His academic journey has taken him across Europe, from Portugal to the UK, Switzerland and ultimately Nijmegen. “I started in physics and astronomy, so my background is slightly more theoretical than neuroscience,” he explains. “Then I worked in a hospital setting and later in ultra-high field MRI. I’ve always moved between theory, technology and application, with Magnetic Resonance Imaging being the common denominator throughout.”
When you develop new MRI methods, you often realise that not many people can actually use them,” Marques says. “What really attracted me to Donders was that this is a place where the methods I work on are used in many different ways by many experts, both to answer neuroscientific and clinical questions. That means they can actually reach more people.”
That philosophy fits naturally with Theme 4, where researchers build tools and technologies that enable discoveries across brain, cognition, and behaviour. But the theme is also broad and diverse, spanning hardware, software, modelling and neuroimaging. Creating cohesion and finding synergies within such a varied group is one of José’s priorities.
Building on a strong foundation
He is quick to credit his predecessor, Fleur, for laying the groundwork: “Fleur did something very important for the theme,” he says. “She really charted what everyone is working on, how to map it in terms of spatial scales (from molecules to brain networks) and methodological approach (from observational, to interventional, from theoretical to analysis development). Theme 4 is very heterogeneous, and without that overview it’s easy to feel disconnected. She helped us see the clusters and the common ground.” To connect these clusters and get input from and reach all the Donders centres with a large involvement in Theme 4, José has put together a panel with André Marquand (DCMN), Fleur Zeldenrust (DCN), Robert Oostenveld (DCCN), and Michael Tangermann (DCC).
Building on that foundation, José wants the theme meetings to become more inclusive and interactive, especially for early-career researchers: “when I first joined the Donders Institute in 2014, the meetings were exclusively for PIs,” he explains. “But the people who are actually doing the science are the PhDs and postdocs. They should also get to know what others at the DI are doing, create their own local networks, and feel comfortable starting collaborations.”
Rather than long presentations, the upcoming meetings will increasingly focus on discussion, shared challenges and practical exchange from software tools to real-time brain measurement techniques. The aim is simple: lower the threshold to talk to each other. José: “If you already know the person down the corridor, it’s much easier to send an email, share an idea or start a small pilot project,” José says. “Maybe your science improves, or you help someone else’s science improve. That’s what these meetings are for.”
