Public Ceremony for the Presentation of the João Monjardino Award 2024

The João Monjardino Award 2024 Public Ceremony will take place on September 19, at 2:00 p.m., in the Zulmira Simões Auditorium of the School of Medicine of the University of Minho, in Braga. The ceremony will be broadcast live online. See the session program.

Jorge Diogo da Silva is the young researcher honored in the 2024 edition of the João Monjardino Award, with the article "Glucocorticoid receptor-dependent therapeutic efficacy of tauroursodeoxycholic acid in preclinical models of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3."

Published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on January 16, 2024, their work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the drug TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid) in animal models of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), a rare neurodegenerative disease. The study demonstrated that TUDCA is effective in minimizing MJD in mouse nematode models, paving the way for a new potential treatment for this condition and for the evaluation of TUDCA as a possible substitute for corticosteroid drugs.

Jorge Diogo da Silva is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine of the University of Minho and a Resident Physician specializing in Medical Genetics at the Medical Genetics Center of the Santo António Local Health Unit.

Applications for the João Monjardino Award 2025 are open until September 30, 2025. The award aims to recognize the best scientific article published on the topic of "Public Health and Health Policies: Determinants of the evolution of health systems." The Call open to researchers under the age of 35 at the time of application, whose work has been carried out in institutions within the national scientific and technological system. The prize is worth €10,000, awarded in a single installment to the winner. For more information, see the Call page.

The João Monjardino Award is an initiative of the Francisco Pulido Valente Foundation and the Foundation for Science and Technology, which aims to stimulate research, experimental development, and innovation in the field of Biomedical Sciences and Health by recognizing the merit of scientific and technological activities carried out in this field. Find out more about the winners of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions.