Sérgio Sampaio was born in 1972 in Porto, where he grew up. He studied at the Alexandre Herculano High School, where he was an exemplary student. In 1990, he began studying at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, where he graduated in 1996. Sérgio Sampaio was still a student when he started to teach pro-bono, encouraged by the professor and current director of FMUP, Altamiro da Costa Pereira.

In 1997, he started his internship in the specialty of Vascular Surgery at the Hospital of São João (currently University Hospital Center of São João – UHCSJ). He interrupted his internship in 2002 to go to the Mayo Clinic, in Minnesota, United States of America, with a clinical research fellowship. While in the USA he begins to do research on abdominal aortic aneurysms, which would become the subject of his doctorate and several studies that followed.

He came back to Portugal and concluded his specialty in Vascular Surgery, always practicing as a specialist in the UHCSJ. “Vascular Surgery excited me, from a very early age, because it was very comprehensive, including diagnosis and therapy. It is very rewarding to act successfully in the different stages of the disease, from its detection to its treatment”, he affirms.

For the researcher and doctor Sérgio Sampaio, “it is also very gratifying to be able to intervene early, preventing a series of potentially fatal problems and significantly improving the quality of life of patients”.

Since 2007, he combines his professional practice as a doctor with research and teaching, as a researcher at the CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research and at FMUP, where he currently works as guest assistant professor, in the Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision (MEDCIDS).

He is Fellow of the European Board of Vascular Surgery in the European Society of Vascular Surgery since 2009 and a member of several scientific societies (Portuguese Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery, Portuguese Society of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, European Society for Vascular Surgery and Mayo Clinic Alumni Association).

As a researcher at CINTESIS, where he has been since almost the beginning, he has developed scientific work in several areas (peripheral vascular disease, aortic aneurysms, carotid disease, venous disease), integrating the research group EvidenS&HTA: Evidence‑Based Decision Making, Research Synthesis and Health Technology Assessment, as part of the thematic line 3 – Health Data and Decision Sciences and Information Technologies.

One of the most recent studies under his coordination is a national assessment of ruptures of abdominal aortic aneurysms between 2000 and 2015. The results indicate that a substantial part of the deaths occurs outside the hospital and that serious asymmetries persist in the various regions of the country (link of the news).

However, Sérgio Sampaio is involved in a work of evaluation of the possible benefit of carrying out a national screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

1-Year Ambition

I want to go as far as possible in the work of assessing the possible benefits of conducting a national screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms. I also want to take my aggregation exam.

10-Year Ambition

If it is proven to be effective, I want to assist in the implementation of a national abdominal aortic aneurysm screening program.

Life Beyond Research, Medicine and Teaching

Family, music (as an avid consumer, only).