An interview with Joao Silva on Biomedical Engineering & PD on July 1, 2023 by George Ackerman, Ph.D, J.D.
Biography
João Silva, is a Portuguese PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at NOVA School of Science and Technology and Universitat de Girona, focusing on Parkinson’s Disease research.
He is also an invited researcher at Value for Health CoLAB and part of the 3D Printing Center for Health board of directors. The 3D Printing Center for Health was the winner of the “Social Responsibility” award in 2022, awarded by VISÃO and Exame Informática.
João was recently awarded with the Prémio CNS José Ferreira Júnior & João Januário Coutinho 2022, for his Parkinson’s Disease study “Trace Elements and Biomarkers analysis for Parkinson’s Disease with XRF and Raman Spectroscopy”.
Please tell me a little about your background.
I’ a 24 years olde Portuguese PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at NOVA School of Science and Technology and Universitat de Girona, focusing on Parkinson’s Disease research.
I am also an invited researcher at Value for Health CoLAB and part of the 3D Printing Center for Health board of directors. The 3D Printing Center for Health was the winner of the “Social Responsibility” award in 2022, awarded by VISÃO and Exame Informática.
I was recently awarded with the Prémio CNS José Ferreira Júnior & João Januário Coutinho 2022, for his Parkinson’s Disease study “Trace Elements and Biomarkers analysis for Parkinson’s Disease with XRF and Raman Spectroscopy”.
Since childhood, I’ve been practicing surfing and music, as a trumpet player. More recently, I’ve also been dedicated to wakeskating.
In 2022, I participated in a charity rally through the Moroccan desert, driving cars over 20 years old, and won the ‘2022 Adventure Award’.
Please tell me a little about your background and what got you involved with awareness.
I completed a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from 2017 to 2022. I conducted my Master’s thesis in the field of atomic and molecular physics applied to healthcare. As soon as I finished, I knew I wanted to continue in this field and pursue research, specifically applying these techniques to the study of Parkinson’s disease. I applied for PhD funding, and while awaiting the results (until July 2023), I worked in two laboratories, Value for Health CoLAB and the 3D Printing Center for Health. I have been part of the 3D Printing Center for Health since its beginning, and now, part of the board of directors.
Can you tell me more about your advocacy?
Physics has always been my passion; discovering and investigating things that are completely unknown has always been what I wanted to do. On the other hand, the field of healthcare has also fascinated me. So, when I discovered Biomedical Engineering, something that combined physics with medicine, it seemed like the right choice.
However, in 2015, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. As the years went by and I learned more about the disease and all the uncertainty surrounding it, it seemed more than a good option to dedicate my future and my life to studying this disease through a different approach. That’s where, after extensive research, the topic of my doctoral thesis emerged, and the study I am embarking on at my research center. It was this research plan that led to my receiving the “Prémio CNS José Ferreira Júnior & João Januário Coutinho 2022” award for the study titled “Trace Elements and Biomarker Analysis for Parkinson’s Disease Using XRF and Raman Spectroscopy.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
Discovering and investigating the unknown is my passion. Doing so in the field of Parkinson’s disease, using physics, is what I aim to dedicate my life to. I believe that living daily with a Parkinson’s patient, my father, for the past 8 years, has been a significant motivator for me to get involved and have that extra motivation.
What events do you participate in?
Mostly congresses and get invited to speak at other universities events.
How can someone get in touch? What is your website?
You can send me an email to my institutional one: jct.silva@campus.fct.unl.pt, or through LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaoctsilva/.
If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson community, what would it be?
My all-time favorite quote was said by the first woman that won a Nobel prize, Marie Curie, I think it is suitable for the Parkinson awareness as well: “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”