Maria Lígia Silva Sousa (E11E-4B64-2AD9)

Curriculum Vitae

Maria Lígia Silva Sousa

Maria Lígia Silva Sousa completed her PhD in Biology at University of Porto, Master course in Marine Sciences - Marine Resources; Specialization in Marine Biology and Ecology in 2011 by Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar and Licenciatura in Applied Biology in 2009 by Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências. She is Science and Technology Management in Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental. Published 15 articles in journals. Has 1 patent(s) registered. Organized 9 event(s). Participated in 6 events (s). Co-supervised 1 MSc dissertation(s). Has received 5 awards and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as PhD Student Fellow in 1 project(s), Research Fellow in 5 project(s), Researcher in 2 project(s), and Science and Technology Management Fellow in 2 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Medical and Health Sciences with emphasis on Medical Biotechnology and Engineering and Technology with emphasis on Environmental Biotechnology. In their professional activities, they interacted with 164 collaborator(s) co-authors of scientific papers.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Maria Lígia Silva Sousa

Citation names

Sousa, Maria Lígia
Lígia Sousa
M L Sousa

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: E11E-4B64-2AD9
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0012-7493

Email addresses

msousa@ciimar.up.pt (Professional)

Addresses

CIIMAR- Centro interdisciplinar de investigaçao marinha e ambiental. Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões Av. General Norton de Matos s/n, 4450-208, Matosinhos, Matosinhos, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

https://www2.ciimar.up.pt/team.php?id=263 (Professional)

Knowledge fields

Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology
Engineering and Technology - Environmental Biotechnology

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)
French	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Elementary (A2)	Intermediate (B1)
Spanish; Castilian	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Intermediate (B1)	Upper intermediate (B2)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2023/01 - 2023/12 Concluded	Post Graduation in Project Managment (Pós-Graduação) Universidade do Porto Porto Business School, Portugal
2015/11/01 - 2020/03/17 Concluded	Biologia (Doutoramento) Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal "Cyanobacterial bioactive metabolites for anticancer drug discovery: Characterization of new compounds and molecular mechanisms in physiologically relevant 3D cell culture " (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	Aprovado
2011 Concluded	Master course in Marine Sciences - Marine Resources; Specialization in Marine Biology and Ecology (Mestrado) Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Portugal "In vitro modeling of the oocyte development in zebrafish (Danio rerio): the role of hormones in maturation, apoptosis and sex-reversal of oocytes at different development stages" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	A in the ECTS scale
2009 Concluded	Applied Biology (Licenciatura) Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal "Marine Aquariums of Cold Water: principles of functioning and equipment" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	C in the ECTS scale

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2021/09/01 - Current	Science and Technology Management	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2019/12/15 - 2021/08/31	Researcher (Research)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2015/11/01 - 2019/10/31	Researcher (Research)	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal (...)
2017/05/01 - 2017/10/31	Visiting Researcher (Research)	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	Karolinska Institutet Cancer Center Karolinska, Sweden (...)
2016/05/01 - 2016/07/31	Visiting Researcher (Research)	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	Linköpings universitet, Sweden (...)
2013/02/01 - 2014/10/31	Researcher (Research)	Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Portugal
	Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal (...)
2014/02/15 - 2014/04/15	Visiting Researcher (Research)	European Commission Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development People, Belgium
	James Cook University, Australia
2013/04 - 2013/04	Visiting Researcher (Research)	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	University of Essex, United Kingdom
2012/04/01 - 2012/11/15	Researcher (Research)	Centro de Ciências do Mar, Portugal
	Centro de Ciências do Mar, Portugal

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2014/11/01 - 2015/10/31	Project manager: RAIA (OCEANUS - Marine Research & Innovation)	Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2024/01 - Current	Enzymatic chemistry acting on alkyl chains 10.3030/101088806 Science and Technology Management Fellow Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal	Ongoing
2020/10/01 - Current	BlueBio4Future – Blue Biotechnology and Bioengineering for the Current and Future Development of a Blue Bioeconomy in Portugal 952374 Science and Technology Management Fellow Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal	European Commission Ongoing
2013/02 - Current	SymbioCoRe - Synergies through merging biological and biogeochemical expertise in coral research PIRSES-GA-2011-295191 Research Fellow Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Portugal	European Commission Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development People Concluded
2015/11/01 - 2019	Cyanobacterial bioactive metabolites for anticancer drug discovery: Characterization of new compounds and molecular mechanisms in physiologically relevant 3D cell culture SFRH/BD/108314/2015 PhD Student Fellow Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2013/02/01 - 2014/09/30	SeReZoox - Sexual reproduction of zooxanthellae: an overlooked aspect of coral bleaching? PTDC/MAR/113962/2009 Research Fellow Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2012/04/01 - 2012/11/15	Oocyte maturation in fish: Paracrine regulation by BMP-15 and GDF-9 PTDC/CVT/104750/2008 Research Fellow Centro de Ciências do Mar, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2018/07/01 - Current	CYANCAN - Uncovering the cyanobacterial chemical diversity: the search for novel anticancer compounds PTDC/MEDQUI/30944/2017 Researcher Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal	Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT Concluded
2018/07/01 - 2022/03/31	Explorando a diversidade química das cianobactérias: a procura de novos compostos com aplicação no combate ao cancro PTDC/MED-QUI/30944/2017 Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Desporto, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2019/12/15 - 2021/08/30	0712_ACUINANO_1_E 0712_ACUINANO_1_E Research Fellow	Interreg Europe Concluded
2019/01/01 - 2019/12/31	Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental UID/Multi/04423/2019 Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2015/11/01 - 2018/12/31	INNOVMAR - Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035 Researcher Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal	Concluded
2014/02/17 - 2014/04/17	SymbioCoRe -SYnergies through Merging BIOlogical and biogeochemical expertise in COral REsearch 295191 Research Fellow Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Portugal	Concluded

Other

	Designation	Funders
2023/01/01 - 2025/12/31	Blue Bioeconomy Pact C64491 5664-00000026 Science and Technology Management Fellow	Governo da República Portuguesa European Union

Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract	ARAÚJO, MÁRIO JORGE FARIA DOS SANTOS; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Fonseca, E; Campos, Alexandre. "New frontiers in aquatic contamination: nanocontaminants and their adverse effects". Paper presented in Simpósio Ibérico sobre a Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Minho, Vila Nova de Cerveira, 2021. Published Fonseca, ESS; ARAÚJO, MÁRIO JORGE FARIA DOS SANTOS; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Vázquez, M; Mallo, Natalia; Cabaleiro, Santiago; Rodriguez-Lorenzo, Laura; et al. "Does size matter? The effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticle size over time on gene expression in turbot liver". Paper presented in Aquaculture Europe 2021, Funchal, 2021. Published ARAÚJO, MÁRIO JORGE FARIA DOS SANTOS; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Vásquez, Maria; Rodriguez-Lorenzo, Laura; Quarato, Mónica; Turkina, Maria; Caballero, Santiago; Espiña, Begoña; Campos, Alexandre. "Proteomic alteration of Turbot (Psetta maxima) to commercial titanium dioxide and silver nanoparticles". Paper presented in AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2020, 2021. Submitted ARAÚJO, MÁRIO JORGE FARIA DOS SANTOS; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Turkina, Maria; Campos, Alexandre. "Comparison of sample preparation methods for proteomic studies with aquaculture species". Paper presented in AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2020, 2021. Submitted Ferreira, Leonor; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Preto, Marco; Morais, João; Silva, Raquel; Urbatzka, Ralph; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Reis, Mariana. "Combination of metabolomic tools and bioactivity screening as a strategy to find hit anticancer compounds from a library of cyanobacterial fractions". Paper presented in Blue Think Conference 2021, Matosinhos, 2021. Sousa, Maria Lígia; Linder, Stig; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Colon cancer spheroids as model for screening of promising drugs from cyanobacteria". Paper presented in Organoids without borders, Porto, 2020.
Conference paper	Mohammed Haida; Fatima El Khalloufi; Alexandre Campos; Lahcen Tamegart; Richard Mugani; El Mahdi Redouane; Yasser Essadki; et al. "Cyanotoxins (Microcystins) in Water Irrigation: Evaluation of Contamination, Detoxification Process in Plant-Animal Food Chain Model and Human Health Risk". Paper presented in AETOX The 7th Iberian Congress on Cyanotoxins/3rd Iberoamerican Congress on Cyanotoxins, Cordoba, 2022. 10.3390/blsf2022014021
Conference poster	Sousa, Maria Lígia; Abel Forero; Castelo-Branco, Raquel; Gabriella Spengler; Carlos Jiménez; Jaime Rodriguez; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Leão, Pedro N.; Reis, Mariana. Corresponding author: Reis, Mariana. "Lusichelins: a story of cyanobacterial siderophores unveiled through bioassay guided discovery". Paper presented in Gordon Research Conferences, Ventura, USA,, 2022. Hakem, Imene; Girão, Mariana; Ribeiro, Tiago; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Silva, Natália; Carvalho, Maria de Fátima; Vasconcelos, Vítor; Farid, Bensalah; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Bioactivity screening of bacteria isolated from extreme environments". Paper presented in Blue Think Conference (BTC) Share Science, Spread Knowledge, Porto, Portugal, 2021. Sousa, Maria Lígia; Mariana Alves Reis. "Isolation of new cyanobacterial phenolate-type siderophores with activity against cancer spheroids". Paper presented in XII European Conference on Marine Natural Products, 2021. Ferreira, Leonor; Morais, João; Marco Preto; Silva, Raquel; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Urbatzka, Ralph; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Reis, Mariana. "Exploring a cyanobacterial fractions library for its anticancer potential using metabolomics". Paper presented in XII European Conference on Marine Natural Products, 2021. Leonor Amaral Silva Ferreira. "Evaluation of the Anticancer Potential of a Library of Cyanobacterial Fractions by Combining Metabolomic Tools and Bioactivity Screening". Paper presented in Vanguards of Natural Product Research, 2021. Sousa, Maria Lígia. "New cyanobacterial phenolate-type siderophores with anticancer activity against cancer multicellular spheroid cultures". Paper presented in Vanguards of Natural Product Research, 2021. ARAÚJO, MÁRIO JORGE FARIA DOS SANTOS; Fonseca, ESS; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Vázqueza, M; Cabaleiro, S; Rodriguez-Lorenzo, Laura; Quarato, M; et al. "Proteomic and Transcriptomic Effects of Commercial Polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated Silver Nanoparticles on Turbot Liver (Scophthalmus maximus)". Paper presented in NanoEuroForum, 2021. ARAÚJO, MÁRIO JORGE FARIA DOS SANTOS. "Comparison of sample preparation methods for proteomic studies with aquaculture species". Paper presented in Aquaculture Europe, 2021. Pereira, Sandra; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Marco A. C. Preto; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Campos, Alexandre. "Nocuolin A: a promising natural solution to prevent mussel bioadhesion". Paper presented in 4th International Conference on Biological and Biomimetic Adhesives 2021, 2021. Sousa, Maria Lígia; Ribeiro, Tiago; Linder, Stig; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Portoamides A and B: a superhero also need friends!". Paper presented in Blue Think Conference - Share Science, Spread Knowledge, 2020. Pereira, Sandra; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Gonçalves, Catarina; Preto, Marco; Reis, Mariana; Campos, Alexandre; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Reis, Joana. "Cyanobacterial bioprospecting for natural marine antifouling agents – the story so far". Paper presented in Blue Think Conference - Share Science, Spread Knowledge, 2020. Silva, Natália; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Reis, Mariana; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Isolation of a novel compound, 13(2)-hydroxypheofarnesin a, with lipid reducing activity". Paper presented in Meeting of Medicinal Biotechnology at School of Health from Polytechnic of Porto, 2019. Magalhães, João; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Silva, Tiago; Rosa, Filipa; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Assessing anti-obesity and anti-cancer activity of cyanobacteria extracts from the LEGE CC culture collection". Paper presented in IV Meeting of Medicinal Biotechnology at School of Health from Polytechnic of Porto, 2019. Sousa, Maria Lígia; Tiago Ribeiro; Vitor Vasconcelos; Stig Linder; Ralph Urbatzka. "Portoamides A and B isolated from Phormidium sp. LEGE 05292 Induces Cytotoxicity on the Proliferative Cell Layer of In vitro Microtumours". Paper presented in XVI International Symposium on Marine Natural Products and XI European Conference on Marine Natural Products, 2019. Natália Gonçalves Silva; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Mariana Alves Reis; Vítor Vasconcelos; Ralph Urbatzka. "A Novel Chlorophyll Derivative,132-Hydroxy-Pheofarnesin A, from a Marine Cyanobacteria with Lipid Reducing Activity". Paper presented in ”. XVI International Symposium on Marine Natural Products and XI European Conference on Marine Natural Products. Peniche, Portugal. Abstract published in, 2019. Marco Preto; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Ralph Urbatzka; Joana Reis Almeida; Leão, Pedro N.; Vasconcelos, Vitor. "Isolation and Absolute Configuration of the Cyanobacterial Secondary Metabolite Nocuolin A". Paper presented in XVI International Symposium on Marine Natural Products and XI European Conference on Marine Natural Products, 2019. Sousa, Maria Lígia; Marco Preto; Vítor Vasconcelos; Stig Linder; Ralph Urbatzka. "A natural oxadiazine isolated from cyanobacteria kills cancer cells in multicellular culture systems by impairing cellular respiration". Paper presented in 30th International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products and the 10th International Congress on Biodiversity (ISCNP30 & ICOB10), 2018. Leonor Ferreira; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Preto, Marco; Vasconcelos, Vítor; Ralph Urbatzka. "Bioactivity screening of cyanobacteria for the isolation of novel anticancer compounds using 2D and 3D cell culture models". Paper presented in IMMR'18 \| International Meeting on Marine Research 2018, 2018. Sousa, Maria; Preto, Marco; Leão, Pedro; Martins, Rosário; Linder, Stig; Vasconcelos, Vítor; Ralph Urbatzka. "Generation of spheroids of cancer cells for screening of anti-tumour activity of cyanobacterialextracts and isolated compounds". Paper presented in 8th International Conference on MArine Biotechnology (BIOPROSP_17), 2017. Sousa, Maria Lígia; Ana Cardoso Silva; Malhão, Fernanda; Rocha, Maria João; Rocha, Eduardo; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Viability and ultrastructural morphology of Danio rerio oocytes under serum-free culture conditions". Paper presented in Conference of European Comparative Endocrinologists, 2012. Sousa, Maria; Cardoso, Ana; Malhão, Fernanda; Rocha, Eduardo; Monteiro, Rogério A. F.; Rocha, M. J.; Ralph Urbatzka. "Optimization of the processo of isolation and sorting of zebrafish oocytes for in vitro culture and histological processing". Paper presented in XII Congresso Técnico de Anatomia Patológica, 2010.
Journal article	Pereira, S.; Oliveira, Isabel Benta; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Gonçalves, Catarina; Marco A. C. Preto; Maria V. Turkina; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Campos, Alexandre; Almeida, J.R.. Corresponding author: Almeida, J.R.. "Antifouling activity and ecotoxicological profile of the cyanobacterial oxadiazine nocuolin A". Chemosphere (2024): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143318. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143318 Fonseca, Elza; Vázquez, María; Rodriguez-Lorenzo, Laura; Mallo, Natalia; Pinheiro, Ivone; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Cabaleiro, Santiago; et al. "Getting fat and stressed: Effects of dietary intake of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the liver of turbot Scophthalmus maximus". Journal of Hazardous Materials 458 (2023): 131915. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131915. Published • 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131915 Mário J. Araújo; Maria L. Sousa; Elza Fonseca; Aldo Barreiro Felpeto; José Carlos Martins; María Vázquez; Natalia Mallo; et al. "Proteomics reveals multiple effects of titanium dioxide and silver nanoparticles in the metabolism of turbot, Scophthalmus maximus". Chemosphere (2022): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136110. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136110 Araújo, M.J.; Sousa, M.L.; Felpeto, A.B.; Turkina, M.V.; Fonseca, E.; Martins, J.C.; Vasconcelos, V.; Campos, A.. "Comparison of sample preparation methods for shotgun proteomic studies in aquaculture species". Proteomes 9 4 (2021): http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85119668223&partnerID=MN8TOARS. 10.3390/proteomes9040046 João P. A. Reis; Sandra A. C. Figueiredo; Maria Lígia Sousa; Pedro N. Leão. "BrtB is an O-alkylating enzyme that generates fatty acid-bartoloside esters". Nature Communications (2020): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15302-z. 10.1038/s41467-020-15302-z Sousa, Maria Lígia. "Portoamides A and B are mitochondrial toxins and induce cytotoxicity on the proliferative cell layer of in vitro microtumours". Toxicon (2020): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2019.12.159. 10.1016/j.toxicon.2019.12.159 Sawssen Bel Mabrouk; Mariana Alves Reis; Maria Lígia Sousa; Tiago Ribeiro; Joana Reis Almeida; Sandra Pereira; Jorge Antunes; et al. "The Marine Seagrass Halophila stipulacea as a Source of Bioactive Metabolites against Obesity and Biofouling". Marine Drugs 18 2 (2020): 88. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/md18020088. 10.3390/md18020088 Sousa, Maria. "Chlorophyll Derivatives from Marine Cyanobacteria with Lipid-Reducing Activities". Marine Drugs (2019): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/md17040229. 10.3390/md17040229 Sousa, Maria. "Antiproliferative Effects of the Natural Oxadiazine Nocuolin A Are Associated With Impairment of Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation". Frontiers in Oncology (2019): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2019.00224. 10.3389/fonc.2019.00224 Sousa, Maria Lígia. "Symbiodinium-Induced Formation of Microbialites: Mechanistic Insights From in Vitro Experiments and the Prospect of Its Occurrence in Nature". Frontiers in Microbiology (2018): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00998. 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00998 Sousa, Maria Lígia; Ribeiro, T.; Lemos, F.; Preto, M.; Azevedo, J.; Sousa, M.L.; Leão, P.N.; et al. "Cytotoxicity of portoamides in human cancer cells and analysis of the molecular mechanisms of action". PLOS ONE 12 12 (2017): http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188817. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188817 Sousa, M.L.; Silva, A.; Malhão, F.; Rocha, M.J.; Rocha, E.; Urbatzka, R.; Sousa, Maria Lígia. "Reproductive hormones affect follicular cells and ooplasm of Stage I and II oocytes in zebrafish". Reproduction, Fertility and Development 28 12 (2016): 1945-1952. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84991490402&partnerID=MN8TOARS. 10.1071/RD15100 Frommlet, Jörg C.; Sousa, Maria L.; Alves, Artur; Vieira, Sandra I.; Suggett, David J.; Serôdio, João. "Coral symbiotic algae calcify ex hospite in partnership with bacteria". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 19 (2015): 6158-6163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420991112. 10.1073/pnas.1420991112 Frommlet, J.; Guimaraes, B.; Sousa, Maria Lígia; Serodio, J.; Alves, A.. "Neptunomonas phycophila sp. nov. isolated from a culture of Symbiodinium sp., a dinoflagellate symbiont of the sea anemone Aiptasia tagetes". INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY 65 Pt 3 (2015): 915-919. http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.000039. 10.1099/ijs.0.000039 Sousa, M.L.; Figueiredo, F.; Pinheiro, C.; Silva, A.; Malhão, F.; Rocha, M.J.; Rocha, E.; Urbatzka, R.; Sousa, Maria Lígia. "Morphological and molecular effects of cortisol and ACTH on zebrafish stage I and II Follicles". Reproduction 150 5 (2015): 429-436. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84957794910&partnerID=MN8TOARS. 10.1530/REP-15-0271 Sousa, Maria Lígia; Silva, Ana; Malhão, Fernanda; Rocha, Maria João; Rocha, Eduardo; Urbatzka, Ralph. "Viability analysis of oocyte–follicle complexes and gonadal fragments of zebrafish as baseline for toxicity testing". Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods 24 1 (2013): 42-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/15376516.2013.846952. 10.3109/15376516.2013.846952
Preprint	Maria Lígia Sousa; Leonor Ferreira; Dora Ferreira; Abel M Forero; Raquel Castelo-Branco; Nikoletta Szemerédi; Gabriella Spengler; et al. "Decoding Lusichelins A-E: An In-Depth Look at the Metallophores of Lusitaniella coriacea LEGE 07167 – Structure, Production, and Functionality". 2025. https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-63fgd. 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-63fgd
Thesis / Dissertation	Sousa, Maria Lígia. "Cyanobacterial bioactive metabolites for anticancer drug discovery: Characterization of new compounds and molecular mechanisms in physiologically relevant 3D cell culture". PhD, Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/126888. Sousa, Maria Lígia. "In vitro modeling of the oocyte development in zebrafish (Danio rerio): the role of hormones in maturation, apoptosis and sex-reversal of oocytes at different development stages". Master, Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, 2011. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/%22-In-vitro-modeling-of-the-oocyte-development-in-of-Sousa/f03ca6d01f7816d28c36bb703153a05f0e08f41f.

Intellectual property

Patent

Sousa, Maria Lígia; Urbatzka, Ralph; Freitas, Sara; Reis, Mariana; Gonçalves, Natália; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Ribeiro, Tiago; Rosa, Filipa. 2020. "Hydroxypheophorbide compounds, methods and uses thereof". Portugal.
Granted/Issued

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2020/05/20	Cyanobacterial bioactive metabolites for anticancer drug discovery	Neptune seminar series CIIMAR - (Matosinhos, Portugal)
2019/07/31	Cyanobacteria isolated Nocuolin A impairs mitochondrial oxidative phosphrylation on cancer spheroids	PSE meeting Lisbon 2019 - Natural Products in Drug Discovery and Human Health Phytochemistry Society of Europe (Lisboa, Portugal)
2019/07/03	Effects of Cyanobacteria Origin Oxadiazine Nocuolin A on HCT116 Cells Cultured on 2D and 3D Cell Systems	ISSNP - International Summer School on Natural Products Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II (Nápoles, Italy)
2019/06/05	Bioactivity Screening From Cyanobacteria Towards Metabolic Diseases And Cancer	XV International Congress of Scientific Research (XV CIC) (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
2018/10/21	Beneficial activities from cyanobacteria towards obesity, diabetes and cancer screening and mechanism of action	18th International Conference On Harmful Algae, ICHA2018 L'Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Nantes, France)
2018/10/19	The more the merrier: evaluation of Nocuolin A anti-cancer activities in 2D and 3D cell cultures	Neptune seminar series CIIMAR (Portugal)
2015/08/23	Symbiodinium - The first dinoflagellate known to drive microbial-algal calcification	6th European Phycological Congress (Londres, United Kingdom)
2013/12/03	Symbiolites: Aragonitic spherulites formed by Symbiodinium spp. and associated bacteria in culture	1st International Mid-Atlantic Symbiofest (Lewes, Delaware, United States)
2013/02/13	How do reproductive hormones affect the early oocyte stages in zebrafish?	2013 Meeting of Young Researchers of University of Porto (Porto, Portugal)
2012/08/21	Analysis of viability and ultrastructural morphology of oocyte-follicle complexes and gonadal fragments in Danio rerio under serum-free culture conditions	26th Conference of European Comparative Endocrinologists (Zurique, Switzerland)

Supervision

	Thesis Title Role	Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2021/09 - Current	Discovery of cyanobacterial anticancer compounds using 3D cell culture models Co-supervisor	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2023/05/25 - Current	Graphical Design Workshop The workshop was designed with CIIMAR’s young researchers in mind, aligning with BlueBio4Future’s objectives to support and promote a new generation of researchers who operate at the highest levels of science and the scientific community while also fostering an exceptional research environment in CIIMAR. (2023/05/25) Workshop (Member of the Scientific Committee)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2023/10/31 - 2023/10/31	Course in IP Protection - Module 1 Under the framework of BlueBio4Future ERA Chair and GRINNAQUA twinning projects, boosting the scientific excellence and innovation capacity at CIIMAR, the first module of the Intelectual Property (IP) course, on IP Protection and Valorization will take place at CIIMAR – Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, on the 31st of October. (2023/10/31 - 2023/10/31) Workshop (Co-organisor)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2023/09/12 - 2023/09/12	International Conference on Marine Biotechnology This conference is being held as part of the BlueBio4Future ERAChair project, which seeks to develop the expertise of CIIMAR in bioengineering, namely for the optimization of bioprocesses under the optimal culture conditions to maximize biomass, the applications of synthetic biology in terms of increased synthesis of added-value goods, green chemistry/biocatalysis for sustainable compound extraction and purification, and bioinformatics. (2023/09/12 - 2023/09/12) Conference (Co-organisor)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2023/05/29 - 2023/05/31	Short Course in Synthetic Biology The purpose of these courses is to equip CIIMAR researchers with cutting-edge biotechnological research knowledge in Green Chemistry/Biocatalysis, Synthetic Biology, Bioinformatics, and Bioprocesses/Bioreactors. This first course introduces the area of synthetic biology and its underlying natural scientific and engineering basis. (2023/05/29 - 2023/05/31) Workshop (Co-organisor)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2022/10/10 - 2022/10/11	BlueBio4Future training courses Course on Grant Proposal Writing & Course on Project Management (2022/10/10 - 2022/10/11) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2021/11/15 - 2021/11/15	Publishing your Research (2021/11/15 - 2021/11/15) Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2019/07/28 - 2019/07/31	Staff member of the organization commitee: participants check-in (2019/07/28 - 2019/07/31) Congress (Other)	Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2016/06 - 2016/09	UIM: Universidade Itinerante do Mar On board Professor: Lecturer of Biotechnology (2016/08/21 - 2016/08/29) Other (Other)	Universidade do Porto, Portugal Universidad de Oviedo, Spain
2009/04/22 - 2009/04/25	As X Jornadas de Biologia Aplicada são um encontro científico anual organizado por uma comissão de alunos finalistas com o apoio do Núcleo de Estudantes de Biologia Aplicada (NEBAUM). Trata-se de um encontro de cariz científico – que inclui palestras e workshops, para além de outros momentos inovadores - e onde se pretende proporcionar momentos de discussão e partilha de conhecimentos, aproximando investigadores e estudantes. (2009/04/22 - 2009/04/25) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade do Minho Departamento de Biologia, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2019/11/22 - Current	How to make a perfect scientific poster? Workshop	CIIMAR PhD studens workshop Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2017/02/15 - Current	Lecture about Marine Biotechnology for high school students Workshop	CIIMAR na Escola Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2021/02/18 - 2021/02/18	"As nanopartículas em aquacultura: devemos preocupar-nos?" (In Portuguese) Other	NANOCULTURE project Webinar International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2021/01/29 - 2021/01/29	7th Molecular and Cell Biology Symposium \| Science Must Go On Symposium	7th Molecular and Cell Biology Symposium \| Science Must Go On Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
2019/07/28 - 2019/07/31	Membro do Staff. Participação durante o evento no secretariado e auxílio aos participantes. Congress	PSE meeting 2019 "Natural Products in Drug Discovery and Human Health" Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2019/07/01 - 2019/07/05	Participant on the International Summer School on Natural Products (ISSNP_19). http://www.issnp.org/ This course is designed for PhD students and young researchers aiming to acquire an interdisciplinary and intersectoral understanding of the state of the art in Natural Products. Led by academics from Federico II University, the participants will focus on Natural Products chemistry, biology, ecology Oral communication Award with the presentation "Effects of Cyanobacteria Origin Oxadiazine Nocuolin A on HCT116 Cells Cultured on 2D and 3D Cell Syste Other	International Summer School on Natural Products Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy

Jury of academic degree

	Topic Role	Candidate name (Type of degree) Institution / Organization
2020/07/21	Genetic and chemical diversity of a novel halogenase class (Thesis) Main arguer	Diana Rafaela Reis de Sousa (Other) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2020/07	Pisolithus: can these widely distributed fungi be promising sources of bioactive compounds? (Thesis) Main arguer	Rodrigo Silva (Other) Instituto Politécnico do Porto Escola Superior de Saúde, Portugal

Association member

	Society Organization name	Role
2008 - 2009	Núcleo de Estudantes de Biologia Aplicada da Universidade do Minho	Vice- presidente

Committee member

	Activity description Role	Institution / Organization
2023/05 - Current	Member of the Coordination Committee of the undergraduate and graduate Blue Young Talent programs (CIIMAR) Coordinator	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal

Evaluation committee

	Activity description Role	Institution / Organization	Funding entity
2021 - Current	Member of the scientific committee of the “Blue Think Conference 2021” Evaluator	Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal

Distinctions

Award

2019	ISSNP - Oral Competition Award ISSNP Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
2018	Best Poster Presentation at the 30th International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products and the 10th International Congress on Biodiversity (ISCNP30 & ICOB10)

Other distinction

2019	Fellowship to attend to the 3rd International Summer School on Natural Products Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
2017	Scholarship to attend to the 8th International Conference on Marine Bioprospecting UiT Norges arktiske universitet, Norway
2015	Bolsa de Doutoramento Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal