Foundation
A reference in the support of research
The BIAL Foundation was created in 1994 by the BIAL pharmaceutical company in conjunction with the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities. BIAL Foundation’s mission is to foster the scientific study of the human being from both the physical and spiritual perspectives. It is managed by representatives from both institutions.
Along the years the BIAL Foundation has developed an important relationship with the scientific community, first in Portugal and after worldwide. Today it is an institution of reference, particularly in the Neuroscience research, which aims to stimulate new researches that may help people, promoting more health and contributing to new milestones to gain access to knowledge.
Among its activities the BIAL Foundation manages the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica, created in 1984, which is focused on the recognition and enhancement of basic and clinical research. Over 18 editions it has distinguished 102 written works of major impact on medicine and has become acknowledged as a prestigious prize in the Health field. At least one of the authors must be a native physician of a Portuguese speaking country. In 2017, the BIAL Foundation created the BIAL Award in Biomedicine with the aim of extending its scope of activity and recognising the most outstanding and relevant discoveries made in the biomedical field. This prize will be awarded for the first time in 2019 and every two years since then, alternating with the Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica. Only works nominated by the members of the Jury, some Board members of the Foundation and Scientific Societies may be considered candidates.
The BIAL Foundation also supports scientific research projects for the neurophysiological and mental study of the human being, arousing the interest of researchers in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology.
To date the BIAL Foundation has already supported 691 projects, about 1500 researchers and research centers from 25 countries. The research funded by the BIAL Foundation in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology from 1994 to April 2020 has resulted in the publication of 1555 papers, 1186 of which in indexed journals (in Scopus or Web of Science) and 991 in impact factor journals. Almost half of the papers were published in journals that ranked in the first quartile (Q1) in their subject area. By April 2020, 1025 papers were cited on average 20 times.
The results of a study that assessed the scientific production of the supported research projects were presented at the 12th BIAL Foundation’s Symposium, held in Porto from April 4 to 7, 2018, and can be accessed here. In addition, the Foundation has an online database that can be accessed by the scientific community and by the general public here.
In 1996 the BIAL Foundation has begun organizing the Symposia entitled "Behind and Beyond the Brain", a Forum that gathers every two years world-renowned experts in neurosciences and parapsychology, as well as several researchers supported by the Foundation.
Classified as a non-profit institution of public utility, the BIAL Foundation includes among its patrons the Portuguese President, the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities and the Portuguese Medical Association.
Management
For the years 2018-2021
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Fiscal Board
Scientific Board
António Damásio, President
Los Angeles
Osborne Almeida
Munich
Carlos Alvarado
New York
Mario Beauregard
Arizona
Daryl Bem
Cornell
Fabrizio Benedetti
Turin
Dick Bierman
Amesterdam
Niels Birbaumer
Tübingen
Olaf Blanke
Lausanne
Jason Braithwaite
Lancaster
Richard Broughton
Northampton
Etzel Cardeña
Lund
Maria do Carmo Fonseca
Lisbon
James Carpenter
N. Carolina
Miguel Castelo-Branco
Coimbra
Alexandre Castro-Caldas
Lisbon
Axel Cleeremans
Brussels
António Coimbra
Porto
Lorenza Colzato
Leiden
Rui Costa
New York and Lisbon
Hugo Critchley
Brighton and Sussex
John Cryan
Cork
Rodrigo Cunha
Coimbra
Hanna Damásio
Los Angeles
Ronald de Kloet
Leiden
Paul Enck
Tübingen
Peter Fenwick
London
Rainer Goebel
Maastricht
Bruce Greyson
Virgínia
Morten Kringelbach
Oxford
Stephen LaBerge
Stanford
Steven Laureys
Liège
Antoine Lutz
Lyon
Julia Mossbridge
Evanston
Rui Mota Cardoso
Porto
Craig Murray
Lancaster
Catarina Resende Oliveira
Coimbra
Morten Overgaard
Aarhus
Joana Palha
Minho
Dean Radin
California
Amir Raz
Montreal
João Relvas
Porto
Sidarta Ribeiro
Rio Grande do Norte
Christopher A. Roe
Northampton
Stefan Schmidt
Friburgo
Gary Schwartz
Tucson
Alcino Silva
Los Angeles
Mário Simões
Lisbon
Peter St. George-Hyslop
Toronto
Robert Stickgold
Harvard
Jessica Utts
Irvine
Eus Van Someren
Amesterdam
Rufin VanRullen
Toulouse
Caroline Watt
Edinburgh
Menno Witter
Trondheim
Robin Wooffitt
York
Support Services
Institutional Documents
Contacts
À Av. da Siderurgia Nacional
4745-457 Coronado (S. Romão e S. Mamede)
Portugal
Tel.: +351 22 9866150/00
Fax: +351 22 9866199
www.fundacaobial.com
fundacao@bial.com
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