreigner Affairs, State Secretary of the Portuguese Communities. The aim was to distinguish Portuguese living abroad who have excel themselves in activities of various areas of social life, such as science, politics, journalism, sport, Portuguese literature, etc, in a total of 12 categories. The Gala Event was broadcast live by the national TV channel RTP1 and the national radio for 2 hours for all over the world (through RTPi) on 23rd of July 2010 in 'Convento do Beato', Lisbon, Portugal. Many high society personalities attended the event, such as politicians, government and Parliament members, actors/actresses, sports personalities, etc.
This event is organized annually by the Portuguese Government, State Secretary of the Portuguese Communities. There were about 150 candidates for the total of 12 categories of the awards, from which a panel of 3 juries, experts for each category, selected 3 nominees to be present in the Gala, and finally, selected the winners.

The grounds for my nomination and award by the jury were my merits for accomplishing my doctoral degree with only 26 years old at the Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), becoming the youngest PhD ever (at that time) to finish the doctoral degree in the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Furthermore, the fact that I was also one of the youngest students graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology (Finland) between 2003 and 2007 with a grade of Pass With Distinction (cum laude), was acknowledged.

My work (so far) in the area of Nano- and Micro-technology, Nanomedicine, Pharmaceutical Technology, and Biomedical Engineering was also praised for the contributions that can give in the future in the areas of Medicine and Pharmacy. Furthermore, the fact that the University of Helsinki and the Academy of Finland have awarded me two research projects to perform my scientific research and develop my own research group was also acknowledged. Besides this, the articles published in several international peer-reviewed journals, together with being an active reviewer in many international scientific journals, my participation in several conferences in Europe and US where I have presented the research work of the groups I have worked with and collaborators, have also drawn the jury attention. Lately, I have also had the opportunity to teach at the Division of Pharmaceutical Technology (University of Helsinki) and had the opportunity to help young students coming from different places of the world (Chile, Italy, Portugal, and Finland too) to graduate.

All of this was possible due to the magnificent host country (Finland) that gave me all the possibilities and facilities to develop myself as a researcher and as a person. I am eternally grateful for the people that I have met and for the group where I have worked (Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry) and for the group where I belong today (Division of Pharmaceutical Technology). They have allowed me to enrich my modest CV and to grow within the research community where I have met many professors, students, and others all over the world that had left a mark on me. For this reason, Finland also got a lot of publicity in Portugal due to this award and during my interviews to the media.

Obviously I could not forget the wonderful times at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (Portugal) where all the passion for science has blossomed inside of me. Professors, colleagues, and friends gave me a lot of support, friendship, and guidance that contributed directly or indirectly for the latest achievements.

Last but not least. My sincere bow to my closest friends and to all my family members (present and many others that have already left us) for their never ending support and loving encouragement. To all of them my greatest THANKS for sharing together wonderful moments of our lives!

Photos from the big moment

Before the Gala:

In the Gala:

Announcement of the winner:


Getting the Award and giving the speech:


Afterwords relaxing and enjoyable moments: