Ana C. Afonso holds an European PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering (FEUP-Portugal, 2024), following two B.Sc. in Clinical Analysis and Public Health (IPB-Portugal, 2016) and in Biomedical Sciences (IPB-Portugal, 2017); and a M.Sc. in Chemistry and Pharmacy of Natural Products (USAL-Spain/IPB-Portugal, 2019). Her work aims to provide new evidence on the potential public health risks from the presence of neglected species in drinking water with a focus on strains with aggregation ability. Currently, she is working as a Junior Researcher in the European Project Twinning InnoVAntiBiofilm.

Personal identification

Full name
Ana Cristina Oliveira Afonso

Citation names

  • Afonso, A.
  • Afonso, A. C.

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
A917-804D-9CE1
ORCID iD
0000-0002-4926-8935

Email addresses

  • up202010573@edu.fe.up.pt (Professional)
  • anacris.afonso@hotmail.com (Personal)

Knowledge fields

  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Microbiology
  • Medical and Health Sciences - Health Sciences

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1)
Spanish; Castilian Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1)
Degree Classification
2020 - 2024/10
Concluded
 Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering (Doutoramento)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
"“The role of aggregating bacterial strains in drinking water safety – a contribution to understand cell-cell interactions” " (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2019
Concluded
 Master Degree in Pharmacy and Chemistry of Natural Products (Mestrado)
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal

Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
"Avaliação das propriedades antimicrobianas do Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) em isolados bacterianos responsáveis por Iinfeções associadas aos cuidados de saúde (IACS)" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 18
2017
Concluded
 Degree in Laboratory Biomedical Sciences (Licenciatura)
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal
 15
2016
Concluded
 Degree in Clinical Analysis and Public Health (Licenciatura)
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Portugal
 14

Science

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2025/02/03 - Current Contracted Researcher (Research) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal
2020/02/06 - 2020/10/31 Researcher (Research) Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal

Others

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2020/11/01 - 2024/10/31 PhD student Universidade do Minho Centro de Engenharia Biológica, Portugal
2020 - 2024 PhD student Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2020 - 2024 PhD student Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Centro de Investigação e de Tecnologias Agro-Ambientais e Biologicas, Portugal
2019/01 - 2019/07 Researcher Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Escola de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Portugal
2017/02 - 2017/06 Intern Hospital de Braga, Portugal
2015/10 - 2016/06 Intern Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Portugal
2015/09 - 2015/10 Intern Laboratório de Saúde Pública de Braga, Portugal

Grant

Designation Funders
2020/11/01 - 2024/10/31 The role of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus in drinking water safety - a contribution to understand if a strain can mirror the behaviour of a species
2020.04773.BD
10.54499/2020.04773.BD
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2020/02/06 - 2020/10/01 Biocide_for_Biofilm - Desenvolvimento de novas soluções biocidas para o controlo efetivo de biofilmes
POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030219
Research Fellow
Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal
Ongoing

Contract

Designation Funders
2021/01/01 - Current ALICE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering
LA/P/0045/2020
10.54499/LA/P/0045/2020
PhD Student Fellow
Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Centro de Estudos de Fenómenos de Transporte, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Laboratório de Processos de Separação e Reacção Laboratório de Catálise e Materiais, Portugal

Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2020/11/01 - Current Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences
UIDB/04033/2020
PhD Student Fellow
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2020/01/01 - 2023/12/31 Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy
UIDB/00511/2020
10.54499/UIDB/00511/2020
PhD Student Fellow
Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2020/01/01 - 2023/12/31 Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy
UIDP/00511/2020
10.54499/UIDP/00511/2020
PhD Student Fellow
Universidade do Porto Laboratorio de Engenharia de Processos Ambiente Biotecnologia e Energia, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2018/07/15 - 2022/07/14 Development of novel biocide solutions for effective biofilm control
PTDC/BII-BTI/30219/2017
Universidade do Porto, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing

Other

Designation Funders
2019/01 - 2019/07 FUNGITECH
Norte-01-0247-FEDER-033788
Other
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Centro de Investigação e de Tecnologias Agro-Ambientais e Biologicas, Portugal

Publications

Book chapter
  1. A. C. Afonso; M. Sousa; L. C. Simões; M. Simões. "Phytochemicals Against Drug-Resistant Bacterial Biofilms and Use of Green Extraction Solvents to Increase Their Bioactivity". Springer International Publishing, 2022.
    10.1007/5584_2022_723
Conference abstract
  1. Ana C. Afonso; Inês B. Gomes; Maria J. Saavedra; Lúcia C. Simões; Manuel Simões. "Bacterial coaggregation’s role in water disinfection resistance". 2024.
    10.48797/SL.2024.146
Conference poster
  1. Ana Cristina Oliveira Afonso; Inês B. Gomes; Maria José Saavedra; Lúcia Simões; Manuel Simões. "Delftia acidovorans extracellular metabolites increase the biomass and metabolic activity of drinking water biofilms". 2023.
  2. Afonso, Ana; Lúcia Simões; M. J. Saavedra; Alba Trueba-Santiso; Juan M. Lema; Simões, Manuel. "Unraveling the mechanisms involved in coaggregation by proteomic analysis of two drinking water strains". Paper presented in Conference: Nature Conferences - Biofilms and Microbiomes: Global Impact on Public and Ecosystem Health, 2022.
  3. Afonso, Ana; Fernandes, Conceição; Garcia, Juliana; Duarte, Aida; Saavedra, Maria José. "Caracterização da resistência a antibióticos de isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae em Infeções Associadas aos Cuidados de Saúde (IACS)". Paper presented in Jornadas de Bioquímica. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 2019.
  4. Afonso, Ana; Rodrigues, Luciana; Madureira, Muriela; Nogueira, António José M.; Teixeira, Cristina. "Incidência de carcinoma do colo do útero na Europa: tendências temporais". Paper presented in I Congresso Nacional de Ciências Biomédicas Laboratoriais, 2016.
Journal article
  1. Afonso, A.C.; Saavedra, M.J.; Simões, M.; Simões, L.C.. "The role of the proteosurfaceome and exoproteome in bacterial coaggregation". Biotechnology Advances 79 (2025): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85212544950&partnerID=MN8TOARS.
    10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108505
  2. Ana C. Afonso; Jack Botting; Inês B. Gomes; Maria J. Saavedra; Lúcia C. Simões; Jun Liu; Manuel Simões. "Elucidating bacterial coaggregation through a physicochemical and imaging surface characterization". Science of The Total Environment (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174872.
    10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174872
  3. Afonso, Ana; Gomes, Inês; Massano, Francisca; Saavedra, Maria José ; Simões, Manuel; Simões, Lúcia. "Coaggregation dynamics in drinking water biofilms and implications for chlorine disinfection". Journal of Hazardous Materials (2024): 135948. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135948.
    10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135948
  4. Afonso, Ana C; Simões, Manuel; Saavedra, Maria José; Simões, Lúcia; Lema, Juan M; Trueba-Santiso, Alba. "Exploring coaggregation mechanisms involved in biofilm formation in drinking water through a proteomic-based approach". Journal of Applied Microbiology 135 6 (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jambio/lxae143.
    10.1093/jambio/lxae143
  5. Ana C. Afonso; Mariana Sousa; Ana Rita Pinto; Mário Cotovio; Manuel Simões; Maria José Saavedra. "Biofilm Production by Critical Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens from an Equine Wound". Animals (2023): https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13081342.
    10.3390/ani13081342
  6. Ana C. Afonso; Inês B. Gomes; Maria José Saavedra; Lúcia Simões; Manuel Simões. "Drinking-water isolated Delftia acidovorans selectively coaggregates with partner bacteria and facilitates multispecies biofilm development". Science of The Total Environment (2023): 162646-162646. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162646.
    10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162646
  7. Mariana Sousa; Ana Cristina Afonso; Lília Soares Teixeira; Anabela Borges; Maria José Saavedra; Lúcia Chaves Simões; Manuel Simões. "Hydrocinnamic Acid and Perillyl Alcohol Potentiate the Action of Antibiotics against Escherichia coli". Antibiotics (2023): https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12020360.
    10.3390/antibiotics12020360
  8. Afonso, Ana C.; Oliveira, Diana; Saavedra, Maria José; Borges, Anabela; Simões, Manuel. "Biofilms in Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Impact, Risk Factors and Control Strategies". International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22 15 (2021): 8278. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms22158278.
    10.3390/ijms22158278
  9. Afonso, Ana C.; Gomes, Inês B.; Saavedra, Maria José; Giaouris, Efstathios; Simões, Lúcia C.; Simões, Manuel. "Bacterial coaggregation in aquatic systems". Water Research 196 (2021): 117037. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117037.
    Published • 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117037
  10. Garcia, Juliana; Afonso, Ana; Fernandes, Conceição; Nunes, Fernando M.; Marques, Guilhermina; Saavedra, Maria José. "Comparative antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Lentinula edodes Donko and Koshin varieties against priority multidrug-resistant pathogens". South African Journal of Chemical Engineering (2020): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajce.2020.09.008.
    10.1016/j.sajce.2020.09.008
  11. "Incidence and mortality due to cervical cancer in 4 south European countries". Porto Biomedical Journal (2019): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pbj.0000000000000026.
    10.1016/j.pbj.0000000000000026
Magazine article
  1. Afonso, Ana. "Estudio de los mecanismos de coagregación bacteriana en biopelículas de conducciones de agua potable mediante un enfoque proteómico", Sem@foro, 2024, https://www.semicrobiologia.org/revista-semaforo/diciembre-2024.
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Afonso, Ana. "Avaliação das propriedades antimicrobianas do Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) contra isolados bacterianos responsáveis por infeções associadas aos cuidados de Saúde (IACS)". Master, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 2019. https://bibliotecadigital.ipb.pt/bitstream/10198/20591/1/pauta-relatorio-12.pdf.

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2021/10 Coaggregation between freshwater bacteria e- Conference on Innovation in Microbial Control
(Portugal)
2019/11 Será o shiitake (Lentinula edodes) eficaz contra isolados multirresistentes? XXI Encontro Micológico Transmontano
(Portugal)

Event organisation

Event name
Type of event (Role) 		Institution / Organization
2024/12 - Current Organization of the workshop "Plant-based Molecules for Biofilm Control" within the scope of the European Project InnovAntiBiofilm. (2024/12/06 - 2024/12/06)
Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)
 Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2024/12/06 - Current Workshop "Plant-based Molecules for Biofilm Control" within the scope of the InnovAntiBiofilm European Project
Workshop
 Workshop "Plant-based Molecules for Biofilm Control"
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2024/10/22 - 2024/10/24 BIN@PORTO 2024 "Innovation for Resilience" and Action Tank on “Antimicrobial Resistance: Sustainable Solutions for a Global Threat".
Congress
 BIN@PORTO 2024
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2024/07/22 - 2024/07/26 The 2nd Summer School on Antimicrobial and Biocide Resistance is jointly organized by GHTM, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT-NOVA), and Freie Universität Berlin (FUB). Its goal is to offer up-to-date knowledge on key topics, including antimicrobial resistance from a One Health perspective, bacterial resistance mechanisms to antimicrobials and biocides, the transfer and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and efflux-mediated resistance.
Seminar
 2nd Summer School on Antimicrobial and biocide resistance
Universidade Nova de Lisboa Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Portugal
2024/06/24 - 2024/07/12 SCELSE Summer Course is focused on deepening knowledge of the biofilm lifestyle of microbes, with an emphasis on leveraging microbial functions to optimize natural resource recycling, ensure clean water, manage health risks, and promote environmental sustainability for future generations.
Workshop
 SCELSE Summer Course
Singapore Center for Life Science Engineering, Singapore
2024/03/01 - 2024/04/30 The "Faber Entrepreneurship Program - Unlock Your Entrepreneurial Potential", is designed for MSc, Ph.D., and Postdoc students in STEM fields. The course focused on developing entrepreneurial skills, exploring how successful entrepreneurs turned innovative ideas into thriving businesses, and providing practical insights into the startup ecosystem, business development, and innovation strategies.
Workshop
 Faber Entrepreneurship Program
Faber, Portugal
2023/09/23 - 2023/09/23 Science for Everyone: Demonstration of experiences related to atmospheric pollution
Exhibition
 2023 European Researchers' Night
Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2023/09/22 - 2023/09/22 The event, themed "Water for the Future," featured experts discussing topics like adaptive water management for sustainability, enhancing system resilience and efficiency, and integrated solutions for the water-energy nexus.
Meeting
 Company's Day 2023: Água para o Futuro
Águas do Douro e Paiva, Portugal
2023/08/30 - 2023/09/02 The 2nd Edition of the UrbanWaterSECURITY Academy, held in Athens, Greece, organized by the Waste Management Laboratory of the University of the Aegean, in collaboration with the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED) of the University of Salerno and the Advanced Institute of Water Industry at Kyungpook National University. This intensive training provided an international platform to explore key issues related to urban water security, including nature-based solutions, advanced technologies, and best practices for sustainable water manag Urban Water Security Academy
Global NEST, Greece

Ad Hoc journal article review

Journal title (ISSN) Publisher
2024 - Current Journal of Applied Microbiology (1365-2672) Oxford Academic
2022 - Current Biofouling (1029-2454) Taylor & Francis

Mentoring / Tutoring

Topic Student name
2024 - Current Identifying new coaggregating strains and understanding their role in biofilm formation Daniela Dias
2022 - 2022 Antimicrobial and antibiofilm effect of phytochemicals as a potential treatment for nosocomial infections Mariana Sousa

Other jury / evaluation

Activity description Institution / Organization
2024/05/09 - Current Scientific moderator at Encontro de Investigação Jovem da U.Porto (IJUP) 2024 Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Award

2024 Free registration grant
European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Switzerland
2023 FEMS Meeting Attendance Grant
Federation Of European Microbiological Societies, Netherlands

Title

2024 European Doctorate in Chemical and Biological Engineering
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal