Scientific Research

Education

Welcome to my educational journey. Below, you will find details about my academic qualifications and achievements:

2020 - Ongoing

PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (Portugal)

2017

Master in Toxicology and Environmental Contamination

Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (Portugal)

Final grade: 18 (out of 20)
Dissertation grade: 19

2015

Bachelor in Biology

Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (Portugal)

Final grade: 14.45 (out of 20)
Internship grade: 19

Research Experience

Welcome to my academic research journey. Below, you'll find an overview of my research experience and the places and projects in which I've worked:

2020 - Ongoing

PhD Thesis: "Modern 3D drug screening methodologies for the identification of novel antitumor drugs capable of counteracting multidrug resistance in cancer"

Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S - Cancer Drug Resistance Group)

I was awarded a PhD scholarship by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT). My PhD project focused on evaluating the activity of novel Isoquinolinequinone N-oxides against multidrug-resistant tumors. This involved investigating the mechanisms of action in both in vitro 2D cell models and 3D cell models, specifically in spheroids composed of triple cultures of fibroblasts, macrophages, and tumor cells.

2016-2018

Master Thesis: "Obesity and environmental pollutants: a reason for concern?"

Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR - Endocrine disruptors and emergent contaminants' Laboratory)

I conducted in vitro and in vivo assays (using zebrafish larvae) to assess the toxic effects and mechanisms of action of tributyltin and wastewater treatment plant effluents on obesity and lipid homeostasis. Upon completing my master's thesis, I was invited by my group leader and supervisor to continue with the team as a research technician. In this role, I carried out further research on the project and managed various laboratory tasks, including stock verification and product quotation requests.

2019-2020

Master Fellowship: "Biomarkers for minimal residual disease"

Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S - Cancer Drug Resistance Group)

I was selected for a Master fellowship position, where I processed blood samples from patients with Multiple Myeloma. In this project, I isolated and characterized extracellular vesicles collected non-invasively from liquid biopsies and investigated the presence of Minimal Residual Disease biomarkers.

2016-2018

Master Thesis: "Obesity and environmental pollutants: a reason for concern?"

Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR - Endocrine disruptors and emergent contaminants' Laboratory)

I conducted in vitro and in vivo assays (using zebrafish larvae) to assess the toxic effects and mechanisms of action of tributyltin and wastewater treatment plant effluents on obesity and lipid homeostasis. Upon completing my master's thesis, I was invited by my group leader and supervisor to continue with the team as a research technician. In this role, I carried out further research on the project and managed various laboratory tasks, including stock verification and product quotation requests.

2014-2015

Bachelor Internship: "Aerobiology of Pinus spp. and effects of different O3 levels on pollen fertility, proteins and allergenicity"

Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (Aerobiology Group)

In this project, I performed in vitro assays in which I assessed the effects of ozone on the germination, viability and allergenic potential of Pinus spp. pollen.

Scientific Papers

In this section you'll find an overview of my scientific research publications in peer-reviewed Q1 journals from the various projects and collaborations in which I have been involved:

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (ACS)

"Discovery of Potent Isoquinolinequinone N-oxides to Overcome Cancer Multidrug Resistance"

Year: 2024

Impact factor (current): 7.3

Type of participation: First author

Type of publication: Original paper

Status of publication: Under review

International Journal of Molecular Sciences (MDPI)

"Detection of Measurable Residual Disease Biomarkers in Extracellular Vesicles from Liquid Biopsies of Multiple Myeloma Patients—A Proof of Concept"

Year: 2022

Impact factor (2022): 5.6

Type of participation: Co-author

Type of publication: Original paper

Status of publication: Published

Cancers (MDPI)

"3D cell culture models as recapitulators of the tumor microenvironment for the screening of anti-cancer drugs"

Year: 2021

Impact factor (2021): 6.6

Type of participation: First author

Type of publication: Review

Status of publication: Published

Selected as one of “Highly Cited Papers and Hot Topic Special Issues on Anti-cancer Research” by Cancers (MDPI) in 2023

Cells (MDPI)

"The role of extracellular vesicles in the hallmarks of cancer and drug resistance"

Year: 2020

Impact factor (2020): 7.6

Type of participation: Co-author

Type of publication: Review

Status of publication: Published

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (ELSEVIER)

"Linking chemical exposure to lipid homeostasis: A municipal waste water treatment plant influent is obesogenic for zebrafish larvae"

Year: 2019

Impact factor (2019): 4.8

Type of participation: First author

Type of publication: Original paper

Status of publication: Published

Awarded by the IACOBUS Program 2019 - “Scientific Publications”

Environmental science & technology (ACS)

"Evolutionary exploitation of vertebrate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ by organotins"

Year: 2018

Impact factor (2018): 7.1

Type of participation: Co-author

Type of publication: Original paper

Status of publication: Published