🎙️ Cool Beans Pod — Episode Spotlight

Professor Alexandre Quintanilha

In this episode of Cool Beans, Gary chats with Professor Alexandre Quintanilha — one of Portugal’s most respected scientists and thinkers — about curiosity, education, risk, and how ideas travel from classrooms into real life.

Alexandre began his academic journey studying Theoretical Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, before completing a PhD in Physics in Europe. He later moved into biophysics and molecular biology, spending almost 20 years at UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the United States. 🇿🇦➡️🇺🇸➡️🇵🇹

Returning to Porto, he helped shape modern Portuguese science by founding and leading major research institutions, including the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC), and playing a key role in creating i3S, now the country’s largest health‑science research centre. 🧬

His work focuses on oxidative stress, ageing, and how humans understand risk, and he is the author and co‑author of several scientific books and more than 100 peer‑reviewed papers. Alongside research, he has always been passionate about education, the public understanding of science, and ethical decision‑making.

Alexandre is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Porto and remains actively involved with i3S, science policy, and public debate.

Grab a coffee — this one’s proper cool beans. ☕🫘