O Pioneirismo académico, científico e clínico da Professora Universitária e Médica Maria da Conceição Magalhães

Abstract

Maria da Conceição Fernandes Marques e Magalhães, a University Professor and Doctor, excelled in all her fields of expertise. This study involved information gathering, archival research at the University of Porto, bibliographic consultation in scientific databases, and interviews with Professor Maria da Conceição Magalhães, her son, mentees and collaborators. Born in Espinho in 1932, she entered the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) in 1952. At Hospital de São João, she reached the highest rank as Chief of Internal Medicine (1978). She resigned this position, to dedicate herself to research, in Endocrinology, employing innovative techniques in Electron Microscopy. Her work enabled the documentation of the existence of peroxisomes and Reike-like cells within the adrenal gland, promoting the interest of the international scientific community in this field. She became the second woman to earn a doctorate at FMUP (1975) and the first to become Full Professor (1987) at the institution. She marked the postgraduate education of the University of Porto, founding the Master's program in Human Biology and the Graduate Program in Basic and Applied Biology (GABBA). Professor Maria da Conceição Magalhães' contributions were of an unparalleled national and international impact of in the academic, scientific, and medical spheres, particularly in Endocrinology.