Rúben Nogueiras received his PhD from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Rowett Research Institute (United Kingdom). In 2005, he moved to the German Institute of Human Nutrition (Germany) as a postdoctoral researcher then to the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Cincinnati (USA). He is currently Associate Professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the coordinator of the Molecular Metabolism Group. The group focuses on the molecular mechanisms involved in obesity and metabolism. To decipher the complex and multiple pathways causing obesity, his lab uses different approaches such as genetically engineered mice, pharmacological tools and in vitro assays.

Thomas Braulke obtained his PhD in Neurochemistry from the University of Leipzig, Germany. In 1989 he became a group leader in the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Goettingen. Ten years later, he established a new Department at the Children’s Hospital in Hamburg. In recent years his special area of interest has been the signal-dependent transport of lysosomal enzymes to lysosomes and the related diseases, mucolipidosis type II and III. In addition, his group is working on other lysosomal disorders such as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (CLN3 and CLN6), and mucopolysaccharidosis. The analyses of mouse models provide new insights into pathogenic mechanisms of different cell types affected in these diseases.

Paul obtained his PhD in 1991 from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (London, UK), followed by a postdoc at the Hubrecht Institute for Stem Cells & Developmental Biology (Utrecht, The Netherlands). In 1995 he initiated his own research group in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the University Medical Centre (UMC) Utrecht. He received a full chair in 2006 and currently works as Professor of Cell Biology at both the Center for Molecular Medicine and the Regenerative Medicine Center (UMC Utrecht). Research focuses on regulation of transcriptional responses in the context of stem cells, cancer and immunology with a focus on the control of regulatory T (Treg) cells in (auto)immunity. Molecular and cell biological approaches are used in vitro and in vivo forming a “translatable” research program including close collaboration with clinical collaborators.

Patrícia obtained her doctorate degree in 1997 from the University of Porto, having developed her thesis project in Human Genetics at Hopital Necker Enfants-Malades, in Paris, France, and at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Since 2002 she has been a Professor at the School of Health Sciences of the University of Minho, where she teaches medical students and is a researcher of the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS). Her main research interest is to understand the genetic bases of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases.  Additionally, her team is also currently interested in the discovery of new therapeutic strategies for some of these disorders, with a strong focus on Machado-Joseph disease.

Henrique Girão completed a PhD in 2006 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal. He moved to Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona - CSIC in 2006 as a postdoctoral research fellow. Henrique is now Coordinator of the Research Line in “Molecular Mechanisms of Disease”, at IBILI, and Leader of the Group of Ubiquitin-dependent Proteolysis and Intercellular Communication. His group focuses on the study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in protein degradation and intercellular communication, and how their impairment can contribute to cardiovascular and eye diseases. More recently, HG has been focused on the mechanisms whereby cells and organs communicate via extracellular vesicles, and how they can contribute to the onset and development of age-related diseases.

António Fiarresga obtained his MD from the Faculty of Medicine, Lisbon University, in 1998. He is now an Interventional Cardiologist at Hospital de Santa Marta, CHLC, Lisbon. His clinical work is focused on coronary and structural percutaneous interventions for the treatment of heart diseases. His group is mainly interested in Cell Therapy and has established a clinical research program focused on acute myocardial infarction patients. He has also been dedicated to translational research and is currently working on the development of a large animal model for the study of the microcirculation effects of intracoronary delivery of stem cells.

Paulo Matos received his PhD degree from the University of Lisbon in 2004. He was awarded a Post-Doctoral fellowship by the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR, UK), followed by a second Post-Doctoral fellowship by FCT at IPATIMUP and INSA. In 2013 he received an FCT Investigator 2012 grant and moved to the University of Lisbon, where he has a Principal Investigator position at the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. His group discovered a novel Rac1 GTPase-associated pathway that selectively modulates gene expression in cancer cells. In a parallel research line, Dr. Matos’ team found that the controlled and targeted stimulation of specific Rho GTPase pathways can dramatically enhance current treatments targeting the molecular defect behind cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease with severe respiratory manifestations. He is now working in ways to translate these findings into the clinical setting, primarily for the benefit of CF patients, but also to intervene in other chronic respiratory diseases such COPD and asthma.

José completed his PhD in 1986. Between 2000 and 2005 he worked in Washingtion DC as Coordinator for the Mental Health Program from WHO. He is now a full Professor of Psychiatry and Mental Health at NOVA Medical School in Lisbon. As a Principal Investigator at CEDOC his group focuses in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in general and specific populations, determining the degree of disability associated with those disorders, studying their natural history, and identifying possible factors that may be associated with that history.

Silvia Conde’s research focuses on understanding the physiology of the autonomic nervous system, in particular the carotid body and in the application of its findings to pathological states, allowing the identification of molecular targets for therapy. Silvia received her degree in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. She pursued her PhD in Pharmacology and in Biotechnology, in 2007, from both NOVA Medical School, NOVA University and from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Valladolid. She is a Principal Investigator at (the) Chronic Diseases Research Center and tenured assistant professor at NOVA Medical School. In 2009 she was awarded the L’Oreal Medals Honour for Women in Science.

Alisson obtained his PhD in Pathology at the Botucatu Medical School, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil (2002). He then trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Institut Curie (2003-2004) and Institut Pasteur (2004-2007) in France, and at the Instituto de Neurociencias UMH/CSIC, in Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain (2007-2012). He then joined CEDOC as an FCT Investigator to lead the Integrative Biomedicine Laboratory (IBL), which focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms promoting organism development, survival and reproduction in unfavourable conditions. The IBL expects to provide insights into the molecular mechanisms coordinating human organ growth and maturation during normal development and disease.

In 2003 Susana obtained her PhD from the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Bath, UK. She then performed her postdoctoral research at Instituto Medicina Molecular (IMM, Lisbon, PT) and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC, Oeiras, PT). In 2012 she started her independent group. Her main interest is to understand the molecular and biophysical mechanisms involved in cilia motility and cilia length regulation. Currently her research efforts are focused on two ciliopathies: primary ciliary dyskinesia and polycystic kidney disease.