In April 2024, the sudden passing of António Amorim cut short the many projects and ideas he still pursued in the field of genetics. He was born in Porto (Portugal) in 1952, where he later graduated and earned a PhD in Biology (1983) from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP). It was also at the FCUP that he developed his academic career for over four decades, becoming a brilliant and renowned Full Professor, a position he held until his retirement in 2022.
In parallel, António Amorim founded and led the Group of Population Genetics and Evolution at IPATIMUP/i3S, where since the 1990’s he guided, mentored and inspired successive waves of students, researchers and collaborators.
His sharp scientific contributions in the fields of Population, Forensic and Evolutionary Genetics, combined with his enthusiasm, empathy, and distinctive humour, made him an unforgettable reference among researchers and scholars. A firm believer in interdisciplinarity, he founded Portugaliae Genetica, a meeting whose energy and vivacity earned international prestige and provided unusual visibility to Portuguese science, reaching its 20th edition, precisely in 2024.
Beyond his research excellence, António Amorim was an inspiring educator and mentor, shaping generations of scientists and fostering international collaborations that continue to influence the field today.
As a contribution to celebrate and honour the scientific heritage of António Amorim, Human Population Genetics and Genomics will launch a Special Issue featuring invited papers from authors who shared some of his research interests.
The contributions may:
- Take inspiration from one of António Amorim’s articles, using it as a starting point to elaborate on current advances in the field.
- Submit a review or a general commentary/perspective on António Amorim’s work in relation to their own research.
- Contributions can be technical or personal, experimental or theoretical, reflecting the breadth of approaches and influences in his legacy.
Among the topics that may be addressed, the following have already been confirmed:
- Technical advances in Forensic Genetics
- Human and non-human Forensic Genetics
- Population structure in Iberia and Ibero-América
- Estimation of mutation rates
- Epistatic interactions
- Evolutionary Genetics
- Genetics of domestication
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor been under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings). All manuscripts will be thoroughly refereed through a single-blinded peer-review process. A guide for manuscript submission is available at Submission Instructions.
