Cecília Arraiano honoured with FEBS Diplôme d’Honneur
Oeiras, 08 July 2023
Cecília Arraiano, Coordinating Investigator at ITQB NOVA and head of the Control of Gene Expression laboratory, receives today, Saturday July 8th, the Federation of European Biochemical Societies’ Diplôme d´Honneur. The award ceremony takes place during the The 47th FEBS Congress in Tours, France.
The Executive Committee unanimously decided to award the Medaille d’Honneur for the researcher’s outstanding services to FEBS and to the field of Biochemistry. In 2013 Cecília Maria Arraiano was invited to act as Chair of the FEBS Working Group on Women in Science, and was later elected to that position for three subsequent terms, from 2014 to 2022. During that time, she integrated the Federation’s Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, overseeing all the activities. Previously, she had also been a member of the Board of the institution’s Advanced Courses Committee. “It was a pleasure to contribute to FEBS, and this recognition by my peers only highlights that honour”, says Cecília Arraiano.
The Diplôme d’Honneur is a distinction to researchers who have contributed significantly to t
he development of FEBS and the field of Biochemistry. The Diplôme was previously attributed to two other Portuguese biochemists: António Xavier, the founder of ITQB NOVA, and Claudina Rodrigues-Pousada, who was a lab head at ITQB NOVA. “We are proud of all the work done by Cecília Arraiano. It’s a privilege to have three of ITQB NOVA’s most outstanding members recognized by FEBS”, says João Crespo, Dean of the institution.
FEBS is one of the largest organisations in European life sciences, with nearly 40.000 members distributed among 39 Constituent Societies, in a total of 39 participating countries. It provides a voice to the academic research and teaching community in Europe and beyond.
As a charitable academic organization, FEBS promotes and supports biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, molecular biophysics and related research areas through its journals, Congress, Advanced Courses, Fellowships and other initiatives. There is an emphasis in many programmes on scientific exchange and cooperation between scientists working in different countries, and on promotion of the training of early-career scientists.
