Miguel Seabra is a leading researcher in the field of cellular and molecular medicine, renowned for his notable contributions to the understanding of intracellular trafficking and membrane dynamics in the context of vision-related diseases. He earned his medical degree from Universidade Nova de Lisboa (1986) and completed his PhD at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (1992). After his doctoral studies, he moved to the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London, where he served as Full Professor and head of the Section of Cellular and Molecular Medicine until 2015. He is now a Full Professor and the head of the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Lab at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Miguel Seabra's distinguished career in vision sciences includes leading a pioneering clinical trial in retinal gene therapy. This experience inspired him to establish the Ocular Low-Cost Gene Therapy Lab at the Champalimaud Foundation in 2021, where he and his team are dedicated to developing innovative and affordable gene therapies to transform the treatment of eye diseases and enhance patient outcomes worldwide.

In addition to his research achievements, he served as President of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) from 2012 to 2015, the Portuguese public funding agency for science and research.


Selected Awards & Honors
European Society for Pigment Cell Research Award, France, 2024
Throssell-Hillier Families Research Award, 2023 
Fight for Sight Small Grant Award, UK, 2021
BIAL Grand Prix of Medicine, Portugal, 2015
Gold Medal – Ministry of Health, Portugal, 2014
Seeds of Science Prize, Portugal, 2012
Jessie Mole Lecture, University of Oxford, UK, 2010
Entrepreneurship Prize, Neotec, Innovation Agency, Portugal, 2006