João Filipe da Costa Martins obtained his PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2015 from the University of Coimbra. He has been working in Neurosciences, mainly in Vision Sciences. He has published 39 journal articles, mostly in first-quartile journals, with more than 1100 citations and an h-index of 18. João has developed his research studies at the University of Coimbra, Portugal; the Vision Institute in Paris, France; the University of Copenhagen, Denmark; and NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal. He has been involved in more than 20 research projects and has been supervising PhD, MSc, and BSc students in Biology, Biochemistry, and Biomedical Engineering. In 2021, João was awarded a Seed Project at Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, as Principal Investigator, to study neuroplasticity mechanisms in animal models of neurodevelopmental differences. His current research interests focus on understanding basic brain physiology, particularly the visual system from the retina to the visual cortex, and how it is modulated by experience such as social interactions. A major goal is to unravel how neurodevelopmental differences affect neuronal processing and plasticity. He is exploring brain stimulation and pharmacotherapies as potential means of ameliorating cognitive deficits. João uses various techniques, ranging from fundamental cellular and molecular biology and microscopy to rodent behavioral tests, in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, optical coherence tomography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. His other activities include serving as reviewer for scientific journals in Neuroscience and Vision Science, acting as jury of BSc and MSc degrees, and speaking at Brain Awareness Week dissemination events, including laboratory and school visits.