Heloísa Salguinho Gerardo (7414-7A11-C263)

Curriculum Vitae

Heloísa Salguinho Gerardo

The main interest of my research resides in Cellular mechanobiology. I obtained a BSc degree in Biology at the University of Coimbra, in 2012, then I proceed my studies enrolling the Master´s program in Molecular and Cell Biology, at the same University, which I finished in 2014. Since 2013, I have been working with mesenchymal stem cells, exploring the influence of biophysical cues and the mechanotransduction network in the modulation of stem cell behavior. Namely, I have been studied the modulation of induced pluripotency by substrate rigidity, which was my master thesis project. During the last few years I turned myself proficient in cell culture, immunocytochemistry, western-blotting, and I also gained expertise in isolation, culture and differentiation of stem cells from the umbilical cord. Moreover, I have worked with distinct platforms suitable for cell culture, namely polyacrylamide hydrogels and PDMS gels. Recently, after enrolled on a post-graduation in applied pharmacology, I gained increasing interest in study the pathophysiology of distinct diseases in order to address if mechanobiology could influence their progression. Crossing these two areas of study may lead to the finding of new possible pharmacological targets for some disease treatment. Currently, my PhD research follows in this sense.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Heloísa Salguinho Gerardo

Citation names

Gerardo, Heloísa

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 7414-7A11-C263
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1492-1882

Knowledge fields

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	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2019/09/16 - 2024/01 Ongoing	Doutoramento em Ciências Farmacêuticas (Doutoramento) Major in Farmacologia e Farmacoterapia Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2018 Concluded	Pós-graduação em Farmacologia Aplicada (Pós-Graduação) Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal "n/a" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	18 valores
2014 Concluded	Mestrado em Biologia Celular e Molecular (Mestrado) Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal Biocant Associação de Transferência de Tecnologia, Portugal "Modulation of induced pluripotency by substrate rigidity" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	18 valores
2012 Concluded	Licenciatura em Biologia (Licenciatura) Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal "n/a" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	15 valores

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2019/07/01 - 2019/12/31	Contracted Researcher (Research)	Biocant Associação de Transferência de Tecnologia, Portugal

2016/04/01 - 2019/06/30	Contracted Researcher (Research)	Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal

2015/03/17 - 2016/03/16	Research Trainee (Research)	Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal

2014/10/01 - 2015/03/01	Research Trainee (Research)	Biocant Associação de Transferência de Tecnologia, Portugal

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2020/01/01 - Current	FCT PhD Scholarship SFRH/BD/147316/2019	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2012/07/01 - 2013/07/01	Collaborator of Biology Students Committee of the Academic Association of Coimbra (AAC)	Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

2010/07/01 - 2011/07/01	Collaborator of Biology Students Committee of the Academic Association of Coimbra (AAC)	Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2019/07/01 - 2021/06/30	MSCellProduction: Produção de Células Estaminais Mesenquimais em conformidade com os requisitos de Boas Práticas de Fabrico NUP POCI-01-0247-FEDER-038313 Researcher Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal	Concluded

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2018/07/26 - 2022/06/25	Brain Elasticity in Multiple Sclerosis and implications in mechanomodulation of oligodendrocytes: a cellular and clinical approach PTDC/MED-NEU/29516/2017 Researcher Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. Concluded
2018/06/01 - 2022/05/31	New approaches on Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: translational research to diagnose and monitor stem cell therapy PTDC/BTM-TEC/29311/2017 Researcher Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal Universidade da Beira Interior, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. Concluded
2019/01/01 - 2019/12/31	CNC. IBILI UID/NEU/04539/2019 Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Ciências Nucleares Aplicadas à Saúde, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Investigação Clínica e Biomédica de Coimbra, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2012/05 - 2015/09	Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to oligodendroglial lineage: complementary roles of soluble factors, extracellular matrix and mechanotransduction Provided by PTCRIS: 119292 119292 Researcher Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. Concluded

Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract	Carina C. Magalhães; Amorim, Ricardo; Ana I. Duarte; Adriana Marques-Carvalho; Susana P. Pereira; Grilo, Luís F.; Mena, Débora; et al. "The mitochondriotropic antioxidant AntiOxBEN2 prevents hepatic steatosis in male and female mice fed with high-fat high-sugar (HFHS) diet". Paper presented in 58th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation, Barcelona, 2024. Accepted Gerardo, Heloísa. "Síndrome metabólica afeta de forma diferente o metabolismo e a rigidez do tecido cerebral: Dados de estudos in vitro e in vivo". Paper presented in 20º Congresso Português de Diabetes, Vilamoura, 2024. Published Carina C. Magalhães; Gerardo, Heloísa. "O impacto do antioxidante mitocondriotrópico AntiOxBEN2 na esteatose hepática de ratinhos no contexto de fígado gordo não-alcoólico". Paper presented in 20º Congresso Português de Diabetes, Vilamoura, 2024. Published Gerardo, Heloísa. "Alterations in brain stiffness and metabolism in Western Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome: exploring the interplay between mechanotransduction and metabolic pathways". Paper presented in 57th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation, Prague, 2023. Published Gerardo, Heloísa; Amorim, Ricardo; Teixeira, José. "Exploring the impact of metabolic syndrome on brain stiffness and metabolism: Insights from in vivo and in vitro experiments". Paper presented in MitoPorto 2023: Mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, and genetics, Porto, 2023. Published Gerardo, Heloísa. "O impacto da síndrome metabólica na interação entre metabolismo mitocondrial e mecanotransdução em cérebro de murganhos sujeitos a uma dieta ocidental". Paper presented in 19º Congresso Português de Diabetes, Vilamoura, 2023. Published
Conference poster	Gerardo, Heloísa. "Síndrome metabólica afeta de forma diferente o metabolismo e a rigidez do tecido cerebral: Dados de estudos in vitro e in vivo". Paper presented in 20º Congresso Português de Diabetes, 2024. Carina C. Magalhães; Gerardo, Heloísa. "O impacto do antioxidante mitocondriotrópico AntiOxBEN2 na esteatose hepática de ratinhos no contexto de fígado gordo não-alcoólico". Paper presented in 20º Congresso Português de Diabetes, 2024. Gerardo, Heloísa. "Brain stiffness alterations in Metabolic syndrome phenotype: A comprehensive exploration of metabolism and mechanotransduction crosstalk". Paper presented in IV Metabolism Aging and Disease (MAD) meeting - Disease and Therapeutics: from the Past to Future, 2024. Pierluca Cancellieri; Gerardo, Heloísa. "The impact of peroxisomal beta-oxidation on fatty acid metabolism under lipotoxicity insults". Paper presented in IV Metabolism Aging and Disease (MAD) meeting - Disease and Therapeutics: from the Past to Future, 2024. Gerardo, Heloísa. "Exploring the impact of metabolic syndrome on brain stiffness and metabolism: Insights from in vivo and in vitro experiments". Paper presented in MitoPorto 2023: Mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, and genetics, Porto, 2023, 2023. Gerardo, Heloísa. "O impacto da síndrome metabólica na interação entre metabolismo mitocondrial e mecanotransdução em cérebro de murganhos sujeitos a uma dieta ocidental". Paper presented in 19º Congresso Português de Diabetes, 2023. Gerardo, Heloísa. "Crosstalk between mechanotransduction and mitochondrial metabolism in the brain of Western diet-fed mice". Paper presented in XVII BEB Day - Science Challenges: This fight of ours, 2023. Lourenço, Tânia; Gerardo, Heloísa; Falcão, Ana Mendanha; Castelo-Branco, Gonçalo; Grãos, Mário. "The role of PADI2 on oligodendrocyte differentiation enhanced by mechanotransduction". Paper presented in VI Nanoengineering for Mechanobiology, 2022. Lourenço, Tânia; Gerardo, Heloísa; Falcão, Ana Mendanha; Castelo-Branco, Gonçalo; Grãos, Mário. "The role of PADI2 on oligodendrocyte differentiation enhanced by mechanotransduction". Paper presented in BEB day — Overview effect, 2022. Lourenço, Tânia; Gerardo, Heloísa; Falcão, Ana Mendanha; Castelo-Branco, Gonçalo; Grãos, Mário. "The role of PADI2 on oligodendrocyte differentiation enhanced by mechanotransduction". Paper presented in V Symposium of the Portuguese Glial Network, 2021.
Journal article	Gerardo, Heloísa. "Soft culture substrates favor stem-like cellular phenotype and facilitate reprogramming of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs) through mechanotransduction". Scientific Reports (2019): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45352-3. 10.1038/s41598-019-45352-3
Thesis / Dissertation	Gerardo, Heloísa. "Modulation of induced pluripotency by substrate rigidity.". Master, Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10316/31330.

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2023/11/24	Metabolic Syndrome-driven brain stiffness alterations: Unraveling mechano-metabolism crosstalk	Pharma Day - Encontro anual de estudantes de doutoramento em Ciências Farmacêuticas (Coimbra, Portugal)
2023/11/03	Cantanhede Innovation Days 2022 - Winners testimonial	Cantanhede Innovation Days 2023 European Institute of Innovation and Technology - EIT Health (Cantanhede, Portugal)
2023/06/08	Alterations in brain stiffness and metabolism in Western Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome: exploring the interplay between mechanotransduction and metabolic pathways	57th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation European Society for Clinical Investigation (Prague, Czech Republic)
2023/05/13	Exploring the impact of metabolic syndrome on brain stiffness and metabolism: Insights from in vivo and in vitro experiments	MitoPorto 2023: Mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, and genetics, Porto, 2023 (Porto, Portugal)
2023/01/13	Linking mitochondrial metabolism, inflammation, and autophagy in altered stiffness brain from Western diet-fed mice	III MAD Meeting (Coimbra, Portugal)
2019/04	Mechanomodulation of human stem cells: a crosstalk between cytoskeleton and nucleus	EuroCellNet COST Action Workshop on Mechanobiology in Migrating Cells (Coimbra, Portugal)
2019/04	Fabrication and functionalization of cell culture substrates for mechanobiology studies	EuroCellNet COST Action Workshop on Mechanobiology in Migrating Cells (Coimbra, Portugal)

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2020/01/16 - 2020/01/16	Organisation of an in-site visit to high school students (Escola Secundária de Moimenta da Beira). I organised the visit to different laboratories, and explain the research topics of each one of them. (2020/01/16 - 2020/01/16) Other (Co-organisor)
2012/01 - 2012/04	XV National Meeting of Biology Students, Biology Students Committee of the Academic Association of Coimbra (AAC) (2012/03/31 - 2012/04/03) Meeting (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2024/03/07 - 2024/03/09	20º Congresso Português de Diabetes Congress	20º Congresso Português de Diabetes Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia, Portugal
2024/01/29 - 2024/01/30	IV Metabolism Aging and Disease (MAD) meeting - Disease and Therapeutics: from the Past to Future Meeting	IV Metabolism Aging and Disease (MAD) meeting - Disease and Therapeutics: from the Past to Future Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Inovação em Biomedicina e Biotecnologia, Portugal
2023/11/24 - 2023/11/24	Annual meeting of PhD Students in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2023 edition with the theme "One Health" Meeting	Pharma Day - Encontro anual de estudantes de doutoramento em Ciências Farmacêuticas Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2023/06/07 - 2023/06/09	57th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation Congress	57th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation European Society for Clinical Investigation, Netherlands
2023/05/12 - 2023/05/13	MitoPorto 2023: Mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, and genetics Congress	MitoPorto: Mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, and genetics Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2023/03/16 - 2023/03/18	19º Congresso Português de Diabetes Congress	19º Congresso Português de Diabetes Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia, Portugal
2023/02/07 - 2023/02/08	XVII BEB Day - Science Challenges: This fight of ours Conference	XVII BEB Day - Science Challenges: This fight of ours Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2023/01/18 - 2023/01/18	Outreach activity - Escola Ciência Viva MAD Other	Escola Ciência Viva MAD UC Exploratório - Centro Ciência Viva da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2023/01/12 - 2023/01/13	III Metabolism Aging and Disease - MAD group annual meeting 2023 Meeting	III MAD Meeting Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2022/03/27 - 2022/03/31	VI Nanoengineering for Mechanobiology Conference	VI Nanoengineering for Mechanobiology - N4M
2022/03/21 - 2022/03/21	Outreach activity - Collaborator for Scientific divulgation in 'Brain Awareness Week 2022' Exhibition	Brain Awareness Week 2022 Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2022/01/18 - 2022/01/19	XVI BEB day - The overview effect Conference	XVI BEB day — The overview effect Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2021/11/30 - 2021/11/30	V Symposium of the Portuguese Glial Network "Glial cells ate the crossraod of health and disease" Symposium	Glial cells ate the crossraod of health and disease Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2021/09/24 - 2021/09/24	Outreach activity - Collaborator in science communication activities organized by the science communication group of CNC in scope of European Night of Researchers Exhibition	European Night of Researchers Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2021/04/26 - 2021/04/27	Neurodegenerative Diseases: Emerging mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities - JCB-JEM Neurodegeneration Symposium (Virtual Symposium) Symposium	Neurodegenerative Diseases: Emerging mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities
2020/05/20 - 2020/06/12	Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials, an online non-credit course authorized by Johns Hopkins University and offered through Coursera	Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials Johns Hopkins University, United States
2019/11/04 - 2019/12/05	Animal welfare certificate as coordinating researcher for animal experimentation by the Portuguese General-Administration of Veterinary Affairs (DGAV)	III Modular Laboratory Animal Course - Rodents Direcção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária, Portugal
2019/09/27 - 2019/09/28	Outreach activity - Collaborator in science communication activities organized by the science communication group of CNC in scope of European Night of Researchers Exhibition	European night of researchers Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2019/04/01 - 2019/04/02	EuroCellNet COST Action Workshop on Mechanobiology of Migrating Cells From Basic Science to the Clinic Workshop	A COST Action CA15214 (EuroCellNet) - Workshop on Mechanobiology of Migrating Cells From Basic Science to the Clinic Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2019/03/01 - 2019/03/31	Outreach activity - Collaborator for Scientific divulgation in 'International Week of the Brain 2019' Exhibition	International Week of the Brain 2019 Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2018/12/17 - 2018/12/19	Outreach activity - IEC internship orientation of high school students (Trainer) Workshop	Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2018/09/28 - 2018/09/29	Outreach activity - Collaborator in science communication activities organized by the science communication group of CNC in scope of European Night of Researchers Exhibition	European Night of Researchers Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2017/07/03 - 2017/07/04	Outreach activity - High school students training on cell culture techniques for “Olympics of Biology 2017 edition” (Trainer) Workshop	Biocant Associação de Transferência de Tecnologia, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2016/04 - 2016/05	ISO 9001:2015 – Quality management system, for implementation of this standard in the laboratory Workshop	ISO 9001:2015 – Quality management system, for implementation of this standard in the laboratory Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2016/04 - 2016/04	Hands on micropipettes calibration and preventive maintenance Workshop	Hands on micropipettes calibration and preventive maintenance by Frilabo
2015/06 - 2015/06	Invited lecture entitled “Cell Culture”, Cell Biology course, degree in Biotechnology Other	Invited lecture entitled “Cell Culture”, Cell Biology course, degree in Biotechnology, ESAC
2015/04 - 2015/06	ISO 9001:2008 – Quality management system, for implementation of this standard in the laboratory Workshop	ISO 9001:2008 Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2015/03 - 2015/03	Outreach activity - Collaborator for Scientific divulgation in 'International Week of the Brain 2015' Exhibition	International Week of the Brain 2015 Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2014/12 - 2014/12	Basic notions of first aid	Basic notions of first aid (Bombeiros Voluntários de Cantanhede)
2014/03/12 - 2014/03/14	Hands-On Course on Microscopy Imaging Analysis (organized by Microscopy Imaging Center Coimbra and Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology) Workshop	Hands-On Course on Microscopy Imaging Analysis Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2013/06 - 2013/06	2nd BEB Symposium 'Seeding curiosity, harvesting science' Symposium	2nd BEB Symposium 'Seeding curiosity, harvesting science' Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
2012/06 - 2012/06	1st BEB Symposium 'Science dreams, challenges arise' Symposium	1st BEB Symposium 'Science dreams, challenges arise' Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal

Mentoring / Tutoring

	Topic	Student name
2023/07/03 - 2023/07/31	Analysis of protein markers from brains of mice with Metabolic Syndrome phenotype	Ana Tavares
2023/02/03 - 2023/06/30	Effects of NRF2 modulated by ECM stiffness on hepatic cells metabolism and its implications in NAFLD evolution	Ana Tavares

Distinctions

Award

2024	Best Poster Award at the IV Metabolism, Aging, and Disease (MAD) annual meeting Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Investigação Clínica e Biomédica de Coimbra, Portugal
2023	Bluepharma innovation award for an oral presentation at the annual meeting of PhD students in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharma Day 2023. Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2022	Winner of Innovation Days - Cantanhede 2022 EIT Health, Germany

Other distinction

2023	Travel Grant - 57th Annual Scientific Meeting of European Society for Clinical Investigation European Society for Clinical Investigation, Netherlands
2019	Bolsa de Doutoramento Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal