NOVA NSPH retains two researchers on the World’s Top 2% Scientists list in 2026, with Susana Viegas and Christopher Millett strengthening their positions compared with the previous edition. The results, published on 7 October, reflect the growing impact and international recognition of the research carried out at the School.

In the 2026 edition, Susana Viegas is listed in the fields of Biomedical Research, Toxicology and Environmental Sciences, while Christopher Millett is represented in Clinical Medicine, Public Health and General & Internal Medicine.

The progress made by both researchers reflects the increase in citations recorded in Scopus and in indexed scientific output, strengthening the international profile of research conducted at NOVA NSPH in areas relevant to Public Health.

Susana Viegas has been included in this list since 2021, while Christopher Millett first appeared in the 2025 edition. Their continued inclusion in 2026, with stronger positions, builds on the recognition achieved by the School in the previous year.

The scientific database, associated with Stanford University and published in Elsevier’s repository, brings together standardised information on the impact of researchers worldwide. The 2026 edition uses Scopus data updated to the end of 2025 and considers indicators such as citations, co-authorship-adjusted impact and authors’ positions in publications. The selection identifies researchers who rank among the 100,000 with the highest c-scores or within the top 2% of their respective scientific subfields.

The continued presence of NOVA NSPH researchers in this international database reflects the visibility, relevance and growing impact of the School’s scientific output, strengthening its capacity to produce knowledge with national and international reach.

About the World’s Top 2% Scientists

Updated annually, the database provides indicators of scientific impact over the course of researchers’ careers and their impact in the most recent year. The 2026 edition classifies researchers into 20 broad scientific fields and 174 subfields, allowing citation impact to be contextualised across different disciplines.

In accordance with Article 5 of the Regulations for the Election and Co-option of Members of the Statutory Assembly of NOVA University Lisbon, elections have been called to elect representatives of teaching staff and researchers, students, and technical, specialist and management staff to the Statutory Assembly of NOVA University Lisbon.

The Statutory Assembly’s sole purpose will be to bring the Statutes of NOVA University Lisbon into line with the new Legal Framework for Higher Education Institutions.

Documents

• Notice;
• Order appointing the Electoral Commission; and
• Electoral Regulations and Calendar.

João Pedro Vieira, a student on the Master’s in Public Health at NOVA National School of Public Health, NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA NSPH), and a researcher at the School, has won the Pedro Pita Barros Scholarship 2026, awarded by the Portuguese Health Economics Association (APES).

The winning project, entitled “Polypharmacy, socioeconomic inequalities and fragmentation of healthcare: Portugal from a European perspective – Analysis of SHARE Waves 6, 7 and 9 and OECD indicators”, aims to produce evidence with direct application to the Portuguese context.

The research will analyse polypharmacy (defined in the study as the use of five or more different medicines per day) among adults aged 50 to 89 living in Portugal, seeking to understand how socioeconomic factors such as educational attainment, financial difficulties, living alone or having supplementary health insurance are associated with this phenomenon.

Drawing on data from SHARE – Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, the project will make it possible to analyse trends in polypharmacy in Portugal in 2015, 2017 and 2022, and to examine whether the associated inequalities persisted, increased or decreased over this period. It will also include a European comparative component, seeking to understand how features of healthcare systems, such as continuity of care and referral mechanisms for specialised care, may be associated with polypharmacy.

The topic is particularly relevant in a country characterised by demographic ageing, multimorbidity and high levels of medicine use. The project also highlights the burden of out-of-pocket healthcare payments on Portuguese households and seeks to understand how the organisation of care can help protect the most vulnerable populations from excessive or poorly coordinated medicine use.

“Both in my professional capacity as a public health physician and in my academic role as a researcher, I have sought to develop projects that have an impact on population health, in this case by assessing the impact of socioeconomic inequalities on health outcomes. Fortunately, I have found at NOVA NSPH the conditions and people able to guide me along this path. The next step is to seek to contribute to the design of more effective public policies that provide genuine solutions and responses to the population’s health needs,” says João Pedro Vieira. “This Scholarship recognises the merit of this project and encourages us to continue along this path, in the service of the common good and the public interest,” he adds.

The project also involves Maria Rita Paiva Pessoa, a researcher at NOVA NSPH, and Julian Perelman, a professor at NOVA NSPH, who is responsible for the scientific and methodological coordination and supervision of the work.

The findings may help identify groups facing a greater therapeutic and financial burden and support the development of policies in the areas of medicine use, equity, financial protection and coordination between levels of care.

The Pedro Pita Barros Scholarship, promoted by APES with the institutional support of the National Association of Pharmacies, aims to support early-career researchers and encourage high-quality research of relevance to Health Economics in Portugal.