Bio
Cristina Carvalho graduated in Biology from the University of Coimbra (UC) in 2007 and in the same year she was qualified to attend the specialized master program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Faculty for Science and Technology of UC (FCTUC), program that she finished in 2008 with a score of 18 in 20 values. After, she started her PhD in the same University in the beginning of 2009 and obtained her Ph.D. degree in Cellular Biology from the University of Coimbra in 2013. Presently, she is committed to deeply explore the mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes-associated neurodegeneration in order to achieve knowledge of possible therapeutic targets that could be used as preventive strategies. She is involved in several projects and is responsible for several laboratory tutoring of master students (lab rotations and development of MSc work plans). Besides her individual research project, she participates in different projects. Cristina has a remarkable CV comprising 10 book chapters and over 50 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, including a publication in Diabetes journal with an IF=8.3 and, more recently (2022), a paper in Cellular and Molecular life Science with an IF=9.2. In total she has over 4000 citations and a h-index of 32 (according with google scholar). More, her international scientific recognition is reflect by some awards/distinctions/honors including a recent recognition as an Expertscape Expert in Alzheimer Disease by the Expertscape Recognition Program (2021). Currently she is ad-hoc reviewer in several international peer-reviewed journals and she is also guest editor in 4 different special issues in BBA, Antioxidants and Biomedicines journals. In 2021, she won an ESCI EXPLORATORY RESEARCH GRANT to perform a pilot study in animal models of T2D, and a FCT Exploratory research project (start date: 01/01/2022) allowing her to go a step further in the development of her hypothesis.

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.

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Sónia C. Correia is presently a doctorate researcher at the MitoBD - Mitochondria in Brain Disorders research group from the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) and her academic background includes: BSc in Biology (2007) and PhD in Cell Biology (2012) from the University of Coimbra. During her postdoctoral training, Sónia acquired international experience in Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio - USA). The scientific career of Sónia has been devoted to demystify the pathological basis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in order to identify new and feasible peripheral biomarkers for the early diagnosis of the disease and promising therapeutic targets able to counteract the AD symptomatology and neuropathology in a timely manner. Particularly, Sónia is interested in unveiling the contribution of abnormal mitochondrial dynamics and hampered adaptative response to hypoxia triggered by the family of transcription factors HIFs to the onset and progression of this devastating neurodegenerative disease. Despite the interruptions in her scientific career due to maternity leaves (2016/2018), Sónia published >50 papers in international peer-review journals, including a publication in Antioxidants & Redox Signaling IF=8,401 in 2022, with an overall h-index=37 or 32 and >4700 or 3300 citations, according to Google Scholar or Scopus respectively. In parallel, she also integrates the editorial board of Biomedicines and Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience – Cellular Neuropathology, is an active reviewer in the Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship Program, and Guest-Editor of special issues for Biomedicines and International Journal of Molecular Sciences. In 2010, Sónia won the ASN Neuro Poster Prize sponsored by the American Society of Neurochemistry. More recently, Sónia was recognized as an Expert in Alzheimer’s Disease by the Expertscape, an online base of biomedical expertise.

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Isabel Cardoso (IC) graduated in Biochemistry and soon started to develop research in the area always wanted to investigate: neurodegeneration, electing as Ph.D. theme familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP). The Ph.D. thesis, which included work performed in Canada and in Switzerland, contributed to understanding the mechanism of TTR amyloid formation and to the design of therapeutic approaches to FAP (2002). Her post-doc, provided in vivo evidence of the success of the therapeutic molecules tested during the Ph.D. and led to the identification of novel biomarkers in FAP. The years 2015-2018 were dominated by the Marató project in which IC engaged new national and international collaborations. A discovery consortium was established to screen and prioritize a list of small Molecular chaperones (SMCs), all candidates as therapeutic agents for AD. The foundations of this project were IC's prior discoveries that in AD, TTR is an unstable tetramer and that it is possible to improve the TTR/Aß interaction with these SMCs. In a very recently FCT-approved project, these SMCs, which include drugs that can be repurposed, will be tested in an AD mouse model. Globally, IC's publishing record produced over 2600 citations, an H-index of 28 (Scopus).

Bio
Dr. Zivkovic’s research is focused on the functional biology of HDL particles. Her research program focuses on the development of methods for the study of HDL, as well as the investigation of the effects of diet and different disease conditions, particularly Alzheimer’s Disease, on the structure, composition and function of HDL. Recent efforts have included the development of a method for lipoprotein isolation utilizing size exclusion chromatography (SEC), the discovery of the presence and role of glycosylation in HDL, and the relationship between the gut microbiome and lipoprotein metabolism. Dr. Zivkovic’s group is particularly interested in factors such as APOE genotype in determining differences in HDL particle size distribution, composition and function. The laboratory currently has three main areas of expertise, including the isolation and characterization of lipoproteins using HPLC-SEC coupled to optical detectors, the analysis of HDL function using a variety of in vitro approaches (particularly the interaction between HDL and monocytic cells, including macrophages and microglia), the study of HDL glycoprofiles under different dietary and disease conditions, and the integration and analysis of multi-omic data through computational approaches. Dr. Zivkovic’s research program is currently funded by 3 NIH grants, with an H-index of 35 and >9000 citations.