Maria Luisa Figueira (born 1944) is a Portuguese

Consultant psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

and academic known for her research in clinical and experimental

psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era. Biological psychopatholo ...

and

psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc, ψῡχή, psȳkhē, breath, life, soul, label=none; grc, φάρμακον, pharmakon, drug, label=none; and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on m ...

, particularly in relation to

bi-polar disorder Bipolar may refer to: Astronomy * Bipolar nebula, a distinctive nebular formation * Bipolar outflow, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star Mathematics * Bipolar coordinates, a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system * Bipolar ...

s and

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. She is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Department of Psychiatry at the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...

Faculty of Medicine and Head of the Psychiatric Department at the Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon.

Life and career

Figueira grew up on the Portuguese island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. Her father was a lawyer and her mother an Englishwoman born in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. After completing her secondary education at the Liceu Nacional in

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

, she attended the University of Lisbon, receiving her medical degree in 1973. She then worked as an assistant professor in the psychology department of the university's Faculty of Medicine and took post-graduate courses in mathematics and computer science at the

Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência The Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) is an international centre for biological and biomedical research and graduate training based in Oeiras, Portugal. Founded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG) in 1961, and still supported by the F ...

. It was during this time that she began her research into psychopharmacology, working in the Group for Psychopharmalogical Studies organized by Manuel Paes de Sous at the Hospital de Santa Maria. On the strength of their research both were admitted to the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum in 1978. Figueira went on to receive her PhD in 1984 with a dissertation on interpersonal behaviour in schizophrenia. In 2002 she was appointed Coordinator of Mental Health Services at the Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon and subsequently became the head of its Psychiatric Department. The following year she co-founded the journal ''Bridging Eastern and Western Psychiatry'' with the Italian psychiatrist

Mario Di Fiorino Mario Di Fiorino (born 22 May 1953)Società Italiana di Psichiatria (2011)Corso "Urgenze e Degenze nel SPDC: Relatori". Retrieved 29 September 2013 . is an Italian psychiatrist and Director of Psychiatry at the Ospedale Versilia in Lido di Camaior ...

. Figueira received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Forum of Psychosis and Bipolarity in 2010 and is the President (as of 2013) of the ''Sociedade Portuguesa de Psiquiatria e Saúde Mental'' (Portuguese Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health).Sociedade Portuguesa de Psiquiatria e Saúde Mental
Corpos Sociais
Retrieved 27 September 2013 .

References

External links

Publications by Maria Luisa Figueira
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Figueira, Maria Luisa 1944 births Living people Portuguese psychiatrists Women psychiatrists Portuguese healthcare managers