Champalimaud Research (CR) started with the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme (CNP), created in 2007. It is a basic research team with the broad aim of understanding brain function through integrative biological approaches. The team is composed of 15 main research groups and 2 associated labs who study diverse topics in neuroscience using advanced, cutting edge techniques. Research groups apply advanced molecular, physiological and imaging tools to elucidate the function of neural circuits and systems in animal models that include Drosophila, mouse, rat and zebrafish.

In 2014, the Champalimaud Foundation established the Cancer Research Programme on an organismic approach to investigate the biology of cancer and metastasis. Understanding how cancer cells initiate, escape the host’s defence mechanisms, grow and metastasise, will depend on more than just understanding the biology of cancer cells. It will also depend on understanding how cancer cells interact with various host systems, including the vascular, immune, lymphatic and endocrine systems, and how these interactions change over time as the organism ages.

Since November 2019, the Champalimaud Research leadership team has three members: Celso Matos, Joe Paton and Henrique Veiga-Fernandes. The team works together to provide the environment and resources that will enable the achievement of CR's vision - to help scientists reach their full creative potential and promote collective achievements beyond those reachable by individual scientists or laboratory groups.