Joana Cabral is Assistant Professor (tenure track) in the Department of Bioengineering, University of Lisbon, and Principal Investigator in at the Evolutionary Systems and Biomedical Engineering Lab (LaSEEB) at ISR-Lisboa/LARSyS. Dr. Cabral completed a Master degree in Biomedical Engineering (teacher assistant in final year) at Universidade Nova de Lisboa in 2007, with a thesis on EEG-fMRI for epilepsy, followed by a PhD in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience (cum laude) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Centre for Brain and Cognition, Barcelona) in 2012, supervised by Gustavo Deco, with a thesis exploring the network dynamics underlying brain activity. She held postdoctoral and research positions at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the University of Oxford (Department of Psychiatry, ERC projects DYSTRUCTURE and CAREGIVING), and the University of Minho (FCT PATHOCONNECTOMICS and LaCaixa BRAINSTIM), before joining Instituto Superior Técnico in October 2025. She additionally holds Visiting Research Fellow positions at the Champalimaud Foundation (Centre for the Unknown) and the University of Oxford (Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing). Joana Cabral is a computational neuroscientist whose research investigates the physical principles governing large-scale brain dynamics, challenging traditional network-based interpretations of functional neuroimaging in favour of wave mechanics and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics frameworks. She is the developer of LEiDA (Leading Eigenvector Dynamics Analysis), a methodology for characterising dynamic functional connectivity and brain state transitions now adopted by over 50 research groups worldwide, and has made foundational contributions to the discovery of intrinsic oscillatory modes in ultrafast fMRI and biophysical resonance modelling. Her translational work spans neuromodulation, psychedelic pharmacology (LSD, psilocybin), brain stimulation, and psychiatric and neurological conditions including schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, with a growing focus on the biophysical basis of mental fluctuations. She has authored 70 articles in leading journals including Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, and PNAS, accumulating 7,080 citations and an h-index of 37 (Google Scholar, March 2026), and is ranked in the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists list for 2024 and 2025. She has published 3 book chapters and led the analysis of over 30 international neuroimaging datasets. She has secured over €600,000 in competitive funding as Principal Investigator, including an FCT Scientific Employment Stimulus (PATHOCONNECTOMICS, 2019–2022) and a LaCaixa Junior Leader Fellowship (BRAINSTIM, 2022–2025, <5% success rate). Her mentorship record is extensive: collaborators across leading European institutions have invited her to supervise 28 students — 14 PhD students at institutions including Oxford, King's College London, UCL, University of Lisbon, Radboud University, and University of Bari; 10 Master's students across Portugal and France; and 4 Bachelor's students — with 25 second-author publications reflecting this sustained investment. She currently serves as primary supervisor of 5 PhD students at IST. She has served as external PhD examiner for 12 dissertations across 7 countries. She has delivered over 70 invited international talks, including the OHBM 2025 Keynote, and organised major interdisciplinary workshops including Brain Modes (Bilbao, 2024) and Brain Functional Organisation, Connectivity and Behaviour (Whistler, 2023). Her contributions have been recognised with 5 awards and distinctions, most notably the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science (2018). She is actively engaged in science communication, with appearances on national television (RTP1, TVI, SIC, Norte TV), radio (Antena 1, RadiUM), press (Público, Jornal de Notícias), and online science series including Mentes Brilhantes (Observador) and 90 Minutos de Ciência.