Prof. Maria Portella

Dr. Maria J. Portella is a senior researcher and head of the Mental Health Research Group at the Sant Pau Research Institute. With an outstanding career in the field of the neuropsychobiology of affective disorders, she has been a Co-Principal Investigator of the CIBERSAM CB07090010 group since 2013. She trained in Psychology and earned her PhD in Neurosciences with a European mention from the University of Barcelona and the University of Oxford. She has received numerous prestigious grants, including the Juan de la Cierva and the Miguel Servet I and II, and obtained the I3 accreditation in 2022. Her research focus centers on the neuropsychobiology of affective disorders, specializing in the neuropsychology of psychiatric disorders. She has experience in study design, statistical analysis, and neuroimaging techniques. Her contributions in this field have supported the use of deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. Moreover, Dr. Portella has developed two psychotherapeutic interventions for depression: a 12-session psychoeducation protocol and Integral Cognitive Remediation for Depression (INCREM). Dr. Portella has published more than 140 articles in indexed journals, with over 5,050 citations, and has an H-index of 41. She has participated in 38 projects funded by public and private entities, securing more than €10.3 million in funding, and has led and/or coordinated 15 of these projects. She currently holds European funding in two projects: MSCA-CoFUND-TOUCH, for which she is the Principal Investigator, and Synapsing, for which she is Co-Principal Investigator at the coordinating center (IR-Sant Pau). She collaborates with both national and international research groups and has made significant contributions to the study of the pathophysiology and psychopharmacological treatment of psychiatric disorders. She has coordinated a Consolidated Research Group (SGR, Generalitat de Catalunya) since 2009 and obtained the highest level of funding in the latest call. She has also presented more than 100 posters and lectures and has written two outreach books on autism, one of which has been translated into three languages. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), where she coordinates the Interuniversity Master’s in Mental Health Research. She is also a member of various scientific committees and a reviewer for more than 15 indexed international journals.