17 April 2026Prof. Maria de Lourdes Pereira Honoured at the 50th Anniversary of the Department of Biology
Prof. Maria de Lourdes Pereira was recently highlighted during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Department of Biology at the University of Aveiro, in recognition of a historic academic milestone. She was the first professor in the department to complete a public Agregação (Habilitation) defence, marking an important moment in its academic history.
As part of this tribute, a commemorative photograph has been installed in the department acknowledging her achievement. This recognition highlights her lasting contribution to the development of the department and to the advancement of research and teaching in the field of biology.
The inscription reads:
"The first Aggregation made in DBio. On March 10 and 11, 2003, Maria de Lourdes Gomes Pereira, a faculty member at DBio between 1982 and 2018, and currently in the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Aveiro, undertook the public examinations for Agregação (Habilitation) in Group/Subgroup 8 – Biology. The lecture was titled "Heavy metal toxicity in spermatogenesis: effects on male fertility," and the curricular unit presented was "Human Biology and Health" (Report on the Program, Contents, and Teaching Methods). The jury was chaired by Vice-Rector Francisco Vaz, with the following members: Maria Susana Newton de Almeida Santos (University of Coimbra), Alfredo Jorge Silva (Technical University of Lisbon), Carlos Azevedo (University of Porto), Graça Simões de Carvalho (University of Minho), Gustavo Caldeira (University of Aveiro), Amadeu Soares (University of Aveiro). The candidate was approved unanimously."
