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Isabel Pereira Castro. Completed the PhD in Biomedicine in 2012 by Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Master in Molecular Oncology in 2008 and the Biology degree in 2003 by Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências. Currently she is a Researcher in IBMC/i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde. She has more than 20 years of research experience in Molecular Biology, Oncobiology , Immunology and Gene Regulation fields, having published 26 publications, 2 as senior author and 6 as corresponding author, with more than 800 citations. Organized 2 events. Supervised >15 MSc and BSc students. Has received several awards and/or honors, including two AstraZeneca Innovate Competition awards. Is principal investigator of two FCT projects (one Exploratory and one from the Advanced Computing Projects Call) and is team member of several projects, including European grants (Horizon2020, Twinning, CaixaImpulse, COST). Works in the areas of Cell and Molecular Biology and Medical and Health Sciences with emphasis on Immunology, Oncology and Human Genetics. Is well experienced in reviewing manuscripts for scientific journals and is editor of Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences in the RNA Networks and Biology section. Is deeply involved in developing biopharma applications of her research, specially using the iPLUS patented technology. In the Ciência Vitae curriculum the most frequent terms are: Gene regulation; alternative polyadenylation; 3'UTRs; RNA biology; T cells; Immune system; cancer and Recombinat protein production.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Isabel Pereira Castro

Citation names

  • Pereira-Castro, Isabel
  • Isabel Pereira-Castro

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
9B12-B1A0-F6C4
ORCID iD
0000-0003-4149-4310
Google Scholar ID
F7s7QFMAAAAJ
Researcher Id
F-6487-2010
Scopus Author Id
9741366800

Email addresses

  • isabel.castro@ibmc.up.pt (Professional)

Telephones

Telephone
  • 220408800 Ext.: 6172 (Professional)

Addresses

  • i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde. Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Porto, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

Knowledge fields

  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Molecular Biology
  • Medical and Health Sciences - Basic Medicine - Immunology
  • Medical and Health Sciences - Clinical Medicine - Oncology
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
  • Medical and Health Sciences - Basic Medicine - Human Genetics

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Advanced (C1) Proficiency (C2) Advanced (C1) Proficiency (C2) Advanced (C1)
Education
Degree Classification
2019/09/09 - 2019/09/20
Concluded
 FELASA Accredited Couse in Laboratory Animal Science functions A, B and D (Outros)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
2008/10/01 - 2012/11/22
Concluded
 Programa Doutoral em Biomedicina (Doutoramento)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
"Unravelling the function and regulation of human NLZ1 and COG8/PDF" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2008/04
Concluded
 Master in Molecular Oncology (Mestrado)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
"Characterization of P149: a new human protein that interacts with proteins of the Wnt pathway" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
1999 - 2003
Concluded
 Biology degree (Licenciatura)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2019/01/01 - Current Researcher (Research) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
2015/12/01 - 2018/12/31 Postdoc (Research) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
2013/05/01 - 2015/05/01 Postdoc (Research) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
2004 - 2008 Research Trainee (Research) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular, Portugal

Teaching in Higher Education

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2024/02 - Current Invited Assistant Professor (University Teacher) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2025/01/01 - Current Exploring smoking-specific mRNA signatures as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cancer
SMOKE-RNA
Researcher
Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro Núcleo Regional do Norte, Portugal
 Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro Núcleo Regional do Norte
2022/01/01 - 2024/12/31 iCoV2PLUS - Increased Production Levels Universal Sequence in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines
13854
Researcher
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 Gilead Sciences
Ongoing
2021/01/01 - 2024/12/31 Molecular principles underlying T cell development and tolerance induction in the thymus: Defining the role of RNA binding proteins in thymic epithelial cell lineage specification and function in vivo
PTDC/MED-IMU/1416/2020
Researcher
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2021/01/01 - 2024/05/01 Twinning project: PhasAge Excellence Hub on Phase Transitions in Aging and Age-Related Disorders
Horizon2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement no. 952334
Researcher
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation
Ongoing
2023/02/01 - 2023/12/31 RNA signatures as risk markers in cancers triggered by smoking habits
2022.26855.CPCA.A0
Principal investigator
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2022/01/01 - 2023/12/31 RISK - New mRNA signatures as risk markers in cancers triggered by tobacco smoking
EXPL/SAU-PUB/1073/2021
Principal investigator
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2019/10/23 - 2023/10/22 COST Action CA17103 - DARTER: Delivery of Antisense RNA Therapeutics
CA17103
Researcher
European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Ongoing
2021 - 2023/03/14 Cancer Research on Therapy Resistance: From Basic Mechanisms to Novel Targets
Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000051
Researcher
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 Comissao de Coordenacao e Desenvolvimento Regional do Norte
Concluded
2020/01/01 - 2022/12/31 iPLUS - A universal sequence to increase protein production
CI19-00094
Researcher
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
 "la caixa" foundation
Concluded
2015/01/01 - 2020/06/30 Horizon2020 - FOLSMART - Folate-Target Nanodevices To Activated Macrophages For Rheumatoid Arthritis
H2020-NMP-PILOTS-2015 Topic: NMP-06-2015
Researcher
EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Science with and for Society
Ongoing
2015 - 2019/12/31 Porto Neurosciences and Neurologic Disease Research Initiative, NORTE 2020
Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000008
Researcher
Comissao de Coordenacao e Desenvolvimento Regional do Norte
Concluded
2015/12 - 2018/12 Dissecting the molecular mechanisms controlling alternative polyadenylation in human T cells: a role for transcription elongation factors?
SFRH/BPD/107901/2015
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2013/05/01 - 2015/04/30 Global analysis of alternative polyadenylation regulators and miRNA silencing of immune modulators
PTDC/SAU-GMG/116621/2010
Post-doc Fellow
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2008/10 - 2012/10 Unravelling the function and regulation of human NLZ1 and COG8/PDF
SFRH/BD/44264/2008
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract
  1. Lima J, Feijão T, Pereira-Castro I, Costa AM, Máximo V, Herrero A, Sobrinho-Simões M, Garcia-Rostan G, Suarez C.. "High frequency of germline SDHB and SDHD mutations in apparently sporadic head and neck paragangliomas from Spain". Paper presented in 7TH EUROPEAN SKULL BASE SOCIETY CONGRESS, 2005.
    Published
  2. 2. Lima J, Feijao T, Pereira-Castro I, Costa A, Maximo V, Herrero A, Suarez C, Sobrinho-Simoes M, Garcia-Rostan G. "High frequency of germline SDHB and SDHD mutations in sporadic head and neck paragangliomas from northern Spain". Paper presented in Cancer Research, 2005.
    Published
Conference paper
  1. Isabel Pereira-Castro. "Role of CDX2 on the Regulation of the Cancer-associated Sialyl-Tn Carbohydrate Antigen". Paper presented in EACR-22, European Association for Cancer Research, barcelona, 2012.
    Published
Conference poster
  1. Reis-Claro I, Fernandes G, Sousa B, Cruz P, Jácome M, Santos LL, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "Alternative polyadenylation mRNA isoforms as signatures in tobacco smoking-associated cancers". Paper presented in Ecology of Cancer, 2024.
  2. Reis-Claro I, Fernandes G, Sousa B, Cruz P, Jácome M, Santos LL, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "The potential of alternative polyadenylation mRNA isoforms as tobacco-associated cancer signatures". Paper presented in V International Meeting of the Portuguese Society of Genetics (IMPSG), 2024.
  3. Rosa-Fernandes G, Reis-Claro I, Cruz P, Sousa B, Jácome M, Santos LL, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I.. "Alternative polyadenylation mRNA isoforms as smoking-associated cancer signatures". Paper presented in IV International Meeting of the Portuguese Society of Genetics (IMPSG), 2024.
  4. Bruno Sousa, Maria Bessa, Filipa Lopes de Mendonça, Pedro G. Ferreira, Alexandra Moreira and Isabel Pereira-Castro. "APAtizer 2.0: a web app for alternative polyadenylation analysis and visualization of TCGA RNA-Seq data". Paper presented in 30th Porto Cancer Meeting, 2024.
  5. I Reis-Claro, G Fernandes, P Cruz, B Sousa, M Jácome, LL Santos, A Moreira and I Pereira-Castro. "Alternative polyadenylation mRNA isoforms as signatures in smoking-associated cancers". Paper presented in 30th Porto Cancer Meeting, 2024.
  6. Machado J, Eufrásio A, Ferreira A, Pereira-Castro I, Bessa J, Moreira A. "Unravelling the Regulatory Function of a Short Sequence in the 3UTR in Zebrafish and in Human Cells". Paper presented in IV International Meeting of the Portuguese Society of Genetics (IMPSG), 2023.
  7. Reis-Claro I, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "A short non-coding sequence as a tool in a mRNA vaccine". Paper presented in EMBO/EMBL Symposium: The non-coding genome, 2023.
  8. Silva MI, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "Increased Production Levels Universal Sequence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) vaccines". Paper presented in Encontro de Investigação Jovem da U.Porto (IJUP2023),, 2023.
  9. Pereira-Castro I, Mendonça FL, Ferreira A, Ferreira PG, Resende C, Machado JC, Moreira A. "The immune system modulates colorectal cancer alternative and intronic polyadenylation". Paper presented in IX ptRNA meeting, 2023.
  10. Mendonça FL, Bessa M, Ferreira PG, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "mRNA signatures as risk markers in cancers triggered by tobacco smoking". Paper presented in IX ptRNA meeting, 2023.
  11. Reis-Claro I, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "A short non-coding sequence in the 3UTR as an asset for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines". Paper presented in RNA In Disease - IX ptRNA meeting, 2023.
  12. Claro IR, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "iCoV2PLUS - Increased Production Levels Universal Sequence as an asset for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines". Paper presented in iMed Conference 14.0, 2022.
  13. Pereira-Castro I, Mendonça FL, Ferreira A, Ferreira PG, Resende C, Machado JC, Moreira A. "The function of the immune system in colorectal cancer alternative polyadenylation". Paper presented in EMBO/EMBL Symposium: The Complex Life of mRNA, 2022.
  14. Wilton J, Mendonça FL, Tellier M, Nojima T, Pereira-Castro I, Costa AM, Freitas J, Murphy S, Oliveira MJ, Proudfoot N. "Pro-inflammatory polarization and colorectal cancer induce 3UTR shortening and intronic polyadenylation in primary human macrophages". Paper presented in EMBO Workshop: RNA 3' end formation and the regulation of eukaryotic genomes, Oxford, UK, 2022.
  15. Moutinho A, Eufrásio A, Azevedo J, Teixeira J, Machado J, Ferreira A, Pereira-Castro I, Bessa J, Moreira A. "Unravelling the function of a short non-coding sequence in gene expression". Paper presented in 4th International Conference on the Long and the Short of Non-Coding RNAs, Rhodes, Greece, 2022.
  16. Ferreira AR, Mendonça FL, Ferreira PG, , Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "RNA signatures in cancers triggered by smoking habits". Paper presented in IJUP’22, 2022.
  17. Machado J, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "The role of RNA-binding proteins in USE-containing genes expression". Paper presented in IJUP’22, 2022.
  18. Claro IR, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "iCoV2PLUS - Increased Production Levels Universal Sequence in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines". Paper presented in IJUP’22, 2022.
  19. Machado J, Moreira A, Pereira-Castro I. "The role of an Upstream Sequence Element (USE) in human genes expression". Paper presented in VII Biochemistry Conference, 2022.
  20. Moutinho, Ana; Eufrásio, Ana; Beatriz C. Garcia; Bessa, Jose; Isabel Pereira-Castro; Alexandra Moreira. "The USE non-coding sequence: on the function and therapeutic applications". Paper presented in IJUP- Young Researchers Meeting 2021, 2021.
  21. Wilton, Joana; Tellier, Michael; Nojima, Takayuki; Isabel Pereira-Castro; Freitas, Jaime; Angela Amorim-Costa; Murphy S; et al. "SRSF12 and cancer cells modulate macrophage alternative polyadenylation". Paper presented in RNA Meeting, 2021.
  22. Beatriz Garcia; Isabel Pereira-Castro; Alexandra Moreira. "Anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 protein expression and localization is regulated by alternative 3-UTRs". Paper presented in iMed Conference® 11.0, 2019.
  23. Joana Wilton, Jaime Freitas, Isabel Pereira-Castro, Kinga Kamieniarz-Gdula, Takayuki Nojima, Michael Tellier,; Alexandre M. Carmo, Shona Murphy, Nicholas J Proudfoot, Maria J Oliveira and Alexandra Moreira. "Transcriptomics in primary human macrophages: from pro-inflammatory polarization to tumor interactions". Paper presented in CSHL - Cold Spring Harbor Conference - Eukaryotic mRNA Processing, 2019.
  24. Isabel Pereira-Castro; Curinha A, Neves-Costa A, Moita LF, Neilson JR, Moreira A. "MCL1 alternative 3-UTRs are regulated by mir-17 and INTS9 in human T cells". Paper presented in VII National RNA Meeting: ptRNA2019,, 2019.
  25. Pereira, Joana; Jaime Freitas; Isabel Pereira-Castro; AM Costa; K Kamieniarz-Gdula; T Nojima; Michael Tellier; et al. "mRNA at the center of gene regulation in macrophages: from polarization to tumor co-cultures". Paper presented in ptRNA Meeting 2019, 2019.
  26. Wilton, J Freitas, J, Pereira-Castro, I, Costa, AM, Castro, F, Oliveira, MJ, Moreira, A. "Don't shoot the messenger: RNA at the center of unraveling mechanisms of gene regulation in the cancer macrophage microenvironment". Paper presented in 8th conference of the International Cancer Microenvironment Society (ICMS), 2018.
  27. Pereira, Joana; Jaime Freitas; Isabel Pereira-Castro; AM Costa; F Castro; Maria José Oliveira; Alexandra Moreira. "RNA at the center of unraveling mechanisms of gene regulation in the cancer ¿ macrophage microenvironment". Paper presented in 1st PhDay at i3S, 2018.
  28. Kutsenko O, Pereira-Castro I, Moreira, A. "An innovative method for polyadenylation signal targeting by CRISPR/Cas9 in difficult to transfect cells". Paper presented in XI ENEBIOQ, 2018.
  29. Sandra Braz, Andrea Cruz, Andrea Lobo, Joana Bravo, Isabel Pereira-Castro, Jaime Freitas, Teresa Summavielle, João B Rel. "Alternative 3-UTRs expression of Rac1 is a cell-type specific mechanism that controls neurite outgrowth". Paper presented in EMBO Workshop: Regulation of RNA 3'end formation across eukaryotic genomes, 2017.
  30. Wilton J, Pereira-Castro I, Freitas J, Costa AM, Castro F, Oliveira MJ, Moreira A. "Mechanisms of gene regulation in the crosstalk of the cancer – macrophage microenvironment.". Paper presented in SICR2017 – Symposium on Immunomodulation in Cancer & Regeneration, 2017.
  31. Pereira, Joana; Isabel Pereira-Castro; Jaime Freitas; Sonia Rocha; Nick Proudfoot; Maria José Oliveira; Alexandra Moreira. "Mechanisms of gene regulation in the cancer ¿ macrophage microenvironment crosstalk". Paper presented in , GABBA Meeting 2016, 2016.
  32. Pedro M. Rodrigues; Ana R. Ribeiro; Chiara Perrod; Catarina Meireles; Leonor Araújo; Jonathan Landry; Isabel Pereira-Castro; et al. "Thymic epithelial cells selectively require p53 to support their role in T-cell development and tolerance induction". Paper presented in XLII Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Society of Immunology, 2016.
  33. Isabel Pereira-Castro; Ana Curinha; alexandra moreira. "Role of microRNAs in the regulation of MCL1 alternative polyadenylation-derived isoforms in human T cells". Paper presented in The Complex Life of mRNA EMBO/EMBL Symposium, 2014.
  34. 23. Boal-Carvalho I, Pinto M, Lago-Baldaia I, Pereira-Castro I, Gloria V, Relvas J, Summavielle T, Neilson J, Carmo AM,. "Trans-acting factors in CD2 alternative polyadenylation". Paper presented in EMBO meeting - RNA 3' ends: Mechanism and biological function in eukaryotic genomes. Oxford, UK, 2013.
  35. Lago-Baldaia I, Lopes N, Boal-Carvalho I, Domingues RG, Drpic D, Henriques T, Glória V, Pereira-Castro I, Gama-Carva. "CD5 mRNA alternative polyadenylation is modulated by splicing factors". Paper presented in EMBO meeting - RNA 3' ends: Mechanism and biological function in eukaryotic genomes, 2013.
  36. Duarte-Pereira S, Pereira-Castro I, Azevedo L, Silva SS, Amorim A, Silva RM. "Characterization of NAPRT1 expression patterns and new alternative transcripts". Paper presented in EMBO/EMBL Symposium, The Complex Life of mRNA, Heidelberg, Germany, 2012.
  37. Pinto R, Barros R, Pereira-Castro I, Costa LT, Almeida R, David L. "Role of CDX2 on the regulation of the cancer-associated sialyl-Tn carbohydrate antigen". Paper presented in EACR-22, European Association for Cancer Research, 2012.
  38. Isabel Pereira-Castro, Ângela M Costa, Maria J Oliveira, Luísa Azevedo, Luís T da Costa. "Characterization of human NLZ1/ZNF703 and identification of two conserved domains essential for its proper subcellular localization". Paper presented in 1º Encontro Doutorandos da FMUP, 2011.
  39. Pereira-Castro I, Costa AMS, Oliveira MJ, Azevedo L, Costa LT. "How ZNF703 finds the way: identification of a novel conserved domain crucial for its subcellular localization". Paper presented in 14th Portugaliæ Genetica, 2011.
Journal article
  1. Sousa B; Bessa M; de Mendonça FL; Ferreira PG; Alexandra Moreira; Isabel Pereira-Castro. "APAtizer: a tool for alternative polyadenylation analysis of RNA-Seq data.". Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) 40 11 (2024): https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btae689.
    10.1093/bioinformatics/btae689
  2. Reis-Claro, Inês; Silva, Maria Inês; Moutinho, Ana; Garcia, Beatriz C.; Pereira-Castro, Isabel; Moreira, Alexandra. "Application of the iPLUS non-coding sequence in improving biopharmaceuticals production". Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 12 (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1355957.
    Published • 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1355957
  3. Wilton, Joana; de Mendonça, Filipa Lopes; Pereira-Castro, Isabel; Tellier, Michael; Nojima, Takayuki; Costa, Angela M.; Freitas, Jaime; et al. "Pro-inflammatory polarization and colorectal cancer modulate alternative and intronic polyadenylation in primary human macrophages". Frontiers in Immunology 14 (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1182525.
    Open access • Published • 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1182525
  4. Isabel Pereira-Castro; Beatriz C. Garcia; Ana Curinha; Ana Neves-Costa; Eduardo Conde-Sousa; Luís F. Moita; Alexandra Moreira. "MCL1 alternative polyadenylation is essential for cell survival and mitochondria morphology". Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 79 164 (2022): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00018-022-04172-x.
    Published
  5. Isabel Pereira-Castro; Alexandra Moreira. "On the function and relevance of alternative 3'- UTRs in gene expression regulation". WIREs RNA 12 5 (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/wrna.1653.
    Published • 10.1002/wrna.1653
  6. Cruz, Rui; Pereira-Castro, Isabel; Almeida, Maria T.; Moreira, Alexandra; Cabanes, Didier; Sousa, Sandra. "Epithelial Keratins Modulate cMet Expression and Signaling and Promote InlB-Mediated Listeria monocytogenes Infection of HeLa Cells". Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 8 (2018): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2018.00146.
    Published • 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00146
  7. Braz, S.O.; Cruz, A.; Lobo, A.; Bravo, J.; Moreira-Ribeiro, J.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Freitas, J.; et al. "Expression of Rac1 alternative 3' UTRs is a cell specific mechanism with a function in dendrite outgrowth in cortical neurons". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms 1860 6 (2017): 685-694. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85018940086&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1016/j.bbagrm.2017.03.002
  8. Rodrigues, P.M.; Ribeiro, A.R.; Perrod, C.; Landry, J.J.M.; Araújo, L.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Benes, V.; et al. "Thymic epithelial cells require p53 to support their long-term function in thymopoiesis in mice". Blood 130 4 (2017): 478-488. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85026293874&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1182/blood-2016-12-758961
  9. Domingues, R.G.; Lago-Baldaia, I.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Fachini, J.M.; Oliveira, L.; Drpic, D.; Lopes, N.; et al. "CD5 expression is regulated during human T-cell activation by alternative polyadenylation, PTBP1, and miR-204". European Journal of Immunology 46 6 (2016): 1490-1503. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84973661630&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    Published • 10.1002/eji.201545663
  10. Pereira, F.; Duarte-Pereira, S.; Silva, R.M.; Da Costa, L.T.; Pereira-Castro, I.. "Evolution of the NET (NocA, Nlz, Elbow, TLP-1) protein family in metazoans: Insights from expression data and phylogenetic analysis". Scientific Reports 6 (2016): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85003583805&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1038/srep38383
  11. Duarte-Pereira, S.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Silva, S.S.; Correia, M.G.; Neto, C.; da Costa, L.T.; Amorim, A.; Silva, R.M.. "Extensive regulation of nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase (NAPRT) expression in human tissues and tumors". Oncotarget 7 2 (2016): 1973-1983. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84957627325&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.18632/oncotarget.6538
  12. Isabel Pereira-Castro, Barbara Van Asch, Fernando Trindade Rei, Luís Teixeira Da Costa. "Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) organophosphate resistance alleles in Iberia: Recent expansion and variable frequencies". European Journal of Entomology (2015): http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000350303000003&KeyUID=WOS:000350303000003.
    10.14411/eje.2015.019
  13. Van Asch, B.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Rei, F.T.; Da Costa, L.T.. "Marked genetic differentiation between Western Iberian and Italic populations of the olive fly: Southern France as an intermediate area". PLoS ONE 10 5 (2015): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84929095095&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1371/journal.pone.0126702
  14. Pinto, R.; Barros, R.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Mesquita, P.; Da Costa, L.T.; Bennett, E.P.; Almeida, R.; David, L.. "CDX2 homeoprotein is involved in the regulation of ST6GalNAc-I gene in intestinal metaplasia". Laboratory Investigation 95 7 (2015): 718-727. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84933060097&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1038/labinvest.2015.52
  15. van Asch B; Blibech I; Pereira-Castro I; Rei FT; da Costa LT. "The mitochondrial genome of Prays oleae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Praydidae).". (2014): http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/25423526.
  16. Curinha, A.; Braz, S.O.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Cruz, A.; Moreira, A.. "Implications of polyadenylation in health and disease". Nucleus 5 6 (2014): 508-519. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84921902866&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.4161/nucl.36360
  17. Moreira, C.; Van Asch, B.; Fonseca, L.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Silva, R.; Azevedo, L.; Mota, M.; et al. "The mitochondrial genome of the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) lineage introduced in Europe". Mitochondrial DNA 25 6 (2014): 420-421. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84902453456&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.3109/19401736.2013.809438
  18. Costa, Â.M.S.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Ricardo, E.; Spencer, F.; Fisher, S.; da Costa, L.T.. "GRG5/AES Interacts with T-Cell Factor 4 (TCF4) and Downregulates Wnt Signaling in Human Cells and Zebrafish Embryos". PLoS ONE 8 7 (2013): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84879706301&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1371/journal.pone.0067694
  19. Pereira-Castro, I.; Costa, Â.M.S.; Oliveira, M.J.; Barbosa, I.; Rocha, A.S.; Azevedo, L.; Da Costa, L.T.. "Characterization of human NLZ1/ZNF703 identifies conserved domains essential for proper subcellular localization and transcriptional repression". Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 114 1 (2013): 120-133. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84869412286&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1002/jcb.24309
  20. Lopes-Marques, M.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Amorim, A.; Azevedo, L.. "Characterization of the human ornithine transcarbamylase 3' untranslated regulatory region". DNA and Cell Biology 31 4 (2012): 427-433. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84859761219&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1089/dna.2011.1391
  21. Pereira-Castro, I.; Quental, R.; Da Costa, L.T.; Amorim, A.; Azevedo, L.. "Successful COG8 and PDF overlap is mediated by alterations in splicing and polyadenylation signals". Human Genetics 131 2 (2012): 265-274. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84856709556&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1007/s00439-011-1075-9
  22. van Asch, B.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Rei, F.; da Costa, L.T.. "Mitochondrial haplotypes reveal olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) population substructure in the Mediterranean". Genetica 140 4-6 (2012): 181-187. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84866534297&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1007/s10709-012-9669-2
  23. Pereira-Castro, I.; Costa, L.T.D.; Amorim, A.; Azevedo, L.. "Transcriptional regulation of the human mitochondrial peptide deformylase (PDF)". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 421 4 (2012): 825-831. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84861224870&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.04.097
  24. Lima, J.; Feijão, T.; Da Silva, A.F.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Fernandez-Ballester, G.; Máximo, V.; Herrero, A.; et al. "High frequency of germline succinate dehydrogenase mutations in sporadic cervical paragangliomas in Northern Spain: Mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase structure-function relationships and clinical-pathological correlations". Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 92 12 (2007): 4853-4864. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-36849056626&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1210/jc.2007-0640
  25. Meireles, A.M.; Preto, A.; Rocha, A.S.; Rebocho, A.P.; Máximo, V.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Moreira, S.; et al. "Molecular and genotypic characterization of human thyroid follicular cell carcinoma-derived cell lines". Thyroid 17 8 (2007): 707-715. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-36649017735&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1089/thy.2007.0097
  26. García-Rostán, G.; Costa, A.M.; Pereira-Castro, I.; Salvatore, G.; Hernandez, R.; Hermsem, M.J.A.; Herrero, A.; et al. "Mutation of the PIK3CA gene in anaplastic thyroid cancer". Cancer Research 65 22 (2005): 10199-10207. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-28544452359&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-4259
Newsletter article
  1. Isabel Pereira-Castro. "RNA in the Spotlight: New Tricks of an Old Molecule", Portuguese Biochemical Society, 2024
Preprint
  1. Joana Wilton; Filipa Lopes de Mendonça; Isabel Pereira-Castro; Michael Tellier; Takayuki Nojima; Angela M Costa; Jaime Freitas; et al. "Pro-inflammatory polarization and colorectal cancer modulate alternative and intronic polyadenylation in primary human macrophages". 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.24.529734.
    10.1101/2023.02.24.529734
  2. Ana Eufrásio; Joana Azevedo; Joana Machado; Alexandre Ferreira; Ana Moutinho; Filipe Henriques; Ana Jesus; et al. "A short 3’UTR motif regulates gene expression in bilaterians". 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.15.567165.
    10.1101/2023.11.15.567165
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Isabel Pereira-Castro. "Unravelling the function and regulation of human NLZ1 and COG8/PDF". PhD, Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/92639.
  2. Isabel Pereira-Castro. "Characterization of P149: a novel human protein that interacts with members of the Wnt signalling pathway". Master, Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, 2008. https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/22086/2/ResumoAbstactIsabelCastro.pdf.

Artistic / Performance

Artistic exhibition
  1. Contribution with several works for the exhibition RNA SOLUTIONS TO INFECTIOUS AND NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, 27th November to 13th December 2023, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto. 2023.

Intellectual property

Provisional application for patent
  1. 2023. "Regulation of gene expression by noncoding sequences in health and disease".
    Protected

Other

Software
  1. Bruno Sousa; Moreira, Alexandra; Isabel Pereira-Castro. "APAtizer". https://github.com/GeneRegulationi3S/APAtizer. 2023.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2024/11/14 mRNA signatures distinguish tobacco-related head and neck squamous cell carcinomas from surrounding normal tissue 21st National Oncology Congress (CNO, 2024)
Portuguese Society of Oncology (Coimbra, Portugal)
2024/05/09 Tobacco smoking-related cancers share common mRNA signatures 30th Porto Cancer Meeting
IPATIMUP (Porto, Portugal)
2024/01/31 mRNA signatures as risk markers in smoking-related cancers i3S Postdoc Seminar - Winter series
i3s - University of Porto (Porto, Portugal)
2023/10/19 Unravelling alternative polyadenylation mRNA signatures in smoking related cancers IV International Meeting of the Portuguese Society of Genetics (IMPSG)
Portuguese Society of Genetics (Braga, Portugal)
2023/09/15 RISK - RNA signatures in smoking related cancers that evade immunotherapy Workshop Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center Raquel Seruca
Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (Porto, Portugal)
2023/05/12 Identification of mRNA signatures by bioinformatic analysis in cancers related to tobacco smoking 16º Encontro de Investigação Jovem da Universidade do Porto (IJUP)
Universidade do Porto (Porto, Portugal)
2023/04/04 Regulation and function of mRNA signatures in health and disease (Invited talk) XXV ENEB – National Meeting of Biology Students
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Vila Real, Portugal)
2022/03/25 The iPLUS non-coding sequence: from fundamental research to Biotechnological applications (Invited talk) XIII Symposium on Bioengineering
Universidade do Porto (Porto, Portugal)
2020/01/16 Biological roles of alternative 3'UTRs Cancer Integrative Program seminar
i3S Cancer integrative program (Portugal)
2019/07/19 From transfection to CRISPR/Cas9: a new era in Molecular Biology (Invited talk) VII Cell Culture and Tissue Training Course: Beyond the microscope, culturing life
Coimbra Health School (ESTeSC) (Coimbra, Portugal)
2019/06/16 MCL1 alternative 3-UTRs play a role in Mcl-1 protein localization and function RNA 2019 - 24th Annual Meeting of the RNA Society
RNA Society (Poland)
2019/04/05 CRISPR/Cas9 as a tool to perform genome editing of non-coding sequences (Invited talk) CRISPR/Cas9: Mechanisms and Applications, Pre-SymBio (Pre-Symposium on Bioengineering)
FEUP (Porto, Portugal)
2019/03/13 From untranslated to beyond: MCL1 alternative 3¿UTRs control protein expression and localization (Invited talk) ibimed seminars
IBIMED - University of Aveiro (Aveiro, Portugal)
2019/02 Functional relevance of MCL1 alternative 3-UTR mRNA isoforms in human cells IJUP- 12º Encontro de Jovens Investigadores da U.Porto
Universidade do Porto
2019/01/25 MCL1 alternative 3-UTRs play a role in Mcl-1 protein localization and function VII National RNA Meeting: ptRNA2019
2018/06/14 MCL1 is regulated by post-transcriptional mechanisms in human T cells Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Society of Genetics
2018/02/07 MCL1 expression is regulated by alternative polyadenylation in human T cells IJUP – 11º Encontro Investigação Jovem da Universidade do Porto
(Portugal)
2016/03/17 Dissecting the molecular mechanisms controlling alternative polyadenylation in human T cells: MCL1 3’ ends regulation 17th Portugaliæ Genetica
(Porto, Portugal)
2010/09/19 The mitochondrial genome of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the pinewood nematode 30th International ESN Symposium
(vienna, Austria)
2009/03/19 Regulatory evolution of two overlapping genes 12th Portugaliæ Genetica
(Porto, Portugal)
2005/04/16 High frequency of germline SDHB and SDHD mutations in sporadic head and neck paragangliomas from northern Spain AACR Meeting
American Association for Cancer Research (San Diego, United States)

Supervision

Thesis Title
Role 		Degree Subject (Type)
Institution / Organization
2024/11/01 - Current On the function and molecular mechanisms of mRNA signatures in cancers triggered by tobacco smoking
Supervisor of Inês Reis Claro
 PhD Programme in Biochemistry (PhD)
Fundação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2023/09/01 - 2024/12/11 Unravelling the function of 3UTR sequences in the expression of genes involved in nerve regeneration
Co-supervisor of Joana Machado
 Master in Cellular and Molecular Biology (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09/15 - 2024/12/09 A bioinformatics approach to identify mRNA signatures specific to cancers associated with tobacco smoking
Supervisor of Bruno Sousa
 Master in Bioinformatics and computational biology (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09/01 - 2024/12/05 On the understanding of alternative polyadenylation mRNA signatures in cancers related to tobacco smoking: function and therapeutic approaches
Supervisor of Gonçalo Fernandes
 Master in Cellular and Molecular Biology (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09/01 - 2023/10/11 Manufacturing and Characterization of DNA Nanovectors for the genetic modification of Natural Killer (NK) cells for NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy
Co-supervisor of João Luís Pestana Freitas de Sousa Cardoso
 Master in Molecular Bioengineering (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2022/09/01 - 2023/10/10 Application of the non-coding sequence iPLUS in NSCLC vaccines
Supervisor of Maria Inês Silva
 Master in Molecular Bioengineering (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2022/09/01 - 2023/07/31 RISK - mRNA signatures as risk markers in cancers triggered by tobacco smoking
Supervisor of Maria de Sá Bessa
 Master in Bioinformatics and computational biology (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09/01 - 2023/07/19 Dissecting the function of Profilin 3UTR and iPLUS in gene expression regulation
Co-supervisor of Miguel Gaspar
 Biochemistry (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2021/09/01 - 2022/12/14 RNA signatures in cancer
Co-supervisor of Filipa Lopes de Mendonça
 Bioinformática e Biologia Computacional (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2021/09/01 - 2022/11/15 Regulation of gene expression by noncoding sequences in health and disease
Supervisor of Inês Reis Claro
Bioquímica (Master)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2021/09/01 - 2022/07/10 TRUCKs for Metastatic Melanoma: a new motorway for immunotherapy, carrying TCRs and delivering cytokines
Co-supervisor of Francisca Silva Ferreira
 Master in Molecular Bioengineering (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2021/09/01 - 2022/07/01 The role of RNA-binding proteins in USE-containing genes expression
Supervisor of Joana Martins Machado
 Biologia (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2021/09/01 - 2022/07/01 Bioinformatic analyses of RNA signatures in cancer and the role of non-coding sequences in gene expression regulation
Co-supervisor of Alexandre Ferreira
 Biologia (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2020/10/01 - 2021/11/25 The iPLUS non-coding sequence: on the function and therapeutic applications
Co-supervisor of Ana Moutinho
 Bioquímica (Master)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2021/02/01 - 2021/09/30 Application of iPLUS in therapeutic recombinant protein production
Co-supervisor of Francisca Ferreira
 Bioengenharia (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2018/10/01 - 2019/11/12 Functional relevance of MCL1 alternative 3-UTR mRNA isoforms in human cells
Supervisor of Beatriz Carreiro Garcia
 Biologia Celular e Molecular (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2017/09/01 - 2018/07/19 Regulation of MCL1 3UTR-APA-derived mRNA isoforms
Supervisor of Olena Oleksandrivna Kutsenko
 Biologia Molecular e Celular (Master)
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2016/09/19 - 2017/06/30 Regulation of alternative polyadenylation in human T cells
Supervisor of Beatriz Carreiro Garcia
 Biologia (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2013/09/01 - 2014/12/19 Regulation of MCL1 alternative polyadenylationderived mRNA isoforms by microRNAs in human T cells
Supervisor of Ana Cláudia Faria Curinha de Sousa
 Biologia Molecular e Celular (Master)
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2007 - 2008 Application of the mutational analysis to clinical samples from patients with lung cancer
Co-supervisor of Ana Cristina Lima Moreira Correia Branco
 Biologia (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Event organisation

Event name
Type of event (Role) 		Institution / Organization
2021/10/12 - 2021/10/14 Early Stage Researchers (ESR) Scientific symposium as part of the PHASAGE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE program (2021/10/12 - 2021/10/14)
Symposium (Co-organisor)
2019/04/05 - 2019/04/05 CRISPR/Cas9: Mechanisms and Applications (Pre-Symposium on Bioengineering) (2019/04/05 - 2019/04/05)
Workshop (Co-organisor)
 Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2019/01/24 - 2019/01/25 Organizer of the VIII Portuguese Meeting: ptRNA2019 (2019/01/24 - 2019/01/25)
Meeting (Member of the Organising Committee)
 Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2020/02/03 - 2020/02/07 COST Action CA17103 - DARTER Training school "The guide to antisense development" Topics discussed included choosing the right antisense modality, how to properly test antisense therapies, how to select the best model systems, and how to prepare for clinical trials with antisense therapies.
Workshop
 DARTER Training school "The guide to antisense development"
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal

Jury of academic degree

Topic
Role 		Candidate name (Type of degree)
Institution / Organization
2024/12/12 Exploring 3’ UTR Isoforms: Decrypting miR-34c-5p’s Gene Regulation
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Tomás Viana Pereira de Faria Araújo (Master)
Fundação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2022/12/14 Molecular basis for the epigenetic regulation of MGP in cancer
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Helena Isabel Rosa Pinto Caiado (PhD)
Universidade do Algarve Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas, Portugal
2022/11/25 The crosstalk between miRNAs and tRNA modifying enzymes– an alternative pathway to regulate the tRNA epitranscriptome
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Diana Gisela Silva Barbosa Bastos (Master)
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2021/07/22 Exploring the in vivo function of a 3'-UTR mRNA sequence in zebrafish gene expression
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Inês Sofia Pinto Antunes (Other)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2021/06/27 Characterization of CDH1 and its antisense gene in stomach and breast normal cell lines
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Nelson Eduardo Lima Martins (Other)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2020/06/23 Unravelling the function of iPLUS in the control of the genetic networks of the nervous system and pancreas
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Carlos Filipe Gomes Henriques (Other)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2019/10/29 Novel predictive markers of therapy response in gastric cancer
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Silvana Patrícia Lobo Ferreira de Sousa (Master)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2017/12/06 The urea cycle and the de novo human mutome
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Ana Sofia Mendes Oliveira (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2015/09/11 The role of RNA-binding proteins in microglia activation and deactivation
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Ana Teresa Magalhães Azeredo Keating (Master)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
2013/12/11 Expression and functionality of histone H2A2C in the mammary epithelium
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Fátima Liliana Ribeiro Vieira Monteiro (Master)
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal

Ad Hoc journal article review

Journal title (ISSN) Publisher
2018 - Current Frontiers in Immunology; Front in Genetics; Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences; Journal of Cellular Biochemistry; Immunology Letters; Genome Research; Journal of the American Society of Nephrology; International Journal of Molecular Sciences; Communications Biology; Front in Molecular Biosciences https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/349710

Association member

Society Organization name Role
2023 - Current Portuguese Biochemical Society Member of the SPB-RNA thematic group
2023 - Current The Society for RNA Therapeutics Member
2018/06 - Current Portuguese Society of Genetics Member

Committee member

Activity description
Role 		Institution / Organization
2023 - Current PhD Counselling Committee. Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Algarve. Universidade do Algarve, Portugal

Conference scientific committee

Conference name Conference host
2021/11/30 - 2021/11/30 4th PhDay: Break borders and build opportunities
2021/10/12 - 2021/10/14 PHASAGE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE - Phase transitions in aging and age-related diseases
2020/10/01 - 2020/10/01 3rd PhDay - Back to the Future
2019/09/26 - 2019/09/26 PhDay | PhD countdown: a time for Science i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto

Consulting

Activity description Institution / Organization
2019/01/01 - Current Scientific consultant of IDENTIFICA, a company that provides innovative solutions in the field of genetic testing for the identification and certification of biological products.

Course / Discipline taught

Academic session Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2024/02 - Current Invited Assistant Professor of the Integrated Master Degree in Veterinary Medicine, ICBAS/UP. Laboratory classes of Molecular Genetics Medicina Veterinária Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2022 - Current Invited teacher of the discipline RNA Biology in Health and Disease of the Doctoral program of Biomedicine from the University of Aveiro with the lesson: Regulation of gene expression by alternative polyadenylation and cis-regulatory sequences Biomedicina (Doutoramento) Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2019/03/01 - Current Invited teacher of the Functional Genetics module of the MCBiology Ph.D. Program Molecular and Cell Biology PhD Program (Doutoramento) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2023/09/25 - 2023/09/29 Teaching staff of the International advanced course Blended Intensive Program (BIP) - Global Climate changes and Pollution: challenges to the immune system, RNA metabolism and stress responses. Laboratory session - In vitro transcription for mRNA vaccines development. Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2015/05 - 2018/05 Invited teacher of the GABBA PhD doctoral program from the University of Porto in the Regulation of Gene Expression module with the lesson: Dissecting the molecular mechanisms controlling alternative polyadenylation in human T cells Biologia Básica e Aplicada (Doutoramento) Universidade do Porto, Portugal
2014 - 2016 Invited teacher of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Master from the University of Aveiro in the RNA Biology discipline with the lesson: The world of non-coding RNAs: miRNAs and siRNAs Biologia Molecular e Celular (Mestrado integrado) Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal

Evaluation committee

Activity description
Role 		Institution / Organization Funding entity
2023 - Current External examiner of PhD projects. Ph.D. Program Molecular and Cell Biology (MCbiology)
Evaluator
 Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal
2023/09 - 2023/10 President of the jury to recruit a Research fellow to work on the project: RISK - New mRNA signatures as risk markers in cancers triggered by tobacco smoking
President
 Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2020/02/12 - 2020/02/24 Jury of a call for a Research Technician to work on the project: "iPLUS - A 28 nucleotide sequence that activates gene expression and protein production", funded by CaixaImpulse, la Caixa Foundation.
Evaluator
 Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
2019/12/05 - 2019/12/18 Jury of a call to recruit a PhD student to work on the european project: " FOLSMART - Folate-Target Nanodevies To Activated Macrophages For Rheumatoid Arthritis", funded by H2020-NMPPILOTS-2015.
Evaluator
 Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Science with and for Society

Interview (newspaper / magazine)

Activity description Newspaper / Forum
2022/11/07 News in the University of Porto news channel about the Translation Research award in the AstraZeneca Innovate Competition UP News
2021/10/20 UP news about our Gilead GENESE prize UP News
2019/09/16 Press release in the UP news channel about our iPLUS project financed by CaixaImpulse, Fundação «la Caixa» UP News

Journal scientific committee

Journal title (ISSN) Publisher
2023 - Current Editor in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences (RNA Networks and Biology) Frontiers

Mentoring / Tutoring

Topic Student name
2020/10 - Current Tutor of the Early Stage Researchers (ESR) of the PhasAGE - Phase Transitions in Aging and Age-Related Disorders Twinning project Early Stage Researchers (ESR) of the PhasAGE – Phase Transitions in Aging and Age-Related Disorders
2019 - Current Ambassador of the i3S Educational Program with presentations to high school students about themes related to Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics High school students
2022/02/01 - 2022/05/31 Erasmus + Traineeship 2021-2022 project of Sapienza University, Rome Elisabetta Scarfiello
2018/06 - 2018/12 Mentoring of a Bioengeneering Master student in CRISPR and molecular biology laboratory techniques Alexandre Oliveira Pinto
2013/06/01 - 2013/09/01 Supervision of a internship from Ciência sem Fronteiras Program (Brasil) Francisco Eder Lopes
Distinctions

Award

2025 Advanced Oncology Research Grant
Portuguese League Against Cancer - Northern Regional Nucleus , Portugal
2023 Prize Prof. Luís Archer for best poster award
Sociedade Portuguesa de Genética Humana, Portugal
2022 Translational research award from The Fundação AstraZeneca Innovate Competition
2022 Best Poster award with the work: iCoV2PLUS - Increased Production Levels Universal Sequence as an asset for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines
iMed Conference® 14.0, Portugal
2022 Best poster awards with the work: The role of RNA-binding proteins in USE-containing genes expression
Universidade do Porto, Portugal
2022 Second best poster award with the work: The role of an Upstream Sequence Element (USE) in human genes expression
VII Jornadas da Bioquímica, Portugal
2019 Basic award at the AstraZeneca Foundation Innovative Competion
Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Portugal
2019 Best poster award with the work: mRNA at the center of gene regulation in macrophages: from polarization to tumor co-cultures
2018 Second best poster award with the work: An innovative method for polyadenylation signal targeting by CRISPR/Cas9 in difficult to transfect cells.
2017 Best poster award with the work: Mechanisms of gene regulation in the crosstalk of the cancer - macrophage microenvironment.
2015 Awarded individual Post-doctoral fellowship SFRH/BPD/107901/2015 - Dissecting the molecular mechanisms controlling alternative polyadenylation in human T cells: a role for transcription elongation factors?
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
2013 Honorable mention in Poster presentation with the work: MCL-1 is regulated by alternative polyadenylation in T cells.
2011 Best poster presentation with the work: "Characterization of human NLZ1/ZNF703 and identification of two conserved domains essential for its proper subcellular localization"
2008 Awarded individual PhD fellowship SFRH/BD/44264/2008: Unravelling the function and regulation of human NLZ1 and COG8/PDF
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
2005 Best poster with the work: "High frequency of germline SDHB and SDHD mutations in apparently sporadic head and neck paragangliomas from Spain"