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Maria Mendes successfully completed her master's degree in Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Coimbra (UC), achieving an impressive final grade of 18/20. Her exceptional academic performance in the master's program earned her a merit scholarship. Maria's journey into scientific research began in 2016 when she became involved in a research project (PTDC/CTM-NAN/2658/2014) conducted within the Macromolecules, Colloids, and Photochemistry group at CQC. She is also actively involved in cell culture studies and laboratory animal manipulation. In 2022, she completed her Ph.D. with a thesis entitled “Hybrid nanoparticles as a multifunctional platform for brain tumor therapy”, where she developed a hybrid nanosystem composed of lipid and gold nanoparticles to tackle glioblastoma. During her Ph.D. work plan, she had the opportunity to deepen her academic and research experience by becoming a visiting student at the University of Navarra in Pamplona under the supervision of Professor María Blanco-Prieto. This collaboration allowed her to focus on a specific aspect of her work plan 2D models of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In 2022, MM integrated the research team of two projects (a research grant in the project n.º UIDB/00313/2020 and a research grant in the project n.º CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-181224) aiming to explore innovative approaches for drug delivery using solid lipid nanoparticles. The latter aimed at promoting the transition from a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 to a TRL5 by performing additional in vivo studies, and she took the opportunity to evaluate the preclinical therapeutic efficacy of a lipid nanocarrier previously developed by the group. In 2023, MM obtained a post-doctoral research fellowship integrated in the FCT project 2022.06174.PTDC, highlighting her continued commitment to advancing research. This project is a valuable opportunity to collaborate with several international experts in the field of nanomaterials, deepen her knowledge, and expand her network in the area. She was also awarded a short-term scientific mission (STSM, 2023) grant, which allowed her to collaborate with Professor Alessandro Quattrone's research group at the University of Trento. During this enriching experience, she gained significant insights into working with primary cells (human glioblastoma-derived cancer stem cells) and organoids (human patient-derived cells), expanding her skill set and knowledge base in this field. This experience will significantly contribute to her ongoing research work and foster meaningful collaborations within the scientific community. Throughout her academic and research journey, Maria has also actively mentored master's students since 2016. Over the past seven years, she has gained extensive experience working with rodents, particularly in inoculating tumor cells and administering different formulations for glioblastoma research. Maria's contributions to the field are remarkable. She has authored 8 book chapters and 20 scientific articles (13 as first author), which have been cited 427 times (h-index of 11) by international researchers. Additionally, she has presented her research in 20-panel communications at scientific meetings. She co-authored two international patents (WO2021111364), one of which directly resulted from her PhD work (PCT/IB2023/060125). Her dedication to research and innovation is evident in her contributions to the field of pharmaceutical technology. Maria is currently a member of The European Association for Cancer Research. Notably, Maria's article titled "Targeted Theranostic Nanoparticles for Brain Tumor Treatment," authored by her and her team, was distinguished as the best article by MDPI, showcasing the recognition and excellence of her research contributions. In 2024, the International Association for Pharmaceutical Technology (APV) awarded her PhD thesis as the most outstanding doctoral thesis in the pharmaceutical sciences in the years 2022/2023.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Maria Manuel Feliciano da Costa Mendes

Citation names

  • Mendes, Maria

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
511E-73FA-CAEB
ORCID iD
0000-0003-3696-4517

Email addresses

  • mmendes@ff.uc.pt (Professional)

Websites

Knowledge fields

  • Engineering and Technology - Nano-technology
  • Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology - Technologies Involving the Manipulation of Cells, Tissues, Organs or the Whole Organism

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1)
English Upper intermediate (B2) Upper intermediate (B2) Upper intermediate (B2) Upper intermediate (B2)
Education
Degree Classification
2024/11/18 - 2024/11/22
Concluded
 5th FLxFlow Course - Principles and Applications of Flow Cytometry (Outros)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal

Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, Portugal
2017/09/01 - 2022/11/04
Concluded
 Ciências Farmacêuticas (Doutoramento)
Major in Tecnologia Farmacêutica
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
"Theranostic nanoparticles as a multifunctional platform for brain tumor therapy" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2022/04 - 2022/06
Concluded
 Curso de Formação de Análise Estatística e Multivariada em R: aplicações em sistemas com vários componentes (Outros)
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Química de Coimbra, Portugal
2017/10 - 2017/11
Concluded
 Quimiometria (Curso de doutoramento (conclusão de unidades curriculares))
Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Química, Portugal
2017 - 2017
Concluded
 Modular Structure Training in Laboratory Animal Science - Categoria B (Outros)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
2017 - 2017
Concluded
 Estatística (Outros)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
2016 - 2017
Attended
 Extracurricular courses - Pharmaceutical Technology I, II, III (Curso de doutoramento (conclusão de unidades curriculares))
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
 15
2016
Concluded
 Tecnologias do Medicamento (Mestrado)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
""Lipid Nanoparticles as a versatile system for drug administration"" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 18
2015/06/02 - 2015/06/06
Concluded
 Cell Culture: Theoretical – Practical Course (Outros)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
2014
Concluded
 Química Medicinal (Licenciatura)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal
""Nanopartículas Lipídicas para administração transdérmica e oral de fármacos"" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 14
Affiliation

Others

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2023/07/24 - Current Research grant 2022.06174.PTDC Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2016/09 - Current Collaboration in the supervision of ungraduated, master and PhD students Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2023/08/20 - 2023/11/20 Visiting researcher Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology - CIBIO, Italy
Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology - CIBIO, Italy
2022/12/16 - 2023/05/15 Research grant CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-181224 Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2022/05/15 - 2022/11/16 Research grant UIDB/00313/2020 Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Química de Coimbra, Portugal
2018/05/01 - 2018/06/30 Visiting researcher Universidad de Navarra, Spain
Clínica Universidad de Navarra Cancer Center, Spain
2016/09/05 - 2017/09/05 Research grant in the project n.º 016648 (Ref. PTDC/CTM-NAN/2658/2014). Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2022/05/15 - Current Desenvolvimento de transportadores lipídicos nanoestruturados
UIDB/00313/2020
Research Fellow
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Química de Coimbra, Portugal
 Universidade de Coimbra
Ongoing
2022/12/16 - 2023/05 NANOLIP
CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-181224
Research Fellow
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal

Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, Portugal
European Regional Development Fund
Ongoing
2017/09/01 - 2021/08/31 Targeted theranostic nanoparticles for brain tumor treatment
SFRH/BD/133996/2017
COVID/BD/152172/2021
PhD Student Fellow
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded

Contract

Designation Funders
2023/03/12 - 2026/03/11 Interação calcitonina-receptor promovida por nanopartículas guiadas por péptidos como uma nova abordagem para tratamento de glioblastoma
2022.06174.PTDC
10.54499/2022.06174.PTDC
Research Fellow
Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2023/01 - 2023/06 3BBBioprinting
PT0051.B.04.C
Researcher
Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
 Universidade de Coimbra

Banco Santander Portugal
Ongoing
2016/07/01 - 2019/06/30 Co-encapsulação em transportadores lipídicos nanoestruturados como uma plataforma multifuncional para o tratamento de tumores cerebrais
PTDC/CTM-NAN/2658/2014
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
Outputs

Publications

Book chapter
  1. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Ferreira, Maria; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Recent in vitro Models for the Blood-Brain Barrier". In Nanoparticles for Brain Drug Delivery, 383-405. Jenny Stanford Publishing, 2021.
    10.1201/9781003119326-15
  2. Mendes, Maria; Silva, Jessica; Basso, João; Vitorino, Carla. "Hybrid Nanosystems Composed by Lipid and Polymer Materials". In Functional Lipid Nanosystems in Cancer, 307-347. Jenny Stanford Publishing, 2021.
    10.1201/9781003056997-12
  3. Basso, João; Silva, Jessica; Mendes, Maria; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Cell Membrane-Mimetic Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment: What Has Been Done So Far?". In Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer Treatment, 75-103. Jenny Stanford Publishing, 2020.
    10.1201/9780429341250-4
  4. Silva, Jessica; Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Tailoring drug and gene codelivery nanosystems for glioblastoma treatment". In Advances and Avenues in the Development of Novel Carriers for Bioactives and Biological Agents, 141-182. Elsevier, 2020.
    10.1016/b978-0-12-819666-3.00005-5
  5. Mendes, Maria. "Polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles as an anticancer drug delivery platform". In In Functional lipid nanosystems in cancer... Singapore: Pan Stanford Publishing and CRC Press (Taylor & Francis), 2020.
    Accepted
  6. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Fortuna, Ana; Vitorino, Rui; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Nanotechnological approaches in cancer". In Drug Repurposing in Cancer Therapy, 353-393. Elsevier, 2020.
    10.1016/b978-0-12-819668-7.00014-2
  7. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Fortuna, Ana; Vitorino, Rui; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Chapter 15: Nanotechnological approaches in cancer: the role of Celecoxib and Disulfiram.". In Drug Repurposing in Cancer Therapy: Approaches and Applications. Elsevier, 2020.
    Published
  8. Mendes, Maria; Barone, Antonella; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Gold Nanorods as Theranostic Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy". In Nanotheranostics, 363-404. Springer International Publishing, 2019.
    10.1007/978-3-030-29768-8_16
  9. Mendes, Maria; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Clinical applications of nanostructured drug delivery systems". In Core-Shell Nanostructures for Drug Delivery and Theranostics, 43-116. Elsevier, 2018.
    10.1016/b978-0-08-102198-9.00004-1
Conference paper
  1. Mendes, Maria; Basso, João; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Designing ultra-small nanostructured lipid carriers: critical process parameters". 2020.
    10.3390/iecp2020-08691
Conference poster
  1. Mendes, Maria; Vitorino, Carla; Nunes, Sandra; Cova, Tânia F. G. G.; Alberto A. C. C. Pais. "Surface matters: The delivery dilemma using lipid nanoparticles in glioblastoma". Paper presented in RICIX- 10th Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces, 2024.
  2. Francisco Miguel Rasteiro Branco. "Artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical world-quo vadis: envisioning the future". Paper presented in XVth Spanish-Portuguese Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery, 2024.
  3. Joana Figueiredo. "Bio-enabling Technologies for Amorphous Solid Dispersions". Paper presented in XVth Spanish-Portuguese Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery, 2024.
  4. Mendes, Maria. "Design of a multimodal chemo-thermal therapy for glioblastoma". Paper presented in EUFEPS Annual Meeting Conference Series, 2023.
  5. Joana Figueiro. "Enabling Technologies for Amorphous Solid Dispersions". Paper presented in 4th SPLC-CRS Young Scientists Meeting, 2023.
  6. Patricia Rasteiro. "Hybrid nanoparticles as a multifunctional platform for brain tumor therapy". Paper presented in 4th SPLC-CRS Young Scientists Meeting, 2023.
  7. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Cova, Tânia; Nunes, Sandra; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Solid Lipid Based Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery". Paper presented in Delivery of RNA Therapeutics, Final DARTER Meeting, 2023.
  8. "Taking the most out of lipids: A systematic design of lipid-based nanoparticles". Paper presented in 1st Advances in Polymeric Micelles for therapeutic applications, 2022, 2022.
  9. Mendes, Maria; Carla Sofia Pinheiro Vitorino; Alberto António Caria Canelas Pais; João José Sousa. Corresponding author: Carla Sofia Pinheiro Vitorino. "Demystifying the passage through the blood-brain barrier using CPPs". Paper presented in 1st Advances in Polymeric Micelles for therapeutic applications, 2022, 2022.
  10. Mendes, Maria; Arnaut, Luis G.; Vale, Nuno; Sousa, João José; Alberto António Caria Canelas Pais; Vitorino, Carla. "CPPs for rerouting nanoparticles in glioblastoma treatment". Paper presented in Coimbra Chemistry Centre Day 2021, Coimbra, Portugal, 2021.
  11. Cova, Tânia Firmino Guerra Guerreiro da; Mendes, Maria; Basso, João; Maria Luísa Ramos; Vitorino, Rui; João José Sousa; Alberto António Caria Canelas Pais; Carla Sofia Pinheiro Vitorino. "Computational design of peptide-carbohydrate conjugates to improve drug recognition and tumor targeting". Paper presented in International Symposium on Biomedical Engineering and Computational Biology, 2021.
  12. Mendes, Maria. "Unveiling the potential of CPPs in rerouting nanoparticles to glioblastoma treatment". Paper presented in 2021 Controlled Release Society (CRS) Virtual Annual Meeting, 2021.
  13. Mendes, Maria. "Machine learning for establishing the bridge between formulation design and performance in glioblastoma". Paper presented in 3rd SPLC-CRS Young Scientist Virtual Meeting, 2021., 2021.
  14. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Silva, Jessica; Cova, Tânia; Alberto, Pais; Vitorino, Carla. "Machine learning for establishing the bridge between formulation design and performance in glioblastoma: do outcomes differ?". Paper presented in RSC Chemical Science Symposium 2020: How can machine learning and autonomy accelerate chemistry?, 2020.
  15. Carla Sofia Pinheiro Vitorino. "Lipid nanoparticles in drug delivery: What have we learned so far?". Paper presented in 8th Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces: RICI 8, 2019.
  16. Mendes, Maria. "Erythrocyte membrane stealth nanoparticles: a Taguchi optimization study". Paper presented in 1st Annual Meeting in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Coimbra, Portugal, 2019.
  17. Hernández, Margarita; Recio, Gonzalo; Sevilla, Paz; Torres-Costa, Vicente; García-Ramos, José V.; Domingo, Concepción; Martín-Palma, Raúl J. J.. "Serinol-based nanostructured lipid nanoparticles for glioblastoma treatment". Paper presented in 1st Annual Meeting in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2019.
  18. Mendes, Maria. "Erythrocyte membrane-coated nanoparticles: a biomimeting optimization study by experimental design". Paper presented in Okinawa Colloids 2019, 2019.
  19. Mendes, Maria. "Unstructured formulation data analysis for the optimization of lipid nanoparticle drug delivery vehicles". Paper presented in 688th International Conference on Medical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences (ICMBPS), 2019.
  20. Mendes, Maria. "Simvastatin loaded chitosan coated NLC topical films as acoadjuvant treatment of melanoma skin lesions". Paper presented in 3rd European Conference on Pharmaceutics, 2019.
  21. Mendes, Maria. "Expanding Transdermal Delivery with Lipid Nanoparticles: A New Drug-in-NLC-in-Adhesive Design (PC-115, p.171)". Paper presented in XII Spanish-Portuguese Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery, 2018.
  22. Mendes, Maria. "Modeling of nanoparticle surface charge for targeting glioblastoma (PC-62, p.118)". Paper presented in XII Spanish-Portuguese Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery, Coimbra, 2018.
  23. Cova, Tânia Firmino Guerra Guerreiro da; Mendes, Maria; Pais, Alberto A. C. C.; Sousa, João J.; Vitorino, Carla; Miranda, Alexandra. "Modeling of nanoparticle surface charge for targeting glioblastoma". Paper presented in XII Spanish-Portuguese Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery, 2018.
  24. Zhigilei, Leonid V.. "Molecular dynamics simulations on glioblastoma: Blood brain barrier mimicry and interactions with chemotherapeutic drugs". Paper presented in VII Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces (RICI7), 2017.
    10.1364/fio.2016.ff3f.1
  25. Mendes, Maria. "Serine based gemini lipid nanoparticles for glioblastoma treatment (P-25)". Paper presented in VII Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces (RICI7), 2017.
  26. Mendes, Maria. "Serine based gemini lipid nanoparticles for glioblastoma treatment (P59, p.95)". Paper presented in 21st International Symposium on Microencapsulation, Faro, Portugal, 2017.
  27. Sousa, João J.; Mendes, Maria; Cova, Tânia Firmino Guerra Guerreiro da; Vitorino, Carla; Pais, Alberto A. C. C.. "Modeling of nanoparticle surface charge for glioblastoma treatment". Paper presented in 13th International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, 2017.
  28. Miranda, Alexandra; Mendes, Maria; Cova, Tânia Firmino Guerra Guerreiro da; Sousa, João J.; Vitorino, Carla; Pais, Alberto A. C. C.. "Serine based gemini lipid nanoparticles for glioblastoma treatment". Paper presented in VII Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces, 2017.
  29. Mendes, Maria. "Do lipid nanoparticles modulate gut absorption?". Paper presented in 8th Training School on Microencapsulation, 2016.
  30. Mendes, Maria. "Tableting of nanostructured lipid carriers for oral drug delivery". Paper presented in III Simpósio de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia Biomédica – Nano2016.pt, Lisboa, 2016.
  31. Mendes, Maria. "Development of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) by factorial design". Paper presented in III Simpósio de Nanociência e Nanotecnologia Biomédica – Nano2016.pt, Lisboa, 2016.
  32. Cui, Jianguo; Wei, Yunlong; Wang, Hong. "Does drug-in-nanoparticles-in-adhesive systems enhance transdermal drug delivery? (P58)". Paper presented in XXIV Encontro Nacional da Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, Coimbra, 2015.
    10.1109/iccme.2007.4381938
Journal article
  1. Silva, Ana C.Q.; Mendes, Maria; Vitorino, Carla; Montejo, Unai; Alonso-Varona, Ana; Silvestre, Armando J.D.; Vilela, Carla; Freire, Carmen S.R.. "Trilayered nanocellulose-based patches loaded with acyclovir and hyaluronic acid for the treatment of herpetic lesions". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 277 (2024): 133843. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133843.
    10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133843
  2. Branco, Francisco; Cunha, Joana; Mendes, Maria; Vitorino, Carla; Sousa, João J.. "Peptide-Hitchhiking for the Development of Nanosystems in Glioblastoma". ACS Nano 18 26 (2024): 16359-16394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c01790.
    10.1021/acsnano.4c01790
  3. Figueiredo, Joana; Mendes, Maria; Pais, Alberto; Sousa, João; Vitorino, Carla. "Microfluidics-on-a-chip for designing celecoxib-based amorphous solid dispersions: when the process shapes the product". Drug Delivery and Translational Research (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13346-024-01633-7.
    10.1007/s13346-024-01633-7
  4. Mendes, Maria; Nunes, Sandra; Cova, Tânia; Branco, Francisco; Dyrks, Michael; Koksch, Beate; Vale, Nuno; et al. "Charge-switchable cell-penetrating peptides for rerouting nanoparticles to glioblastoma treatment". Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (2024): 113983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113983.
    In press • 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113983
  5. Ana Sofia Morais; Maria Mendes; Marta Agostinho Cordeiro; João J. Sousa; Alberto Canelas Pais; Silvia M. Mihaila; Carla Vitorino. "Organ-on-a-Chip: Ubi sumus? Fundamentals and Design Aspects". Pharmaceutics (2024): https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16050615.
    10.3390/pharmaceutics16050615
  6. Mendes, Maria; Branco, Francisco; Vitorino, Rui; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "A two-pronged approach against glioblastoma: drug repurposing and nanoformulation design for in situ-controlled release". Drug Delivery and Translational Research (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13346-023-01379-8.
    10.1007/s13346-023-01379-8
  7. Maria Mendes; JJ Sousa; Alberto Pais; Carla Vitorino. "Can Celecoxib Assay in Preclinical Studies Be Improved?". Processes (2023): https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/11/2/431.
    10.3390/pr11020431
  8. Basso, João; Maria Mendes; Cova, T.F.G.G.; João Sousa; Alberto Pais; Ana Fortuna; Vitorino, R.; Carla Vitorino. "A Stepwise Framework for the Systematic Development of Lipid Nanoparticles". Biomolecules (2022): https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/12/2/223.
    10.3390/biom12020223
  9. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Silva, Jessica; Cova, Tânia; Luque-Michel, Edurne; Jorge, Andreia F.; Grijalvo, Santiago; et al. "Sorting hidden patterns in nanoparticle performance for glioblastoma using machine learning algorithms". International Journal of Pharmaceutics 592 (2021): 120095. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.120095.
    10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.120095
  10. Mendes, Maria; Basso, João; Silva, Jessica; Cova, Tânia; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Biomimeting ultra-small lipid nanoconstructs for glioblastoma treatment: A computationally guided experimental approach". International Journal of Pharmaceutics 587 (2020): 119661. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119661.
    10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119661
  11. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Silva, Jessica; Sereno, José; Cova, Tânia; Oliveira, Rui; Fortuna, Ana; et al. "Peptide-lipid nanoconstructs act site-specifically towards glioblastoma growth impairment". European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics (2020): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2020.08.015.
    10.1016/j.ejpb.2020.08.015
  12. Mendes, Maria; Cova, Tânia; Basso, João; Ramos, M. Luísa; Vitorino, Rui; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Hierarchical design of hyaluronic acid-peptide constructs for glioblastoma targeting: Combining insights from NMR and molecular dynamics simulations". Journal of Molecular Liquids (2020): 113774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2020.113774.
    10.1016/j.molliq.2020.113774
  13. Barone, Antonella; Mendes, Maria; Cabral, Célia; Mare, Rosario; Paolino, Donatella; Vitorino, Carla. "Hybrid Nanostructured Films for Topical Administration of Simvastatin as Coadjuvant Treatment of Melanoma". Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 108 10 (2019): 3396-3407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xphs.2019.06.002.
    10.1016/j.xphs.2019.06.002
  14. Ana, Raquel; Mendes, Maria; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Falcão, Amílcar; Fortuna, Ana; Vitorino, Carla. "Rethinking carbamazepine oral delivery using polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles". International Journal of Pharmaceutics 554 (2019): 352-365. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2018.11.028.
    10.1016/j.ijpharm.2018.11.028
  15. Mendes, Maria; Sousa, João José; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Targeted Theranostic Nanoparticles for Brain Tumor Treatment". Pharmaceutics 10 4 (2018): 181. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics10040181.
    10.3390/pharmaceutics10040181
  16. Silva, Jessica; Mendes, Maria; Cova, Tânia; Sousa, João; Pais, Alberto; Vitorino, Carla. "Unstructured Formulation Data Analysis for the Optimization of Lipid Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Vehicles". AAPS PharmSciTech 19 5 (2018): 2383-2394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1208/s12249-018-1078-0.
    10.1208/s12249-018-1078-0
  17. Mendes, Maria; Miranda, Ana; Cova, Tânia; Gonçalves, Lídia; Almeida, António J.; Sousa, João J.; do Vale, Maria L.C.; et al. "Modeling of ultra-small lipid nanoparticle surface charge for targeting glioblastoma". European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 117 (2018): 255-269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejps.2018.02.024.
    10.1016/j.ejps.2018.02.024
  18. Basso, João; Mendes, Maria; Cova, Tânia F. G. G.; Sousa, João J.; Pais, Alberto A. C. C.; Vitorino, Carla. "Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) as a multiaddressable platform for co-encapsulating drug assays". Analytical Methods 10 47 (2018): 5659-5671. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c8ay01695j.
    10.1039/c8ay01695j
  19. Mendes, M.; Nunes, S. C. C.; Sousa, J. J.; Pais, A. A. C. C.; Vitorino, C.. "Expanding Transdermal Delivery with Lipid Nanoparticles: A New Drug-in-NLC-in-Adhesive Design". Molecular Pharmaceutics 14 6 (2017): 2099-2115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00211.
    10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00211
  20. Mendes, M.; Soares, H.T; Arnaut, L.G; Sousa, J.J; Pais, A.A.C.C.; Vitorino, C.. "Can lipid nanoparticles improve intestinal absorption?". International Journal of Pharmaceutics 515 1-2 (2016): 69-83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2016.09.065.
    10.1016/j.ijpharm.2016.09.065
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. "Hybrid nanoparticles as multifunctional platform for brain tumor therapy". PhD, Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, 2022. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/114243.
  2. Mendes, Maria Manuel Feliciano da Costa. "Lipid nanoparticles as a versatile system for drug administration". Master, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10316/36494.

Intellectual property

Patent
  1. Mendes, Maria. 2023. "HYBRID NANOPARTICLES AS MULTIFUNCTIONAL PLATFORM FOR BRAIN TUMOR THERAPY".
  2. Mendes, Maria. 2020. "Dual nanostructured lipid carrier as a multifunctional platform for brain tumor therapy". Portugal.
    Granted/Issued
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2024/07 Breaking barriers in glioblastoma therapy: an in-depth correlation on in vitro-in vivo research CRS 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo
(Bolonha, Italy)
2024/06 Boosting the therapy of glioblastoma with chemodynamic-hybrid nanoparticles RICI X — 10th Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces
(Coimbra, Portugal)
2024/04/29 Establishment of biomimetic glioblastoma patient derived models CA21154 - Translational control in Cancer European Network, TRANSLACORE
COST TRANSLACORE (Praga, Czech Republic)
2024/02/14 Making progress in glioblastoma using chemodynamic-lipid-iron nanoparticles XV Spanish-Portuguese Conference on Controlled Drug Delivery
(Lisboa, Portugal)
2024 Targeting strategies for enhanced therapeutic efficacy in glioblastoma: a comprehensive in vitro and in vivo investigation 14th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology
(Viena, Austria)
2023/02/06 A multifunctional hybrid-nanoparticle for GB chemophotothermal synergistic therapy 4th SPLC-CRS Young Scientists Meeting
(Porto, Portugal)
2022/10/12 HYBRID NANOPARTICLES AS MULTIFUNCTIONAL PLATFORM FOR BRAIN TUMOR THERAPY Nano2Clinic
COST ACTION CA17140
2021/07/26 Unveiling the potential of CPPs in rerouting nanoparticles to glioblastoma treatment 3rd SPLC-CRS Young Scientist Virtual Meeting, 2021.
2021/07/23 Cell-penetrating peptides-lipid nanoconstructs for glioblastoma treatment IV Workshop Maestría en Biotecnología
2021/07/23 Lipid nanoparticle functionalization for brain drug targeting IV Workshop Maestría en Biotecnología
Univerisad de Santander (Santander, Colombia)

Supervision

Thesis Title
Role 		Degree Subject (Type)
Institution / Organization
2023/09 - Current Hybrid nanoparticles as a multifuncional plataform for brain tumor therapy
Co-supervisor
 Mestrado em Tecnologia do Medicamento (Master)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2018 - 2018 Hybrid Nanostructured Films for Topical Administration of Simvastatin as Coadjuvant Treatment of Melanoma
Co-supervisor
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2018 - 2018 Oral films based on lipid nanoparticles for drug administration: a computational and experimental approach
Co-supervisor
 Química Medicinal (Master)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal
2016 - 2017 Polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles for oral delivery of antiepileptic drugs
Co-supervisor
 Mestrado em Tecnologia do Medicamento (Master)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal

Event organisation

Event name
Type of event (Role) 		Institution / Organization
2019/06/19 - 2019/06/19 Nanotechnology and brain drug delivery (2019/06/19 - 2019/06/19)
Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)
 Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2018/09/27 - 2018/09/28 "1st Drugs R&D PhD Symposium - Translational Science: From Academia to Industry @ FFUC" organizado para promover o Programa de Doutoramento FCT - Investigação e Desenvolvimento do Medicamento (Drugs R&D), aproximando a investigação académica e em ambiente industrial. (2018/09/27 - 2018/09/28) (2018/09/27 - 2018/09/28)
Conference (Co-organisor)
 Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2024/04/04 - 2024/04/05 This workshop aims to promote an intellectually stimulating environment where new ideas can be exchanged and new collaborations can be forged. By integrating hands-on practical sessions, the workshop also allows interested participants to try basic techniques used in neuro-engineering.
Workshop
 4th Workshop on Neuroengineering: brain-on-a-chip platforms
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
2023/09/11 - 2023/09/11 During the workshop, you will get an overview of fluid dynamics, organ-on-chips, and 3D cell/tissue models while practically using the MIVO® platform. Interactive lectures and hands-on sessions led by our scientists will help you learn how to design and conduct your experiments using MIVO® technology.
Workshop
 MIVO® – Workshop
React4life Srl, Italy
2022/02/24 - 2022/02/25 "3 Minute-Thesis Competition (3MT) at the University of Coimbra" tem como objetivo apresentar a tese de doutoramento em 3 minutos, ajuda no desenvolvimento de competências de comunicação para diferentes públicos; workshop de Comunicação de Ciência; Formação de Comunicação de Ciência; e aprender a desenvolver um projeto de Comunicação de Ciência. "3 Minute-Thesis Competition (3MT) at the University of Coimbra"
Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

Jury of academic degree

Topic
Role 		Candidate name (Type of degree)
Institution / Organization
2024/09/06 Desenvolvimento de formulações baseadas em dispersões sólidas amorfas para administração transdérmica de fármacos
Supervisor
 Beatriz Rodrigues Viana (Other)
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Química de Coimbra, Portugal

Scientific expedition

Activity description Institution / Organization
2024/09/27 - 2024/09/27 2024 European Researchers' Night, engaging in science dissemination activities to showcase the innovative projects developed within the research group - “Magic Bullets to Fight Brain Cancer”, emphasizing translational research close to the general public. Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Distinctions

Award

2024 The most outstanding doctoral thesis in the pharmaceutical sciences
Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik eV, Germany
2023 STSM grant - COST Action CA21154
European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Belgium
2020 Bolsa de Mérito
2020 Melhor Artigo Científico
2017 PhD Grant SFRH/BD/133996/2017
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal

Other distinction

2016 Scholarship
Bioencapsulation Research Group, France