Mara de Sousa Freitas

Associate Professor

Bio

Associate Professor at the Catolica Medical School and Director of the Bioethics Institute at the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP).

Member of the Steering Committee of the UCP Digital Ethics Laboratory. Member of the Board of the Portuguese Palliative Care Observatory, FCSE-UCP.

Chair of the UCP Health Ethics Committee (CES) (2019/2023 and 2023/2027).

Expert for the European Commission in the area of ethical evaluation of research projects (since 2015). Member and rapporteur of the Ethics Committee of the Health Parliament Portugal (2016-2019).

Chair of the Health Ethics Committee of LInQUE Palliative Care at Home (2017-2021). Member of the Ethics Committee for Health of the Instituto Nacional Doutor Ricardo Jorge (- August 2020), of the CES of ULS Loures e Odivelas (- Jan 2023) and member of the CES of ESSCVP (from 2012 to 2020).

Member of the Executive Committee of the Clinical Research Ethics Committee, CEIC, (- August 2024).

Advisor in the area of Health, National Ethics Council for Life Sciences (2017-2022).

Co-Chair of the Ethics and Research Integrity Policy in Responsible Research Assessment for Data and Artificial Intelligence (CoARA-ERIP) working group, since March 2023.

Member of the Seminar of Young Scientists of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, area of letters, bioethics, for the 2021/2024 triennium.

Between 2003 and August 2015, she worked as a nurse, providing general care, coordinating teams and managing multi-professional training, in different institutions of the National Health Service: 2003/2004, at the Bom Jesus Health Centre - Funchal - Madeira; 2004/2006, at the Vertebral Medullary Unit of the São José Hospital; 2006 to 2015 at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology in Lisbon.

Author of several national and international publications on the themes of Bioethics, Medical Law, Ethics and Health Care, Palliative Care/oncology and ethics, Ethics and value in health, vulnerability and ethical decision-making in health care.

PhD in Bioethics (2018), thesis on human vulnerability, autonomy and bioethical decision-making in oncology - an ethical decision-making model for oncology/healthcare.

Specialisation in Anthropology and Health (2007). Postgraduate course in Bioethics Law, University of Lisbon Law School (2010);

Courses in Medical Law and Bioethics, Université Paul Sabatier - Toulouse III (2009 and 2011).

Degree in Nursing, Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Francisco Gentil (1999/2003).

Languages: Portuguese | French | English