The Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ) has honoured Rafael Gomes for his contributions to the transformation of natural resources into new molecular compounds for the treatment of cancer and infections.
Rafael Gomes, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFUL), and a researcher at iMed – Research Institute for Medicines, in the bioorganic chemistry group, received the 2025 Best Young Researcher in Organic Chemistry Award, awarded by the Portuguese Chemical Society during the 16th National Meeting on Organic Chemistry and the 9th National Meeting on Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, held from 11 to 13 February 2026 at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL). The 33-year-old professor has been conducting research at the interface of sustainable chemistry and medicinal chemistry at FFUL, with cooperations at foreign institutions such as the University of Vienna in Austria and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
This award aims to promote excellence in organic chemistry among young scientists at national institutions. The award is intended for researchers under the age of 40 at the start of the National Meeting on Medicinal and Biological Chemistry (ENQMB) and is awarded based on the quality and impact of their own research in the field of organic chemistry.
Rafael Gomes had previously been awarded, in January 2020, with the “2019 Portuguese Prize for the Best PhD Thesis in Organic Chemistry”, presented by the Organic Chemistry Division of the Portuguese Chemical Society.
Raquel Durão, a former PhD student in Pharmacy specialising in Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFUL), supervised by Professor Carlos Afonso (FFUL), Jaime Coelho (FCUL) and Svilen Simeonov (FFUL/IOCCP-BAS), for her thesis focusing on the valorisation of bio-renewable resources under continuous flow chemistry conditions. She received the 2025 Best PhD Thesis in Organic Chemistry Award from the Portuguese Chemical Society.
This award aims to recognise the scientific merit of PhDs completed primarily at national institutions. The prize is intended for recent PhD graduates who obtained their degree at national institutions, and is awarded on the basis of work carried out during the PhD in the field of organic chemistry.
“For me, this award represents the perfect culmination of a demanding and challenging phase such as the PhD, as well as recognition of all the effort, work, commitment and dedication over these four years,” adds the former PhD student.
