SPEAKERS
RAMÓN Y CAJAL PANEL
Ramón y Cajal is widely known as the father of modern neuroscience and his discoveries revolutionized our understanding of the nervous system. He was the first to describe the complex structure of the nervous system in detail elucidating the concept of the ‘’neuron doctrine’’, highlighting that our nervous system is formed by individual cells, later called neurons. His work was paramount for understanding the anatomy of the brain and his observations paved the way for subsequent research on neuronal connectivity and the mechanisms underlying neural communication and synaptic transmission. Cajal’s exceptional scientific legacy continues to inspire and guide neuroscientists worldwide, highlighting his profound impact on unraveling the mysteries of the brain and shaping the trajectory of neuroscience.
To honor Ramon y Cajal's significance in shaping and advancing the field of neuroscience in our symposium the neuroscience panel is named after him.
Luís Pereira de Almeida
Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Universidade de Coimbra
Luís Pereira de Almeida is currently group leader and president of the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra and coordinator of the Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology. Since 1998, Luis Pereira de Almeida is involved in gene and molecular therapy approaches for the Central Nervous System namely focusing on neurodegenerative disorders namely Machado-Joseph disease/ spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. In 2002, professor Luis Pereira de Almeida published one of the first papers showing that lentiviral vectors can be used to produce in vivo models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Parkinson's and Machado-Joseph's disease.
António J. Salgado
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, Universidade do Minho
António Salgado is currently coordinator investigator at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute at the University of Minho. His main research interests are focused on the development of innovative therapies for CNS repair, namely on Spinal Cord Injury and Parkinson’s Disease. António Salgado has performed important work on the Development of ECM like hydrogels for the transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the injured CNS, as well as explored the role of the secretome of MSCs in neuroprotection and repair, particularly the establishment of novel therapies. António is also the President of the Portuguese Society for Stem Cells and Cell Therapies and in 2021 was listed on the Stanford ranking of the World´s Top 2% Scientists.
HANAHAN AND WEINBERG PANEL
The idea of cancer hallmarks was coined by Professors Hanahan and Weinberg in their groundbreaking publication in 2000 in the journal Cell. Hanahan and Weinberg proposed that when cells shift to a neoplastic state, they acquire unique capabilities and therefore set a detailed framework for describing these distinctive characteristics that enable cancer cells to proliferate and survive. Some of the cancer hallmarks include sustained proliferation and angiogenesis, as well as activation of invasion and metastasis of tumors among others. The hallmarks of cancer continue to serve as a guiding framework for researchers worldwide, driving the search for innovative approaches to diagnose, treat, and ultimately prevent cancer. Hanahan and Weinberg's contributions have shaped the field of cancer biology and helped understand deeper tumour pathogenesis.
Since Hanahan and Weinberg's work on cancer hallmarks has had a profound impact on understanding deeper cancer biology, our Cancer panel is named after them.
Eric Deutsch
Institute Gustave Roussy, Paris
Eric Deutsch is an oncologist-radiation therapist, who specialized in therapeutic innovations of irradiated tumours. Professor Eric is the head of the Radiotherapy Department at Gustave Roussy and directs the Institute's "Teaching and University Relations" pole, being also a professor of oncology-radiation therapy at the University of Paris-Saclay. His research work is mainly devoted to the study of the combination of new anti-cancer drugs with radiotherapy, being interested in understanding the biological effects of radiotherapy, the interaction of the tumour with its microenvironment and the mechanisms of cell death. More recently, he has developed a research activity dedicated to radiomics and artificial intelligence to move towards precision medicine of treatments by combining radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
Carlos Guimarães
3Bs Research Group, Universidade do Minho
​Carlos Guimarães is a Bioengineer with a PhD in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells from Universidade do Minho and Stanford University School of Medicine. His main research is focused on microfluidic-driven bio fabrication, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine with the main objective of developing faster screening technologies, 3D models of health and diseased tissues as well as biomedical detection in point-of-care settings. His expertise allowed the development of living optical fibres, making it possible to detect mechanical deformations or the presence of biomolecules and viruses as well as exploring the interaction between optical signals and tumours, facilitating the testing of antitumor drugs in a quantitative and extremely fast way.
EDWARD JENNER PANEL
Edward Jenner is known worldwide for successfully developing the world’s first vaccine. Jenner studied smallpox in-depth, a highly contagious and deadly disease that plagued humanity for centuries. He observed that milkmaids who contracted cowpox, a milder illness, seemed to be immune to smallpox and, in 1796, he conducted an experiment by inoculating a young boy with material from a cowpox sore. Later when he exposed the boy to smallpox he observed that the boy remained unaffected by smallpox, thus demonstrating that cowpox could protect against the more severe disease. This discovery laid the foundation for the concept of vaccination, and Jenner's method led to the eventual eradication of smallpox worldwide. His pioneering efforts not only saved countless lives but also revolutionized the field of medicine and paved the way for the development of vaccines against numerous other diseases.
His legacy as the father of immunization could not go unseen and thus Edward Jenner is the name of our Infection panel.
Sonia Zuñiga
National Centre for Biotechnology, Madrid
Sonia is currently a senior scientist at the Coronavirus Laboratory at National Center for Biotechnology, Spanish National Research Council in Madrid. Sonia´s research has been focused on the analysis of the molecular bases of coronavirus pathogenesis for the development of vaccine candidates and the identification of novel therapeutic targets. Sonia made key contributions to the mechanism of coronavirus transcription, molecular mechanisms of innate immunity antagonism by viral proteins, engineering of reverse genetics systems for emergent coronaviruses, and development of vaccine candidates both for animal and human health.
Daniela Ribeiro
iBiMED, Universidade de Aveiro
Daniela Ribeiro is the group leader of the Virus-Host Cell Interactions Laboratory at the Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro. Daniela's team is currently involved in several research projects that study different aspects of the interplay between viruses and their host cells, such as: the role of peroxisomes and other intracellular organelles in the antiviral immune response and viral propagation; the interplay between viruses and cellular proteostasis; the impact of tRNA modifications and translation control for pathogenicity and host responses to viral infections. All these projects aim to discover novel cellular mechanisms that can be explored as targets for the development of innovative and broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutics.
ROUND TABLE
MODERATOR
Mário Barbosa
Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3s), Universidade do Porto
In 1989, Mário Barbosa was a founding member of the Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), now an integrant part of I3s, where he served as director from 2015 until 2019. Additionally, Mário Barbosa is also a professor at the University of Porto and played important roles as President (1992–1994) and Chairman of the Engineering Sciences Scientific Council (2002–2005) of the national agency for research (first JNICT and subsequently FCT). Mário Barbosa also leads the i3S group Microenvironments for New Therapies (MiNT), where his major research focus is the modulation of inflammation in tissue repair/regeneration, namely through the design of immunomodulatory microenvironments. Last but not least Mário Barbosa was one of the founders of BiotechHealth Doctoral Programme and its first Director from 2013 to October 2020.
We wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the Biotech Health Doctoral Programme 10th Anniversary. We invited its founder, Dr. Mário Barbosa, to moderate this session which will bring together students from several editions of the programme.