Anabela Moreira
Project: The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cell secretome-derived DJ-1 in Parkinson’s disease
Supervisors:
Dr António Salgado, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS)/School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Prof James Phillips, UCL School of Pharmacy
Prof Jens Schwamborn, University of Luxembourg
Anabela is a PhD student from University of Minho funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to develop her project in collaboration with UCL School of Pharmacy. Her research focuses on the development of advanced 3D human models of Parkinson’s disease to investigate the therapeutic role of mesenchymal stem cell secretome-derived DJ-1 protein in this neurodegenerative condition.
Background:
Anabela completed her Integrated Master’s in Bioengineering with a specialisation in Molecular Biotechnology from the University of Porto’s Faculty of Engineering in 2019. During this program, Anabela carried out an ERASMUS+ research internship at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, where she worked on the characterisation of chimeric mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. In her Master’s thesis project, developed at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), she investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of amphibian skin peptides in human microglial cells, which consolidated her passion for neuroscience. Following her Master’s, Anabela worked at Biofabics as a Junior Investigator, where she developed several projects on drug delivery and tissue engineering under the scope of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)-funded international collaborations.
Selected Publications:
Moreira, A.; Lawson, D.; Onyekuru, L; Dziemidowicz, K.; Angkawinitwong, U.; Costa, P.F.; Radacsi, N.; Williams, G.R. Protein encapsulation by electrospinning and electrospraying. Journal of Controlled Release 2021, 329, 1172-1197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.10.046.
Moreira, A.; Müller, M.; Costa, P.F.; Kohl, Y. Advanced In Vitro Lung Models for Drug and Toxicity Screening: The Promising Role of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Advanced Biology 2022, 6, 2101139. https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.202101139.
Gurgul, S.J.; Moreira, A.; Xiao, Y.; Varma, S.N.; Liu, C.; Costa, P.F.; Williams, G.R. Electrosprayed Particles Loaded with Kartogenin as a Potential Osteochondral Repair Implant. Polymers 2023, 15, 1275. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051275.
Contacts:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anabela-moreira/
Twitter: @moreiranabela
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3292-8068