Lino Paula is Head of Unit Social Sciences and Humanities at the scientific department of the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA). His Unit manages calls for proposals and carries out scientific monitoring of funded projects that are part of the Excellent Science pillar in Horizon Europe, the EU`s funding programme for research and innovation. 

Before joining the ERCEA, he was team leader and policy officer at the Research & Innovation Directorate-General (DG R&I) of the European Commission. His responsibilities involved EU policies in the area of Bioeconomy, activities of the `Science with and for Society` programmes (SwafS, SiS, SaS) and activities of the FP7 Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) programme.

He previously held research positions in the field of Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, Utrecht University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and at the Rathenau Institute (Dutch national institute for technology assessment). He worked on international projects and studies pertaining to the governance of the life sciences, in particular focusing on bioethics and public/stakeholder engagement in policy. He holds degrees in Chemistry (M.Sc., Leiden University), Ethics (M.A., Sheffield University) and Science and Technology Studies (Ph.D., Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam).