Liliana Simões Mendonça, Assistant Researcher at Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal, email: liliana.mendonca@cnc.uc.pt, EDUCATION: Ph.D. in Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology specialty, 2010; Pharm.D., Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal, 2004. WORK EXPERIENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: March 2019 – today: Assistant Researcher at Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal. June 2017-February 2019: Post-Doctoral Researcher at Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Projects: “Early Detection, Neuro-modulation and Advanced Therapies for Neuropathologies” and “The impact of induced pluripotent stem cells-derived neuroepithelial stem cells transplantation in Machado-Joseph disease”. 2016 – 2018: Teaching Assistant at the MSc of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra. April 2011 – March 2017: Post-Doctoral fellow at Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Coimbra, Project: “The neuroregeneration, neuroprotection, and functional recovery potential of human iPSC-derived NSC in Machado Joseph Disease”. January 2005- May 2010: Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Project: “Novel nanotechnological approaches for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia treatment: Molecular and cellular targeting for gene silencing of overexpressed genes”. She received funding as Principal Investigator for 4 Research Projects, all in the field of brain neuroprotection and regeneration with stem cell transplantation. She has published 17 articles in journals with peer-review, 2 book chapters, and 1 book (A Handbook of Gene and Cell Therapy). Four of the published papers have an impact factor above 10, and she is the first author of 2 of these papers. She has 2 patents registered and one national provisional patent request, and she also received 9 awards and/or honors. Presently, Liliana is the supervisor of 2 Ph.D. students, 1 Post- Doctoral Researcher, 1 Master’s student, and the co-supervisor of 1 Ph.D. student. She is the former supervisor of 2 Bachelor’s students, 5 Master’s students, and 2 Master’s Researchers. She is Guest Associate Editor in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Brain Disease Mechanisms, in the Research Topic Advanced (Gene and Cell) Therapies for Central Nervous System Applications. She has been a reviewer in the Journals: Medicine, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Molecular Neurobiology, Aging, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Pharmaceutics, Photonics, and Biomedicine. Liliana works in the areas of Medical and Health Sciences with emphasis on Medical Biotechnology, namely on Technologies Involving the Manipulation of Cells, Tissues, Organs or the Whole Organism and Stealth and Intelligent nanovesicles to deliver therapeutic molecules. She has been actively collaborating in projects aiming at the development of Cellular and Gene Therapy-based Medicinal Products commonly known as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. An example of this is the work developed in collaboration with the French Biotechnology company Brainvectis Therapeutics for the preclinical development of an advanced therapy medicinal product composed of Adeno-associated virus (AAV) able to promote the overexpression of CYP46A1 protein, which restores brain cholesterol metabolism turnover, affected in several neurodegenerative diseases (patent: WO/2018/138371). In her Ciência Vitae curriculum, the most frequent terms in the context of scientific and technological output are human neuroepithelial stem cells; induced pluripotent stem cells; brain regeneration; neuroprotection; neurodegenerative diseases; Machado-Joseph disease; cerebellar transplantation of human stem cells; cell therapy; gene therapy; lipid-based vehicles; Stealth and Intelligent nanovesicles to deliver therapeutic molecules to the brain, and therapies to improve neuropathology and motor phenotype of brain diseases.
Share This Speaker