Bruno José Ferreira Freitas (2714-BE17-AD05)

Curriculum Vitae

Bruno José Ferreira Freitas

Bruno Freitas, a 24 year old researcher in Life Sciences, currently works at ICVS in Universidade do Minho. In 2021, he completed his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry at Universidade do Minho. In addition to his curricular duties, he was also actively engaged in academic projects and volunteering initiatives, notably as a member of the Núcleo de Estudantes de Bioquímica da Universidade do Minho (NEBQUM), where he held various roles throughout his two mandates including Vice-President of the General Assembly Table, President of the Fiscal and Jurisdictional Council and President of the Communication and Image department. Additionally, he volunteered for the Experiment@Ciência project, organizing hands-on scientific activities for children aged 6 to 10. For his bachelor’s final project, he collaborated with ICVS to study the potential of the anti-depressant Vortioxetine as therapy for Machado-Joseph neurological disease, under the supervision of Andreia Castro, achieving a final grade of 19 out of 20. He also undertook a 2-month internship at ICVS to continue the work he had developed in his project before starting a master’s program. During this time he also participated in hosting high school students in the lab as part of University of Minho’s "Verão no Campus”, demonstrating C.elegans drug screening assays. Towards his goal in a research career, in 2024, he earned his master’s degree in Health Sciences at ICVS, focusing on the problematic of resistance in malaria with the project: defining dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine resistance pathways in the malaria parasite, under the supervision of Isabel Veiga, for a final 19 out of 20 thesis grade. During this time, he tutored two medical students, and integrated several studies ongoing in the lab including two granted international research projects (ESCMID and MESCyT). This led to a fourth-authorship in a peer-reviewed article at Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease (IF=12), three poster presentations and a seminar at the annual Health Sciences Bioinformatics advanced course. With the desire to continue in malaria research, presently he is furthering his thesis work at ICVS, during which he has already delivered a second seminar at the Bioinformatics advanced course, further communicated his science through two other poster presentations, participated in The Scientist’s “What’s your story” scientific news article competition and collaborated in organizing outreach activities of the team, with the latest being for students of Colégio Teresiano under the theme “DNA technology”.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Bruno José Ferreira Freitas
Date of birth: 2000/05/27
Gender: Male

Citation names

Freitas, Bruno

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 2714-BE17-AD05

Email addresses

brunojffreitas20@gmail.com (Professional)

Telephones

Mobile phone

925544501 (Personal)

Addresses

Av. dos Bombeiros Voluntários nº96 2ºDto, 4830-514, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Portugal (Personal)

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2021/09/06 - 2024/01/16 Concluded	Masters in Health Sciences (Mestrado) Major in Health Sciences Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal ""Defining dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine resistance pathways in the malaria parasite" Grade: 19/20" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	18,2
2023/04/06 - 2023/04/28 Concluded	Cell functional and phenotypical analysis: the usefulness of flow cytometry and related tools (Especialização pós-licenciatura) Major in Health Sciences Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	15
2022/02/03 - 2022/02/18 Concluded	Laboratory Animal Sciences (Especialização pós-licenciatura) Major in Health Sciences Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	16
2021/06/29 - 2021/08/03 Concluded	Traineeship in neurociencies (Outros) Major in Neurociencies Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2021/05/03 - 2021/06/29 Concluded	Bachelor's final project (Biochemistry) (Outros) Major in Neurociences Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal	19
2018/09/10 - 2021/06/29 Concluded	Bachelor's in Biochemistry (Licenciatura) Universidade do Minho, Portugal	14,4

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2024/01/16 - Current	Researcher (Research)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2022/03/02 - 2022/04/02	Research Trainee (Research)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
	Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal (...)
2021/11/05 - 2022/01/24	Research Trainee (Research)	Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal
	Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal (...)
2021/06/29 - 2021/08/03	Research Trainee (Research)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2021/05/03 - 2021/06/29	Research Trainee (Research)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
	Laboratório Associado ICVS 3B's, Portugal (...)

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2023/11/20 - Current	Strengthen malaria elimination efforts in Dominican Republic applying advance molecular tools 2018-2019-2A5-252 Researcher Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo Facultad Ciencias de la Salud, Dominican Republic	Ministerio de Educación Superior Ciencia y Tecnología Ongoing
2021/11/05 - 2023/02/28	Defining dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine resistance pathways in the malaria parasite ESCMID_2021 Researcher Universidade do Minho, Portugal	European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Concluded

Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract	Velosa da Fonseca, Beatriz; Baptista, Vitória; Freitas, Bruno; Osório, Nuno S.; Veiga, Maria Isabel. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Red Fluorescent & Luminescent Malaria Parasites: A Novel Tool for High-Throughput Gametocidal Drug Screening". Paper presented in VII iBiMED Symposium, Aveiro, 2024. Submitted
Conference poster	Baptista, Vitória; Cora Rey-Souto; Silva, Miguel; Anahir Franco; Freitas, Bruno; Catarino, Susana; Vizoso-Vázquez, Angel; Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Deep into the proteomic network of Plasmodium falciparum's lipocalin". Paper presented in XXII National Congress of Biochemistry, 2024. Baptista, Vitória; Silva, Miguel; Freitas, Bruno; Catarino, Susana; Vizoso-Vázquez, Angel; Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Deep into the proteomic network of hemozoin formation in the malaria parasite". Paper presented in FEBS 3+ Meeting Exploring Molecular Frontiers, 2024. Margarida Ferreira; Freitas, Bruno; Baptista, Vitória; Pinho, Diana; Minas, Graça; Veiga, Maria Isabel; Faustino, Vera; Susana O. Catarino. "Nanocarrier-based microfluidic system for characterization of malaria infected-cells". Paper presented in Encontro Ciência 2024, 2024. Velosa da Fonseca, Beatriz; Baptista, Vitória; Pernaute-Lau, Leyre; Calçada, Carla; Freitas, Bruno; Osório, Nuno S.; Maria Isabel Mendes Veiga. Corresponding author: Maria Isabel Mendes Veiga. "Enginnering a Transgenic Human Malaria Parasite Reporter Line for Multistage Drug Screening". Paper presented in 2nd Edition "Malária nos PALOP" Conference (2024), 2024. Freitas, Bruno; Veiga, Maria Isabel. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Methods in Molecular biology: CRISPR-engineered drug-resistant human malaria parasites". Paper presented in Semana da Ciência e Inovação (SCI), 2024. Freitas, Bruno; Fonseca, Beatriz; Veiga, Maria Isabel. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Engineering Resistance: Using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to generate drug-resistant human malaria parasites". Paper presented in Jornadas Ibéricas da Genética e da Biotecnologia, 2024. Velosa da Fonseca, Beatriz; Freitas, Bruno; Baptista, Vitória; Osório, Nuno S.; Veiga, Maria Isabel. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Engineering Human Malaria Parasites for Highthroughput Gametocidal Drug Screening". Paper presented in XVI Jornadas Ibéricas de Genética e Biotecnologia, 2024. Federo, Claudia; Baptista, Vitória; Freitas, Bruno; Osório, Nuno S.; Veiga, Maria Isabel. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Enhancing malaria elimination strategies in the Dominican Republic: Evaluating rapid diagnostic test accuracy and unraveling parasite genetic diversity". Paper presented in UMinho Research & Innovation Open Days, 2024. Freitas, Bruno; Veiga, Maria Isabel. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "The CRISPR-Cas9 system as a tool for genetic engineering in the malaria parasite". Paper presented in IV Chemical & Biological Engineering Doctoral Symposium Innovation in chemical and biological engineering: Advancing science and industry, 2023. Federo, Claudia; Francisco Cuevas; Miguel, Isaac; Baptista, Vitória; Mariagiulia Conte; Freitas, Bruno; Osório, Nuno S.; Modesto Cruz; Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Assessing malaria rapid diagnostic test accuracy and genetic diversity in the Dominican Republic: Implications for elimination efforts". Paper presented in ICVS retreat, 2023.
Journal article	Casanova, Daniela; Baptista, Vitória; Costa, Magda; Freitas, Bruno; Pereira, Maria das Neves Imaculada; Calçada, Carla; Mota, Paula; et al. Corresponding author: Veiga, Maria Isabel. "Artemisinin resistance-associated gene mutations in Plasmodium falciparum: A case study of severe malaria from Mozambique". Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease 57 (2023): 102684. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2023.102684. Published • 10.1016/j.tmaid.2023.102684

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2024/02/14	Presentation in the Bioinformatics Advanced Master Course of the Masters in Health Sciences focused on in silico plasmid design softwares, practical demonstration of the in silico design of plasmids for allelic exchange using the CRISPR-Cas9 system and it's application in malaria research.	Bioinformática das Ciências da Saúde ICVS - Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (Braga, Portugal)
2023/02/07	Presentation in the Bioinformatics Advanced Master Course of the Masters in Health Sciences focused on the CRISPR system, its origins and applications in research and a practical demonstration of the in silico design of a CRISPR-Cas9 mediated nucleotide substitution.	Bioinformática das Ciências da Saúde ICVS - Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (Braga, Portugal)

Supervision

	Thesis Title Role	Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2024/04/22 - 2024/06/14	Entender a função biológica do transportador PfMRP1 na resistência a fármacos pelo parasita da malária Co-supervisor of Ana Sofia Cruz Guedes	Bioquímica (Degree) Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2024/11/25 - 2024/11/27	From molecule to drug (2024/11/25 - 2024/11/27) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2024/03/20 - 2024/03/20	Tour of ICVS's facilities to students of Colégio Teresiano and practical exhibition of DNA manipulation techniques. (2024/03/20 - 2024/03/20) Exhibition (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2021/07/21 - 2021/07/21	Drug assay exhibition using C.elegans as an animal model with students enrolled in University of Minho's "Verão no Campus" activity. (2021/07/21 - 2021/07/21) Exhibition (Other)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2021/05/15 - 2021/05/15	Speed meeting with Master courses from University of Minho, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, University of Coimbra, University of Porto, University of Lisboa and University of Algarve. (2021/05/15 - 2021/05/15) Meeting (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2021/05/10 - 2021/05/10	First aid training (in partnership with V.O.U. association) (2021/05/10 - 2021/05/10) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2021/04/08 - 2021/04/12	Jornadas da Ciência III: O caminho para o futuro (2021/04/08 - 2021/04/12) Other (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2021/03/01 - 2021/03/01	Workshop "Como ter um killer CV & LinkedIn?" (in partnership with Spark Agency) (2021/03/01 - 2021/03/01) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/12/22 - 2020/12/22	Volunteer in the collection of goods (food, hygiene products and clothes) for Instituto Monsenhor Airosa. (2020/11/05 - 2020/11/05)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/11/19 - 2020/11/19	Workshop in nervousness in public speaking and interviews (in a partnership with Speak and Lead) (2020/11/19 - 2020/11/19) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/11/12 - 2020/11/12	Workshop for communication in video-call interviews (in a partnership with Speak and Lead) (2020/11/12 - 2020/11/12) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/11/11 - 2020/11/11	Workshop for communication in interviews (in a partnership with Speak and Lead) (2020/11/11 - 2020/11/11) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/10/28 - 2020/11/05	Mendeley workshop for Biochemistry Bachelor students (2020/11/05 - 2020/11/05) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/03/11 - 2020/03/15	Jornadas da Ciência II: Exponencia o teu conhecimento (Event cancelled 2 days before starting due to the Covid-19 pandemic) (2020/03/11 - 2020/03/15) Other (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/01/10 - 2020/01/10	Volunteer in the Experiment@Ciência project organized by Sciencia.com.pt at the Lúcio Craveiro da Silva Library. This project is dedicated to carrying out hands-on scientific activities for children between the ages of 6 and 10. (2020/01/10 - 2020/01/10) Exhibition (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2019/01/08 - 2019/01/08	Volunteer in the Experiment@Ciência project organized by Sciencia.com.pt at the Lúcio Craveiro da Silva Library. This project is dedicated to carrying out hands-on scientific activities for children between the ages of 6 and 10. (2019/01/08 - 2019/01/08) Exhibition (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2024/03/13 - 2024/03/15	Participation in "Jornadas Ibéricas da Genética e da Biotecnologia", an annual scientific event organized by both students and teachers of Genetics and Biotechnology, together with students and teachers from the University of León, Spain. Symposium	Jornadas Ibéricas da Genética e da Biotecnologia Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
2024/02/29 - 2024/02/29	Participation in The Scientist's "What's your story?" science communication contest. The Scientist¿s writing competition provided senior scientists, graduate students, research associates, and lab managers the opportunity to write science stories/news and sharpen their science communication skills. The 2024 edition of the The Scientist¿'s "What's your story?" contest invited contestants to write an article shedding light on a recent paper and scientific advance in an area of their choice. Other	What's your story? Thermo Fisher Scientific Villebon, France
2023/09/20 - 2023/09/21	Participation in CBEDS - Chemical and Biological Engineering Doctoral Symposium is organized by the students of the Doctoral Programme in Chemical and Biological Engineering of the University of Minho. The 2023 event celebrated the 4th edition, and follows the theme "INNOVATION IN CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING: ADVANCING SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY", focusing on the contribution of chemical and biological engineering to four fields of biotechnology: health, food, environmental, and industrial biotechnology. Symposium	IV Chemical & Biological Engineering Doctoral Symposium Innovation in chemical and biological engineering: Advancing science and industry Universidade do Minho Centro de Engenharia Biológica, Portugal
2021/07/06 - 2021/07/06	Participation in seminar: "Using C. elegans to Monitor Proteostasis" Seminar	Seminário: "Using C. elegans to Monitor Proteostasis" MyJoVE Corporation, United States
2021/04/09 - 2021/04/09	Participation in workshop: "Descoberta e desenvolvimento de fármacos: corrida de 100m ou maratona com estafetas" Workshop	Jornadas da Ciência III- O Caminho para o Futuro Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2021/04/08 - 2021/04/08	Participation in workshop: "Development of 3D culture systems for in vitro study of tumour pathophysiology" Workshop	Jornadas da Ciência III- O Caminho para o Futuro Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2019/03/11 - 2019/03/15	Jornadas da Ciência I: Concentra o teu conhecimento Symposium	Jornadas da Ciência I- Concentra o Conhecimento Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2019/03/12 - 2019/03/12	Participation in workshop: "Do laboratório para o mundo: Porque é importante comunicar ciência" Workshop	Jornadas da Ciência I- Concentra o Conhecimento Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2019/03/11 - 2019/03/11	Participation in the workshop: "Células Fotovoltaicas de corante". Workshop	Jornadas da Ciência I: Concentra o teu conhecimento Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2018/07/23 - 2018/07/27	Participation in Verão no Campus: "Química sob investigação".	Verão no Campus: "Química sob investigação" Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Association member

	Society Organization name	Role
2020/12/10 - 2021/12/10	Núcleo de Estudantes de Bioquímica da Universidade do Minho (NEBQUM)	President of the Fiscal and Jurisdictional Council
2020/12/10 - 2021/12/10	Núcleo de Estudantes de Bioquímica da Universidade do Minho (NEBQUM)	President of the Communication and Image department
2019/11/08 - 2020/12/10	Núcleo de Estudantes de Bioquímica da Universidade do Minho (NEBQUM)	Vice-President of the General Assembly
2019/12/10 - 2019/12/10	Núcleo de Estudantes de Bioquímica da Universidade do Minho (NEBQUM)	Member of the Communication and Image department

Course / Discipline taught

	Academic session	Degree Subject (Type)	Institution / Organization
2024/11/08 - 2024/11/08	Practical session I: Basic techniques in microbiology and immunology	Principles of Immunology (Master's in Biomedicine) (Mestrado)	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Interview (newspaper / magazine)

	Activity description	Newspaper / Forum
2014/04/14	Interview for Secundária da Póvoa de Lanhoso's newspaper "Preto no Branco" after winning the António Celestino Literary Contest	Preto no Branco

Mentoring / Tutoring

	Topic	Student name
2023/09/04 - 2024/07/17	Tutor of Diego Pacheco in his Integrated masters in Medicine project titled "Understanding the role of MDR1 in P.falciparum"	Diego Pacheco
2022/11/02 - 2024/06/11	Tutor of Oduwave Kehinde during his 4 internships at ICVS as part of his Integrated Master in Medicine program titled ¿Understanding the role of MRP2 in P.falciparum".	Oduwave Kehinde

Distinctions

Award

2017	Aluno de Excelência
2016	Aluno de Excelência
2015	3º lugar no Concurso Literário António Celestino
2015	Aluno de Excelência
2014	1º lugar no Concurso Literário António Celestino
2014	Aluno de Excelência
2013	Aluno de Excelência
2012	Aluno de Excelência

Other distinction

2015	Passed with Merit in the Key English Test
2014	Passed with Distinction in the Key English Test