Bio
Susana Cardoso graduated in Biology in 2008 from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of University of Coimbra, Portugal, where she also received her PhD degree in Cellular Biology in 2013 after a scientific internship at the Yale University School of Medicine, USA. She conducted her postdoctoral research at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, where presently she is a doctorate researcher. Her research interests have been focused in exploring the field of metabolic disorders like diabetes and its interplay with neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease, giving an emphasis on mitochondria (energy, homeostasis and signals) role in this link. During her research path, she has been actively enrolled in the supervision and tutoring of several students (lab rotations and investigation chairs, master students); is an ad-hoc reviewer of manuscripts for several renowned international Journals; has been the Guest-Editor of several Special Issues and has participated in different society education activities. She has also received some awards/distinctions/honors including a recent recognition as an Expertscape Expert in Alzheimer Disease by the Expertscape Recognition Program (2021). In her curriculum it can be found >45 scientific peer-reviewed papers with over 3439 citations and an h-index of 30, according to Google Scholar. She has integrated the research team of some previously funded research projects as collaborator and as Co-PI.

Bio
Paula I. Moreira received her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from University of Coimbra, Portugal, in 2007. Currently, she is Professor of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine and is Principal Investigator of the research group “MitoBD - Mitochondria in Brain Disorders” in the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Moreira’s group aims to elucidate the role of mitochondria-linked mechanisms, hypoxic stress signaling and sex dimorphism in brain changes associated to diabetes and age-related neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. The group is also interested in studying the preventive and/or therapeutic effects of some pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. Overall, our studies aim to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. To achieve our goals we use several experimental models such as isolated mitochondria, in vitro and in vivo/ex vivo models of disease and human samples. Moreira has published more than 220 scientific peer-reviewed papers (ORCID ID:0000-0001-5177-6747). She is deputy editor of Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, associate editor of Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports and Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience and serves in the editorial board of several other scientific journals. Paula Moreira won the Stimulus to Research prize, in 2003, supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and, in 2008, the L’Oréal for Women in Science Award supported by L'Oreal Portugal/UNESCO/FCT. In 2020, Paula Moreira was recognized as a World Expert in Alzheimer’s Disease and as a World Expert in Mitochondria by Expertscape. Moreira is named on the 2021 World's Top 2% Scientists list, which includes the most-cited scientists across the length of their career (ranking compiled by Stanford University and based on data from Elsevier’s Scopus).

Bio
I am a researcher experienced in integrating genetic data, with molecular analysis of candidate genes, and wet-science based functional and structural characterization of the corresponding proteins. I am responsible of the “Laboratory of Neurogenetics and mitochondrial diseases”, which is part of the “Center for the study of Mitochondrial Disorders of Infancy and Childhood” at the Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute “Besta”, Milan, an Italian referral center for diverse specific neurological conditions. I have had a primary role in the identification of a set of new nuclear genes involved in different mitochondrial disease syndromes, demonstrated by several papers in high-impact journals. My research group is focused on the understanding of the molecular and mechanistic bases of mitochondrial disorders. While the development of new next generation sequencing technologies has rapidly offered a growing opportunity to provide large-scale and high sensitivity genomic screening allowing the identification of new disease-genes and novel pathogenic variants, this rapid advance in genetic knowledge has not been accompanied by a proper characterization of the pathological consequences of the mutant proteins at the molecular, cellular or whole-organism levels as well as by a detailed study of the corresponding physiological processes, which are often incompletely characterized. I think that an approach addressed to a better comprehension of basic cellular pathways is essential for the comprehension of diseases and represent the first step toward a treatment for this group of disorders. I am an Associate Professor in Medical Genetics at the Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy, with teaching activities for courses (Medicine and Surgery; Medical Biotechnology) and specialization schools (Medical Genetics; Neurology; Child Neurology; Psychiatry; Ophthalmology).

Bio
José Antonio Sánchez Alcázar (JASA), Doctor, Bachelor of Biology and Medicine, is Professor at the Pablo de Olavide University and principal investigator of the Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology and director of the PAIDI group (Andalusian Plan for Research) BIO-336, "Muscular Development and Diseases". The group is specialized in Cell Biology techniques, with extensive experience in cell pathophysiology and search for treatments in rare diseases and in particular mitochondrial diseases. As principal investigator of projects and collaborator of European projects, he has extensively analyzed the pathophysiology of fibroblasts and induced neurons derived from patients with mitochondrial diseases. The group also participates in TRANSAUTOPHAGY COST Action (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, CA15138), a European Network for Multidisciplinary Research on Autophagy. Our research group proposes that the use of precision or personalized medicine techniques can be a promising approach to find potential therapies in genetic rare diseases. To do this, we propose that the patients' own cells can be used to carry out a personalized pharmacological screening for the identification of possible treatments. We have developed three platforms to carry out precision medicine in rare diseases: Braincure platform for rare neurodegenerative diseases with brain iron accumulation; Mitocure platform for mitochondrial diseases; and Myocure platform for congenital myopathies.