# Champalimaud Foundation

The Champalimaud Foundation MHM (Portuguese: Fundação Champalimaud) is a private biomedical research foundation. It was created according to the will of the late entrepreneur António de Sommer Champalimaud, in 2004. The complete name of the foundation honors the mother and father of the founder and is Fundação Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr. Carlos Montez Champalimaud. It is located in Belém, Lisbon, Portugal.

## Overview

The mission of the Foundation is "to develop programmes of advanced biomedical research and provide clinical care of excellence, with a focus on translating pioneering scientific discoveries into solutions which can improve the quality of life of individuals around the world."
The foundation undertakes research in the fields of neuroscience and oncology at the modernistic Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Belém, opened in 2011. Research into visual impairment is undertaken via an outreach program.
The Champalimaud Clinical Center (CCC) is a modern scientific, medical and technological institution providing specialized clinical treatment for oncology. The Center develops advanced programs for research of diseases. The CCC tries to customize the therapies in order to achieve more effectiveness in controlling and treating the diseases. It was designed by Indian architect Charles Correa.

## Management

The management of the Foundation consists of Board of Directors, General Council, Scientific Committee, Ethics Committee and Vision Award Jury. The acting President is Leonor Beleza appointed by António Champalimaud in his will.

## António Champalimaud Vision Award

The award was established in 2007 to recognise contributions to research into vision. In even numbered years it is awarded for contributions to overall vision research and in odd numbered years for contributions to the alleviation of visual problems, primarily in developing countries.

### Recipients

Source: Champalimaud Foundation
* 2023: St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group
* 2022: Gerrit Melles and Claes Dohlman, for opening new paths to treat those affected by corneal disease
* 2019: Instituto da Visão – IPEPO, the Altino Ventura Foundation and the UNICAMP Ophthalmology Service, longstanding organisations that have worked to prevent blindness and visual impairment by providing eye services to underserved populations in Brazil
* 2018: Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire, Robin Ali, James Bainbridge, Samuel Jacobson, William W. Hauswirth and Michael Redmond, for the first successful gene therapy to cure an inherited human disease
* 2017: Sightsavers and CBM (Christian Blind Mission), organisations with long and distinguished histories of supporting blindness prevention, alleviation and rehabilitation programmes in developing countries
* 2016: Christine Holt, Carol Mason, John Flanagan and Carla Shatz, for ground-breaking work that has illuminated our understanding of the way in which our eyes send signals to the appropriate areas of the brain
* 2015: Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO), Seva Foundation and Seva Canada
* 2014: Napoleone Ferrara, Joan W. Miller, Evangelos S. Gragoudas, Patricia D'Amore, Anthony P. Adamis, George L. King and Lloyd Paul Aiello, for the development of anti-angiogenic therapy for retinal disease
* 2013: Nepal Netra Jyoty Sangh, Eastern Regional Eye Care Programme, Lumbini Eye Institute and Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology
* 2012: David Williams, for the application of adaptive optics (AO) to the eye; and James Fujimoto, David Huang, Carmen A. Puliafito, Joel S. Schuman & Eric Swanson, for the development of optical coherence tomography (OCT)
* 2011: African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control
* 2010: J. Anthony Movshon and William Newsome
* 2009: Helen Keller International
* 2008: Jeremy Nathans and King-Wai Yau
* 2007: Aravind Eye Care System

## Honours and awards

* Honorary Member of the Order of Merit, Portugal (4 September 2019)