(CQ) BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

The MarBiotech group focus its main areas of research on different biotechnological exploitations of microalgae and other marine organisms as seaweeds and halophyte plants.

The research activities of the Biological Sciences group focus on the following main areas.

1) Identification of new molecules targeting enzymes involved in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

2) Central and local control of reproduction in mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates by cannabinoids, environmental pollutants and endocrine disruptors.

CEOT is a research center based in the University of Algarve that was established in 2003 as a result of a collaborative effort of several young scientists in the areas of electronics, optoelectronics and telecommunications. Today CEOT is composed of a multidisciplinary blend of researchers in the fields of informatics, computer science, electronics, physics and biology, following a research strategy towards an integrated approach to networks, electronics and sensing applications in biology.

I am currently working on the immunologic features of human podocytes, as well as role of Klotho and NPP1 proteins in the course of diabetic nephropathy. Previously, I studied genetics and immunology of sarcoidosis and tuberculosis. I work with cell lines, I perform quantitative analyses of gene and protein expression. I also implement techniques like immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, and analyse glycolitic parametres of podocytes by measurement of extracellular acidification.