Dr Joana Moscoso
As the Director of Native Scientists, Dr Joana Moscoso’s work ensures that young children have the chance to engage with science in their native language or in their hometowns. An MIT Innovator Under 35, her work has been recognised by UNESCO, the Royal Society of Biology, the New European Bauhaus Awards and the Euclid Network.
Science was a reality that was too far away.
When Dr Joana Moscoso was nine years old, she learnt about the existence of bacteria – and it changed her life.
“Immediately,” she explains, “I discovered that I was never alone. I was always surrounded by bacteria. I also realised that the power of something is not directly correlated with its size. My vision of the world was that the bigger something is, the more powerful. But actually, living organisms, that are microscopic in size, can be extremely powerful.”
From that moment on, Joana was determined to become a scientist. “But I grew up in Valença, a rural place in the north of Portugal,” she says. “I didn't have access to science, and I also didn't have a lot of encouragement. When I told people that I wanted to become a scientist, the reaction was ‘you're crazy – be a nurse, or an accountant’. Science was a reality that was too far away.”
Science was a reality that was too far away.
When Joana Moscoso was nine years old, she learned about the existence of bacteria – and it changed her life.
“Immediately,” she explains, “I discovered that I was never alone. I was always surrounded by bacteria. I also realised that the power of something is not directly correlated with its size. My vision of the world was that the bigger something is, the more powerful. But actually, living organisms, that are microscopic in size, can be extremely powerful.”
From that moment on, Joana was determined to become a scientist. “But I grew up in Valença, a rural place in the north of Portugal,” she says. “I didn't have access to science, and I also didn't have a lot of encouragement. When I told people that I wanted to become a scientist, the reaction was ‘you're crazy – be a nurse, or an accountant’. Science was a reality that was too far away.”
Thinking outside the box
But Joana didn’t give up. She made her way to the University of Porto, where she did an undergraduate degree exploring how living organisms of all sizes behave. Her studies opened up her world – she took an ERASUMS trip to Sweden and did a placement in Australia during her Master's. “I loved the experience of being abroad. But Australia was a bit too far – I wanted to be in Europe.”
She looked for a PhD programme in the UK and was drawn to Imperial’s MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection.
Imperial really encouraged out-of-the-box thinking. In the past, I’d been told my ideas were too crazy. But at Imperial I had the sense that I fit in - I didn't need to hide my ideas, they were encouraged. And I was given the right conditions to test them out.
Staying true to her lifelong passion, Joana’s PhD explored pathogenic bacteria and how they use intracellular signalling to survive.
Alongside academic freedom, Joana says, Imperial gave her an amazing network. “I met lots of interesting, high-performing people,” she says. It’s a network she’s drawn from many times in her career.
Joana with her family at her graduation
Joana with her family at her graduation
Joana holding her PhD thesis (2013)
Joana holding her PhD thesis (2013)
Overcoming barriers
While still at Imperial, Joana became interested in outreach work. She signed up to visit schools and talk to children about science. “But I didn't speak native English yet. I was going to London schools to do outreach in a language that was not my native language. And I was feeling very self-conscious about it.”
Around the same time, she learned that children from Portuguese communities in London were among some of the lowest attaining school pupils. “And I thought – this can’t be right. Because they are perfectly capable. There must be an inequality here.”
The solution seemed obvious. “I thought, I can reach out to Portuguese-speaking kids in London schools, and the experience will be way more meaningful to me, and way more useful to them, because they can navigate the two languages the same way I navigate the two languages.”
And that's how an idea arose. The idea became Native Scientists, a pan-European non-profit dedicated to broadening children’s horizons and promoting scientific literacy, focusing on underserved migrant or rural communities.
But Joana wasn’t finished with bacteria yet. Initially, Native Scientists was a part-time endeavour. She stayed at Imperial for two more years, investigating the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and its tolerance to environmental stress. During this time, she received an award from the Royal Society of Biology for her work in science communication, and an Imperial President’s Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement.
Returning to Portugal, she ventured out of academia to join a deep tech company founded by a fellow Imperial alumnus, while still running Native Scientists on a voluntary basis. But once she became a parent, she faced a dilemma – there wasn’t time for everything. With six months of savings, she decided the right choice for her and her daughter was to quit her job and professionalise her passion project.
Joana with her daughter
Joana with her daughter
Sharing the magic of science
Joana has since grown the organisation to a core full-time staff of eight, a wider team of 70 collaborators, and over 300 volunteers engaged every year – many of whom she met at or through Imperial. “So far we have reached more than 15,000 children,” she says. “Which is only possible because we are a team and I have amazing co-founders, namely Tatiana Correia, at the start, and Joana Bordalo and Matilde Gonçalves, when Native Scientists expanded to Portugal.”
Native Scientists’ first project, the Same Migrant Community programme, is a pioneering relationship-centric model that connects children with scientists from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds, delivering hands-on science workshops in their heritage language. The programme was recognised with an International Literacy Prize from UNESCO in 2022.
Was this the milestone achievement that made her realise she had succeeded? Not at all.
“The major milestone was the very first intervention that we did in London. It was just going to be something that we did once, me and my friends. It was never imagined that our idea of bridging this gap with the Portuguese community would become a concept.
“We thought that we were just doing an outreach activity. We weren’t aware how innovative it was to do it in the heritage language of the children.
“But as the session was happening in the school, I could see it. I could see that it was special, because the children were extremely engaged, even the unruly ones, and the scientists – I had never seen them with such a big smile.”
For me, it was crystal clear, this is a win-win situation. I thought, we need to replicate this magic.
This moment sounds not unlike Joana’s discovery of bacteria, aged nine. “Well, what’s really magical,” she says, “is that a student who took part in our third workshop, back in 2014, is now a scientist himself!”
Former participant Tiago Alves – a Grenfell fire survivor and now a PhD student at Imperial – traces his aspirations directly back to the impact the programme had on him. He emailed the team to thank them, saying that their work gave him the confidence to pursue his interest in physics. In May this year, he joined a Native Scientists workshop to talk to children about science.
“From an inspired kid, he became an inspiring scientist,” says Joana.
Sharing the magic of science
Joana has since grown the organisation to a core full-time staff of eight, a wider team of 70 collaborators, and over 300 volunteers engaged every year – many of whom she met at or through Imperial. “So far we have reached more than 15,000 children,” she says. “Which is only possible because we are a team and I have amazing co-founders, namely Tatiana Correia, at the start, and Joana Bordalo and Matilde Gonçalves, when Native Scientists expanded to Portugal.”
Native Scientists’ first project, the Same Migrant Community programme, is a pioneering relationship-centric model that connects children with scientists from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds, delivering hands-on science workshops in their heritage language. The programme was recognised with an International Literacy Prize from UNESCO in 2022.
Was this the milestone achievement that made her realise she had succeeded? Not at all.
“The major milestone was the very first intervention that we did in London. It was just going to be something that we did once, me and my friends. It was never imagined that our idea of bridging this gap with the Portuguese community would become a concept.
“We thought that we were just doing an outreach activity. We weren’t aware how innovative it was to do it in the heritage language of the children.
“But as the session was happening in the school, I could see it. I could see that it was special, because the children were extremely engaged, even the unruly ones, and the scientists – I had never seen them with such a big smile.”
For me, it was crystal clear, this is a win-win situation. I thought, we need to replicate this magic.
This moment sounds not unlike Joana’s discovery of bacteria, aged nine. “Well, what’s really magical,” she says, “is that a student who took part in our third workshop, back in 2014, is now a scientist himself!”
Former participant Tiago Alves – a Grenfell fire survivor and now a PhD student at Imperial – traces his aspirations directly back to the impact the programme had on him. He emailed the team to thank them, saying that their work gave him the confidence to pursue his interest in physics. In May 2025, he joined a Native Scientists workshop to talk to children about science.
“From an inspired kid, he became an inspiring scientist,” says Joana.
Beyond inspiration
In 2021, Joana developed another Native Scientists project. The Same Hometown programme brings scientists back to their hometowns in Portugal, to deliver science workshops with children aged 9 years old. The programme, she says, is centred on the concept of circular education, and the sense of giving back to communities.
Native Scientists has also incubated other social ventures, such as Cartas com Ciência (Letters with Science), where adolescents and scientists exchange letters over the course of a school year in Portuguese-speaking countries around the world. Joana also coined the Science and Heritage Language Integrated Learning (SHLIL) methodology, integrating scientific learning with heritage language development.
Native Scientists' Programme Lead Beatriz Amado has worked with Joana for two years and nominated her for the Emerging Alumni Award. She said of her colleague: “In less than a decade since graduating, she has turned a personal conviction into a movement that is measurably changing lives across continents.”
Joana is clearly an inspiring leader. Who has inspired her?
“The most important thing that happened at Imperial is that I had a very good supervisor,” she says. “Professor Alain Filloux really saw us as people, human beings. He encouraged a good work life balance, alongside his excellence and good ethics. And this was essential for my development as a leader.”
My PhD was not only a PhD in molecular biology, it was also training in leadership.
Beyond inspiration
In 2021, Joana developed another Native Scientists project. The Same Hometown programme brings scientists back to their hometowns in Portugal, to deliver science workshops with children aged 9 years old. The programme, she says, is centred on the concept of circular education, and the sense of giving back to communities.
Native Scientists has also incubated other social ventures, such as Cartas com Ciência (Letters with Science), where adolescents and scientists exchange letters over the course of a school year in Portuguese-speaking countries around the world. Joana also coined the Science and Heritage Language Integrated Learning (SHLIL) methodology, integrating scientific learning with heritage language development.
Native Scientists' Programme Lead Beatriz Amado has worked with Joana for two years and nominated her for the Emerging Alumni Award. She said of her colleague: “In less than a decade since graduating, she has turned a personal conviction into a movement that is measurably changing lives across continents.”
Joana is clearly an inspiring leader. Who has inspired her?
“The most important thing that happened at Imperial is that I had a very good supervisor,” she says. “Professor Alain Filloux really saw us as people, human beings. He encouraged a good work life balance, alongside his excellence and good ethics. And this was essential for my development as a leader.”
My PhD was not only a PhD in molecular biology, it was also training in leadership.
Nurturing the future
So what does life look like now? Joana drops her daughter off at school before getting to work each day, working on strategy and ‘removing blockers’ for her team. In the evening, she has at least two books on the go at all times. But looking ahead, she says. “I want Native to remain fresh – our success comes not only from our ability to mobilise people, but also from our innovative approach.”
But for now, the future is growth. “We want to make Portugal the first country in the world where children cannot reach the fifth grade without meeting a scientist,” she says. “We want to grow our infrastructure, but most importantly grow our impact.”
Words by Sarah Webb | Photography by Ricardo Lacal | Editing and design by Ellie Cawthera
Imperial's Alumni Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of our alumni community and the variety of ways they are making a real impact across the globe.
The Emerging Alumni Leader Award recognises and celebrates our rising stars, innovators, game-changers and future leaders.
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