Tania Martins-Marques is a researcher at the Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (FMUC) & Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), Portugal. TMM's research has been focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of protein quality control and intercellular communication in the heart, namely on the role of Cx43 in cell-cell communication via gap junctions (GJ) and extracellular vesicles (EV). Her group's (GUIC) breakthrough achievements have elucidated the mechanisms whereby myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury lead to increased autophagy degradation of GJ, Cx43 lateralization and impaired EV-mediated communication. More recently, GUIC focus has shifted towards the non-canonical roles of Cx43, beyond intercellular communication. Thanks to the fruitful collaboration with the Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery Departments of Coimbra University Hospital, Cx43-containing EV were identified as drug delivery vehicles and promising disease circulating biomarkers. Main achievements: .32 peer reviewed papers (18 as first author), including in the prestigious Circulation Res, J Extracel Ves, Cardiovasc Res, EMBO Rep, Trens Mol Med and Trends Cell Biol | .2 Editorial Comments | .2 book chapters . >800 citations (Scopus ID 1500668) .Accumulated IF: 178 | .h-index: 15 | .14 oral communications and >30 posters in national and international meetings, including the International Society for Heart Research Meeting 2023, International Gap Junction Conference 2022 and ESC Congress 2018 | .Principal Investigator of the project Concoeur, financed by FCT (PT), 2022 | .First Contact Initiative Grant, by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to visit Joost Sluijter lab, The Netherlands (2016) | .Best Poster Awards: 8th COST EU-CARDIOPROTECTION, Mallorca (2021), ISEV Virtual Meeting (2020), 4th COST EU-CARDIOPROTECTION, Serbia (2019) | .Best Presentation Award in 4D Visions 19-Surgery Without Borders, Portugal (2019) | .Special Issue Editor - Frontiers in Physiology (2021) and Biomedicines (2022) | .Regular peer reviewer for Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, STAR Protocols, Genomics, Sci Rep, Redox Biology, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology and Revista Portuguesa de Cardiologia | .Active involvement in science outreach activities, including the European Researcher's Night | .Organizing committee of international scientific meetings, including 9th COST EU-CARDIOPROTECTION (2022) and Meeting on Vesicular Biology (2017) | .Lecturer in multiple MSc and PhD courses | .Training of undergraduate and MSc students (practical classes and lab rotations) | . 4 MSc supervisions , 1 PhD supervision and 3 Msc (ongoing) | .Member of 3 COST Actions: Cardioprotection (CA16225), MitoEAGLE (CA15203), Proteostasis (BM1307) | .Member of Working Group on Cellular Biology of the Heart, ESC Publications: - Martins-Marques T et al (2023) Open Biol. 13(11):230258; - Martins-Marques T et al (2022) EMBO Rep 23:e54312; - Martins-Marques T. (2021) Biol Open; - Martins-Marques T. (2021) Free Radic Biol Med; - Klionsky DJ et al (2021) Autophagy; - Lissoni A et al (2021) Cardiovasc Res 117(1):123-136; - Martins-Marques T et al (2020) Circulation Research 126, E97-E113; - Martins-Marques T et al (2020) Life Sci Alliance 3(12); - Martins-Marques T et al (2020) Trends Mol Med S1471-4914(20)30263-X; - Martins-Marques T et al (2019) Trends Cell Biol 29(10):835-847; - Almeida-Paiva R*, Martins-Marques T* et al (2019) J Cel Mol Med 23(2): 1137-1151; - Anjo SI*, Martins-Marques T* et al (2018) J Proteomics 171:116-126; - Ribeiro-Rodrigues TM et al (2017) J Cell Sci 130(21):3619-3630; - Martins-Marques, T. et al. (2016) J of Extracell Ves 5, 32538; - Soares AR*, Martins-Marques T* et al (2015) Sci Rep 5, 13243; - Martins-Marques T et al (2015) Biochemical Journal 467, 231-45; - Martins-Marques T et al (2015) Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 14, 3040-3055;