Neuroscientist Mara Lúcia Cordeiro, director of Institutional Relations at the Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Research Institute (IPP, abbreviation in Portuguese), received national recognition for her career dedicated to the mental health of children and adolescents. In early October, she was awarded the 2025 Nise da Silveira Award for Good Practices and Inclusion in Mental Health, in a ceremony commemorating World Mental Health Day (October 10). The event was held in the Noble Hall of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, in Brasília.

Created in 2019, the award honors individuals and institutions that contribute to strengthening public policies based on dignity, inclusion, and human care. In this edition, Mara was the only scientist awarded, representing the transformative role of Brazilian research in promoting child and adolescent mental health.

Science with empathy and social purpose

In her speech, Mara expressed her emotion at representing science among the honorees and carrying the legacy of one of the greatest references in humanized psychiatry in the country.

“Receiving the Nise da Silveira Award is an immense honor and an emotion that is difficult to put into words. Nise saw the human being beyond diagnosis, exclusion, and stigma. Being recognized in her name fills me with deep gratitude — and also great responsibility,” she stated.

With a career dedicated to early diagnosis, prevention, and social inclusion, the researcher emphasized that the recognition is collective. “This diploma is not mine alone; it belongs to everyone who believes that science can and must serve inclusion and human care. I deeply thank Pequeno Príncipe Hospital, the Institute, and the Pequeno Príncipe College for turning knowledge into social action.”

A career that connects science, education, and care

A national reference in neuroscience and child and adolescent mental health, Mara has been working for more than two decades on projects that unite research, clinical practice, and education. Leading the IPP, she has contributed to advances in studies on neurological development, autism spectrum disorders, childhood depression, and the impact of adverse experiences on the developing brain.

The scientist also thanked deputies Toninho Wandscheer (federal) and Alisson Wandscheer (state), who recognized her contributions to science and childhood causes: “Their trust and commitment reinforce that politics, when combined with science and compassion, has the power to transform lives.”

The legacy of Nise da Silveira

The award bears the name of psychiatrist Nise da Silveira (1905–1999), a pioneer in the humanization of psychiatric treatment in Brazil. A defender of freedom and dignity for people in mental distress, Nise broke paradigms by opposing confinement in asylums, electroshock, and lobotomy, inspiring generations with her integrative vision of art, affection, and therapy.

In addition to Mara Lúcia Cordeiro, the 2025 honorees included:
– Sociedade Assistencial Saravida (Pernambuco state);
– Associação Pestalozzi de Rio Verde (Goiás state);
– Caps AD José Danilo Borges (Minas Gerais state);
– MBRAC Job and Income Generation Program (Rio de Janeiro State).

“To be part of this story is to reaffirm Pequeno Príncipe’s commitment to a science that heals and embraces — that looks at childhood mental health with the same seriousness and tenderness with which we care for the body.”
Mara Lúcia Cordeiro, director of Institutional Relations at the Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Research Institute