Welcome address by Cláudia Nogueira (CES), Tiago Santos Pereira (Director of CES) and José Manuel Mendes (Director of FEUC).

Introduction of the speaker and moderation by Mário Simões (Emeritus Professor at FMUL | Author)

Abstract

In this lecture, Luís Portela proposes a dialogue between science and spirituality, exploring how scientific studies in recent decades have challenged the frontiers of knowledge and opened new perspectives on the nature of reality. Drawing on studies of consciousness and other frontier phenomena, the speaker invites reflection on the contributions this research offers to a broader understanding of the human being, the promotion of universal values, and the building of more conscious and supportive societies.

This lecture is organised as part of the training course ‘Spirituality, Ethics of Care and Human Rights: Contributions to Holistic Healthcare’, coordinated by Cláudia Nogueira (CES), and serves as a public opening session to provide an overview of some of the themes and issues covered in the course.

Admission is free, subject to venue capacity.

Bio note

Born in 1951 in Porto, Luís Portela graduated with a degree in Medicine, practised clinically for three years and taught Psychophysiology at the University of Porto for six years. Between 1979 and 2021, he chaired the family business - Bial - driving its growth into an innovative international pharmaceutical company. He was also president of Health Cluster Portugal and of the General Council of the University of Porto, vice-president of the Serralves Foundation and a member of the board of COTEC. In 1994, in partnership with Bial and the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities, he established the Bial Foundation, which he chairs, with the mission of encouraging research centred on the human being, from both a physical and spiritual perspective. The Foundation has developed a fellowship programme that has already supported around 1,900 researchers from 31 countries in the fields of psychophysiology and parapsychology. It also awards various prizes in the field of health sciences.

He has published ten books, including Serenamente, O Prazer de Ser, Ser Espiritual, Da Ciência ao Amor and The Science of Spirit – Parapsychology, Enlightenment and Evolution (in the USA). Among other honours, he has received three State decorations and five honorary doctorates. He was awarded the Neuroscience Prize by Louisiana State University and was elected an Honorary Member of the Parapsychological Association of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He co-presented, together with Mário Augusto, the RTP1 documentary series Para Além do Cérebro (2025), supported by the Bial Foundation. Over the course of 16 episodes, this series explores scientific research into the human mind and its many dimensions, bringing together accounts from neuroscientists, doctors, physicists, parapsychologists, psychologists and other internationally renowned researchers, alongside people with experiences considered exceptional. The documentary series seeks to challenge taboos and the boundaries of knowledge, exploring how science has studied issues that, for a long time, were considered marginal, namely: telepathy, mediumship, and near-death experiences.