Ana Rita Araujo (1D13-CAFF-475A)

Curriculum Vitae

Ana Rita Araujo

Ana Rita Araújo is a Chemical Engineer (MSc, 2011) and holds a PhD (2020) in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, and Stem Cells from the 3B’s Research Group at the University of Minho (Portugal). She was awarded a PhD fellowship within the Doctoral Programme in Advanced Therapies for Health (PATH) in 2017 and conducted part of her doctoral research at the CIQUS Laboratory, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Her research focuses on supramolecular chemistry and the development of biomaterials for tissue engineering and biomedical applications. Her work includes the design of systems aimed at reducing the cytotoxicity of amyloid species associated with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the development of glycosaminoglycan-based hydrogels and supramolecular systems that mimic the extracellular matrix of different tissues. Ana Rita Araújo has (co-)authored 13 peer-reviewed scientific articles, one book chapter, and several conference abstracts, and has delivered multiple oral communications at international conferences. In 2021, she was awarded the Young Biophysicist Prize by the Portuguese Society of Biophysics. She has actively contributed to the scientific community, serving as a board member of the Portuguese Young Chemists Group (GQJ) and representing Portugal at the 13th Delegates Assembly of the European Young Chemists Network (EYCN) from 2016 to 2018. She has participated as a researcher in several national and international scientific and industrial projects, including European Commission–funded initiatives (FP7 and Horizon 2020). Notably, she contributed to the Find & Bind project, focusing on the functionalization of 2D surfaces for biosensing applications. In addition, she was involved in organizing the 1st European Young Chemists Meeting (EYCheM) in 2016. In 2018, she became a founding member of the PhDynamics Group within the 3B’s Research Group, where she led initiatives aimed at developing transversal scientific skills, including science communication, leadership, teamwork, and the integration of art and science. She also contributed to projects such as Chem2Nature and NORTHERN DISCOVERIES CTR, funded by the European Commission and the Norte 2020 regional program. She is currently responsible for the Chemistry Laboratory at the 3B’s Research Group and works as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minho, supervising master’s and PhD students.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Ana Rita Araujo
Date of birth: 1986/10/10
Gender: Female

Citation names

Araujo A. R.

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 1D13-CAFF-475A
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2033-4262

Email addresses

anarita.araujo@i3bs.uminho.pt (Professional)

Telephones

Telephone

253510900 Ext.: 912 (Professional)

Addresses

3B's Research Group, Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Minho. AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra S. Claudio do Barco, 4806-909 , Guimarães, Guimarães, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ana-rita-ara%C3%BAjo/3a/618/328 (Professional)

Knowledge fields

Engineering and Technology - Nano-technology - Nano-materials
Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology - Biomaterials
Medical and Health Sciences - Basic Medicine - Neurosciences
Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Biochemistry

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
English	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Intermediate (B1)
Spanish; Castilian	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)
Portuguese (Mother tongue)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2021 Concluded	Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials course (Curso de Especialização Tecnológica) Johns Hopkins University, United States	91.70%
2014/07/01 - 2020/07/28 Concluded	Engenharia de Tecidos, Medicina Regenerativa e Células Estaminais (Doutoramento) Universidade do Minho, Portugal "Novel cork-based compounds for biomedical applications: from antibacterials to the modulation of neurodegeneration" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	Very Good
2012 Concluded	Engenharia Química (Licenciatura) Instituto Politécnico do Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal "Projecto de uma unidade de tratamento de um efluente têxtil com descarga no Rio Ave" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	13
2011 Concluded	Engenharia Química (Mestrado) Instituto Politécnico do Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal "Remoção de Microalgas por Electrocoagulação/Floculação usando o Sistema Monopolar e o Bipolar" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	15

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2021/03/05 - Current	Postdoc (Research)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal
2011/10/03 - 2016/09/30	Researcher (Research)	Biomaterials Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Portugal

2010/01/04 - 2010/09/01	Researcher (Research)	Instituto Politécnico do Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2015/09/01 - 2020/07/28	Aluno Doutoramento (PhD student)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal
2017/01/09 - 2018/06/20	Aluno Doutoramento (integrado no plano de estudos do programa PATH do Grupo de Investigação 3B's da Universidade do Minho).	Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares, Spain

2011/01/11 - 2011/06/26	Aluna de Mestrado	Odisee vzw - Technologiecampus Gent, Belgium

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2024/09/01 - 2028/08/31	Unveiling the regenerative potential of the SECRETomes from perinatal cells Marie Curie Actions (MSCA) – Doctoral Networks (DN) 101168752-SECRET Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Belgium	EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
2024/12/31 - 2027/12/30	oPtIC Nerve organId sCaffold (OCEANIC) LACAIXA-OCEANIC Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal
2024/05/02 - 2027/05/01	Defining the ideal human Amniotic progenitor Secretome forMulation for future cArdioprotective paRacrine Therapy (AmnioSMART) CARDINNOV/0001/2023 Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2016/09/01 - 2020/08/31	PATH NORTE 2020 UMINHO/BD/6/2016 PhD Student Fellow	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2015/11/01 - 2016/10/31	LA ICVS/3B' - Biomaterials Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Portugal UID/Multi/50026/2013 PhD Student Fellow Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2013/04/02 - 2015/09/30	Polaris: Unlocking the research potential of 3Bs Group, University of Minho, in Nanomedicine field to strengthen its competitive position at the European level FP7 - REGPOT Researcher Biomaterials Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Portugal	European Commission Concluded
2012/01/04 - 2013/09/30	Find and Bind: Mastering sweet cell-instructive biosystems by copycat nano-interaction of cells with natural surfaces for biotechnological applications info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/229292/EU Other Biomaterials Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Portugal	European Commission Concluded
2011/10/01 - 2012/12/31	GlueCork - new binders based on cork components FCOMP-01-0202-FEDER-00539 Research Fellow Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Agência Nacional de Inovação SA Concluded

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2021/01/01 - 2025/12/31	ICVS/3B¿s - Laboratório Associado, Instituto de Ciências da Vida e da Saúde / Grupo de Investigação em Biomateriais, Biodegradaveis e Biomiméticos LA/P/0050/2020 10.54499/LA/P/0050/2020 UID/Multi/50026/2019 Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2024/03/11 - 2024/12/31	ICVS/3B's - Associate Laboratory UIDB/50026/2020 10.54499/UIDB/50026/2020 Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2022/03/05 - 2022/12/31	Bio4Cork+ - Desenvolvimento de adesivos seguros e sustentáveis para aplicação em rolhas de cortiça 47172 Post-doc Biomaterials Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Portugal	Agência Nacional de Inovação SA Concluded
2021/04/30 - 2022/06/18	Refining the efficacy of systemic administration of bioactive molecules for Parkinson (RePark) M-ERA-NET3/0007/2021 Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal	AmCham EU
2021/03/04 - 2022/03/04	Light2Skin - Photosensitive capsules for future pharmaceutical applications C491217792-000611 Post-doc	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Other

	Designation	Funders
2021/09/01 - 2024/08/31	"ECaBox ""Eyes in a Care Box"": Regenerating human retina from resuscitated cadaveric eyes" 964342 Post-doc Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal Centre for Genomic Regulation, Spain	EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Excellent Science Concluded
2017/04/01 - 2019/09/30	NORTHERN DISCOVERIES: The Discoveries CTR – Setting Sails NORTE-01-0246-FEDER-000022 PhD Student Fellow Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Biomateriais Biodegradáveis e Biomiméticos, Portugal	Comissao de Coordenacao e Desenvolvimento Regional do Norte

Outputs

Publications

Book chapter	Ana R. Araújo; Emanuel M. Fernandes; Ricardo A. Pires; Rui L. Reis. "7. Valorização da Cortiça Orientada para a Inovação e Sustentabilidade". 2025. 10.21814/uminho.ed.206.7 Ana R, Araújo; Rui L, Reis; Ricardo A, Pires. "Natural Polyphenols as Modulators of the Fibrillization of Islet Amyloid Polypeptide.". In Advances in experimental medicine and biology. 2020.
Conference poster	Castro, Vânia I. B.; Araujo A. R.; Duarte, Filipa; António Sousa-Franco; Reis, Rui L.; Pashkuleva, Iva; Pires, Ricardo A. "Self-Assembling glycopeptide hydrogels induce the differentiation of stem cells into neural lineages". Paper presented in REMIX- Regenerative Medicine Innovation Crossing - Research and Innovation Staff Exchange in Regenerative Medicine, 2023. Castro, Vânia I. B.; Araujo A. R.; Duarte, Filipa; António Sousa-Franco; Reis, Rui L.; Pashkuleva, Iva; Pires, Ricardo. "Tunable glycopeptide-based supramolecular hydrogels drive the differentiation of stem cells into neural lineages". Paper presented in TERMIS-2023, 2023. Castro, Vânia I. B.; Araujo A. R.; António Sousa-Franco; Duarte, Filipa; Reis, Rui L.; Pashkuleva, Iva; Pires, Ricardo. "Glycopeptide-based supramolecular hydrogels induce stem cell differentiation into neural lineages". Paper presented in Term_Stem Achilles, 2022. Costa, Diana Soares da; Márquez-Posadas, M. C.; Araújo, A. R.; Yang, Y.; Becher, Jana; Schnabelrauch, Matthias; Merino, S.; et al. "Adhesion of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells to patterned protein-glycosaminoglycan surfaces". Paper presented in TERM STEM 2013, 2013. "Adhesion of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells to patterned protein-glycosaminoglycan surfaces". 2013. 10.1002/term.1822, 2013.
Journal article	Fabiana Andrade; Vânia I. B. Castro; Sara Amorim; Ana R. Araújo; Olga Martinho; Natália Alves; Rui L. Reis; Ricardo A. Pires. "Glioblastoma In Vitro Model That Recapitulates the Influence of the Hyaluronan Molecular Weight in Cancer Cell Motility and Permeability of the Blood-Brain Tumor Barrier". ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering (2025): https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c01740. 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c01740 Vânia I. B. Castro; Ana Rita Araújo; Rui L. Reis; Iva Pashkuleva; Ricardo A. Pires. "Nanoengineered Self-Assembling Peptides with Increased Proteolytic Stability Promote Wound Healing". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2025): https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c18221. 10.1021/acsami.4c18221 Vânia I.B. Castro; Ana R. Araújo; Filipa Duarte; António Sousa-Franco; Rui L. Reis; Iva Pashkuleva; Ricardo A. Pires. "Glycopeptide-Based Supramolecular Hydrogels Induce Differentiation of Adipose Stem Cells into Neural Lineages". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15 (2023): 29998-30007. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c05309. Open access • 10.1021/acsami.3c05309 Araújo, Ana R.; Correa, Juan; Dominguez-Arca, Vicente; Reis, Rui L.; Fernandez-Megia, Eduardo; Pires, Ricardo A.. "Functional Gallic Acid-Based Dendrimers as Synthetic Nanotools to Remodel Amyloid-ß-42 into Noncytotoxic Forms". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 13 (2021): 59673-59682. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c17823. Open access • 10.1021/acsami.1c17823 Ana R. Araújo; Vânia I. B. Castro; Rui L. Reis; Ricardo A. Pires. "Glucosamine and Its Analogues as Modulators of Amyloid-ß Toxicity.". ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 12 4 (2021): 548-554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00350. Open access • 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00350 Ana R. Araújo; Ana Carolina Araújo; Rui L. Reis; Ricardo A. Pires. "Vescalagin and Castalagin Present Bactericidal Activity toward Methicillin-Resistant Bacteria.". ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 7 (2021): 1022-1030. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c01698. Open access • 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c01698 Ana R. Araújo; S. Camero; Pablo Taboada; R.L. Reis; R.A. Pires. "Vescalagin and castalagin reduce the toxicity of amyloid-beta42 oligomers through the remodelling of its secondary structure (Chemical Communications (2020) 56 (3187–3190) DOI: 10.1039/D0CC00192A)". Chemical Communications 57 (2021): 3158-3158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0cc00192a. Open access • 10.1039/d1cc90090k João Borges; Ana R. Araújo; Catarina Custódio; Sara Amorim; Artur J. Moro; Leonardo Mendes. "The Next Generation of Portuguese Chemists". ChemViews (2018): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201800032. 10.1002/chemv.201800032 Ivo Manuel Ascensão Aroso; Ana R. Araújo; Ricardo A. Pires; Rui L. Reis. "Cork: Current Technological Developments and Future Perspectives for this Natural, Renewable, and Sustainable Material". ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 5 12 (2017): 11130-11146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b00751. Open access • 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b00751 Aroso, Ivo Manuel Ascensão; Araújo, A. R.; Fernandes, João P.; Santos, T.; Batista, M. T.; Pires, R. A.; Mano, J. F.; Reis, R. M.. "Hydroalcoholic extracts from the bark of Quercus suber L. (Cork): optimization of extraction conditions, chemical composition and antioxidant potential". Wood Science and Technology 51 4 (2017): 855-872. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00226-017-0904-y. Open access • 10.1007/s00226-017-0904-y Araújo, A. R.; Costa, Diana Soares da; Amorim, Sara; Reis, R. L.; Pires, R. A.; Pashkuleva, I.. "Surfaces mimicking glycosaminoglycans trigger different response of stem cells via distinct fibronectin adsorption and reorganization". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 8 (2016): 28428-28436. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.6b04472. Open access • 10.1021/acsami.6b04472 Costa, Diana Soares da; Márquez-Posadas, M. C.; Araújo, A. R.; Yang, Y.; Merino, S.; Groth, T.; Reis, R. L.; Pashkuleva, I.. "Adhesion of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells to glycosaminoglycan surfaces with different protein patterns.". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 7 (2015): 10034-10043. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.5b02479. Open access • 10.1021/acsami.5b02479 Ana R. Araújo; David M. Pereira; Ivo M. Aroso; Tânia Santos; Maria T. Batista; Mariana T. Cerqueira; Alexandra P. Marques; Rui L. Reis; Rica. "Cork extracts reduce UV-mediated DNA fragmentation and cell death". RSC Advances 5 (2015): 96151-96157. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/ra/c5ra15712a. Open access • Published • 10.1039/c5ra15712a

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2025/09/26	Glycopeptide-based hydrogels as storage depots that promote vascularization	FBPS 2025 - 15th International Symposium on Frontiers in Biomedical Polymers FBPS (Porto, Portugal)
2025/05/25	Self-assembly increases GHK biostability and promote wound healing	TERMIS EU 2025 TERMIS (Freiburg, Germany)
2019/09/03	Supramolecular inhibition of Aß42 iintermediates by GlcN analogues	Glupor13 I3s (Porto, Portugal)
2019/05/30	Gallic acid-based dendrimers inhibits Aß42 Amyloidogenesis and Its Associated Cytotoxicity	TERMIS EU 2019 TERMIS (Rhodes, Greece)
2015/09/03	Glycosaminoglycan mimicking surfaces trigger distinct response of stem cells via fibronectin adsorption	European Conference on Biomaterials 2015 ESB (Krakow, Poland)

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2025/09/22 - 2025/09/26	15th International Symposium on Frontiers in Biomedical Polymers (2025/09/22 - 2025/09/26) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2018/10/24 - 2018/10/26	CHEM2NATURE Final Conference - European Horizon 2020 Twinning project "Multifunctional Biomaterials Inspired by Nature" (2018/10/24 - 2018/10/25) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2017/06/05 - 2017/06/09	Chem2Nature Second School - European Horizon 2020 Twinning project "Enabling precision chemical methodologies applied to natural-based systems for the development of multifunctional biomedical devices" (2017/06/05 - 2017/06/09) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2016/11/21 - 2016/11/25	Chem2Nature CHEM2NATURE First School - European Horizon 2020 Twinning project (2016/11/21 - 2016/11/25) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2016/10/27 - 2016/10/28	TERM STEM 2016 (2016/10/26 - 2016/10/28) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2016/10/24 - 2016/10/28	Gene2Skin International Twinning Conferences (2016/10/24 - 2016/10/28) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2016/04/26 - 2016/04/28	5th Portuguese Young Chemists Meeting (5th PYCheM)/ 1st Portuguese Meeting of Young Chemists (PYCheM) (2016/04/26 - 2016/04/28) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal
2015/07/02 - 2015/07/04	TERM STEM 2015 (2015/07/02 - 2015/07/04) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2019/01/19 - 2019/01/19	Comunicar ciência num Pub \| PubhD - STOL (speaker) Other	STOL-Science Through - Comunicação e divulgação de ciência do Departamento de Biologia da Universidade do Minho Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Association member

	Society Organization name	Role
2018 - 2020	PhDynamics Initiative	Founder and Leader

Committee member

	Activity description Role	Institution / Organization
2016 - 2018	European Young Chemists Network (EYCN) \| Young Chemists of the European Chemical Society (EuChemS) \| Member of the Portuguese Executive Board Member	European Young Chemists Network, Belgium
2016 - 2018	Portuguese Young Chemists group (GQJ) Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ) \| board member Member	Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, Portugal

Mentoring / Tutoring

	Topic	Student name
2025/11 - Current	Development of biomaterial-based vehicles for the delivery of secretome fractions to the CNS regions affected by multiple sclerosis and ischemic stroke (mentor)	Yujun Zeng (PhD student)
2024/03 - Current	Injectable supramolecular hydrogels and microfabricated patches for the controlled release of secretome/extracellular vesicles fractions for cardiac regeneration (mentor)	Annalisa Pieroli (PhD student)
2024/09 - 2025/12	Supramolecular hydrogels using peptide- glycan building blocks that mimic the brain’s extracellular microenvironment (mentor)	Carolina Amorim (MSc)
2019/09/01 - 2025/04/29	Supramolecular unidirectional assemblies at different length scales for biomedical applications	Vania Castro (PhD student)
2023/09 - 2024/12	Development of an in vitro 3D model of a Glioblastoma (mentor)	Fabiana Andrade (MSc)

Other jury / evaluation

	Activity description	Institution / Organization
2016/04/29 - 2016/04/29	Portuguese Young Chemists Award (PYCA)	Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, Portugal 3B's Research Group, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Distinctions

Award

2021	Prémio Jovem Biofísico SPBf 2021 Sociedade Portuguesa de Biofísica (SPBf), Portugal
2021	IACOBUS Scientific Publications Award as author of the paper: Vescalagin and castalagin rescue cell viability through the inhibition of amyloid-beta fibrillization IACOBUS Program , Spain
2017	PhD scholarship in the Doctoral Programme in Advanced Therapies for Health (PATH) Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (Norte 2020), Portugal
2017	Predoctoral grant from the IACOBUS Program, at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CIQUS), University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain Programa IACOBUS, Spain