Luzia Travado

Luzia Travado, PhD, MSc, ClinPsych, clinical psychologist specialized in health psychology and psycho-oncology, with degrees from Universidade de Lisboa and Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal. She is currently senior clinician and researcher of Psycho-Oncology at the Champalimaud Clinical and Research Center of the Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon.

She has a career of more than 35 years initiated at Hospital S. José–Central Lisbon University Hospital Centre, where she was Chief of Clinical Psychology and has pioneered health psychology by developing psychosocial programs for clinical populations with chronic conditions including cancer. She has been a professor of Psycho-oncology at University level and a trainer of communication skills for healthcare professionals since 2003 for organizations (ESO, ESMO, others) and at University level. She organized and delivered the first National Training Program on Communication Skills for cancer care professionals for the Ministry of Health; conducted the pilot training for the INTERACT-EUROPE project in Lisbon in 2023 and is Super-Trainer for INTERACT EUROPE 100.

She served as adviser of the National Cancer Director in Portugal (2007–2011), and contributed for the Nat’l Cancer Control Programme introducing psychosocial care for cancer patients. She represented Portugal at the European Commission initiative – the European Partnership on Action Against Cancer (EPAAC, 2009–2019) and led the Psychosocial Oncology Action under this partnership. She participated in many European cancer policy initiatives since 2006, collaborating with the Portuguese EU Presidency at the Cancer Roundtable (2007) and Slovenian EU Presidency European Cancer Conference (2008) to place cancer as a priority on the European Health agenda, including Psychosocial care in the treatment of cancer patients and survivors. She has been involved in European joint actions (EPAAC; CANCON), European Commission Initiatives (ECIBC), and as researcher in National and European funded projects (SEPOS; EUROCHIP-3; DISTRESSBRAIN; ONCORELIEF; BOUNCE), and in other roles at EUonQoL and INTERACT Europe 100.

As an active advocate at European cancer policy level and as expert in psycho-oncology, she was instrumental in having psychosocial cancer care for patients included in main policy recommendation and guide documents, which have contributed to the improvement of European cancer policies towards a more person-focused care.

As a recognition of those achievements the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) have awarded her the Jimmie Holland Memorial Award in 2022. She served as President of the International Psycho-Oncology Society, currently President-Emeritus; Advisory Board and Faculty member of the European School of Oncology; Co-chair of the European Cancer Organization Network on Quality of Life & Survivorship; Founder and former President of Viva Mulher Viva Association. She was Chair of the IPOS World Congress of Psycho-Oncology held in Lisbon 2014, and Co-chair of the Scientific Committee of the IPOS 2023 World Congress held in Milan.

She has been researcher of national and international funded research projects, some as PI. Her main interests are psycho-oncology, in which psychological interventions for cancer patients, survivorship care and quality of life, biobehavioral process linked with stress, negative affect, and survival in cancer patients, communication skills training for cancer healthcare professionals, and cancer policies play a major role.

She has many scientific papers published in Int’l peer-review journals and book-chapters, having also served as Specialty-editor for The Breast, and current Editorial Board Member of various scientific journals: Palliative and Supportive Care Journal, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, Psicooncología, International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

Updated: June 2025