Speakers

V International Congress in Health Science Research: from molecule to community

We’re sorry to announce that our scheduled plenary speaker Joseph Samitier will no longer be able to present at our upcoming event. We truly appreciate your understanding.
Stay tuned for updates, and we look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days.

Plenary Speakers

Plenary

Professor Fernando Schmitt

Professor at the Medical Faculty of Porto University
Director of RISE (Clinical and Translational Research Network)

Fernando Schmitt is a Full Professor of Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, and Head of Molecular Pathology at IPATIMUP. He also serves as the Director of RISE (Clinical and Translational Research Network) and is the President of the International Academy of Cytology (IAC). Recognized globally as a leading expert in cytopathology and breast cancer, his research focuses on breast pathology, particularly on molecular markers, cell adhesion and invasion, as well as therapeutic targets and resistance mechanisms.

He has authored over 500 scientific publications, with a total H-index of 86 (46 in the last 5 years) and 28,857 citations. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Pathobiology and Associate Editor of six major scientific journals. Additionally, he has edited ten books and contributed to 47 book chapters. He is a standing member of the WHO-IAC Classification of Tumours.

He has received numerous awards, including the Educator of the Year 2011 by the PSC, the Goldblatt Award 2013 by the IAC, the Dario Cruz 2018 Award from the Portuguese League Against Cancer for his career in breast cancer research, and the 2021 International Achievement Award from the American Society of Cytopathology.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3711-8681 and https://rise-la.pt/fernando-schmitt/

Plenary

Doctor Martin J. Whitaker

Research Fellow at the Imperial College London
Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence
Director of D3 Pharma Limited

Martin Whitaker is currently the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence working with the University of Nottingham creating closer links between academia and industry. Previously, Martin was Chief Executive Officer of Diurnal Group plc and led the £75m floatation of the company on the London Stock Exchange: AIM. During his time at Diurnal, Martin led Diurnal the development of the pharmaceutical products - Alkindi® and Efmody® - from concept through Phase III clinical trials to marketing authorisation. In the process Martin transformed Diurnal into a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, having its own sales force in Europe and licensing the company’s products around the world. Martin was also founder and Director of D3 Pharma Limited, a specialty pharmaceutical company that commercialized Plenachol®, a high dose Vitamin D product prescribed in the UK. Previously, Martin worked for Fusion IP plc at the University of Sheffield, and, at the beginning of his scientific career, Martin spent a year working for the pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Sandwich (UK) and was Operations Director of Critical Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin-Whitaker and www.linkedin.com/in/martinjameswhitaker/

Plenary

Professor Monika Stoll

Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Münster
Professor at the University of Münster

Monika Stoll is Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Muenster and Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics. Monika Stoll is engaged in research in complex genetics and genetic epidemiology particularly relating to cardiovascular diseases and inflammation. Current research projects address the genetic and genomic basis of arrhythmogenic diseases and heart failure. Her research group is running a core facility for genomics which supports high-density arrays and next-generation sequencing applications and a (bio)informatics infrastructure for management and analysis of large data sets.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.carimmaastricht.nl/research/divisions/division_blood/blood_coagulation_venous_thrombosis_bleeding/people/monika_stoll

Plenary

Doctor Kristof Vercruysse

Chief Executive Officer at TargED Biopharmaceuticals

Kristof Vercruysse has over 20 years of experience in bringing biopharmaceutical compounds from preclinical proof of concept towards market authorization. He holds a Masters in Biomedical Science from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Kristof gained hands-on experience with the development of Caplacizumab for the treatment of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura during his time at Ablynx from 2007 to 2013. Subsequently, Kristof joined Sourcia, a full-service boutique contract research organization that delivers tailor-made clinical drug development for biotech companies, where he developed expertise in the development of biopharmaceuticals and gained valuable insights into the clinical trial process. Currently, Kristof holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at TargED Biopharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that develops first-in-class biological drugs to improve the treatment of thrombosis.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://targedbiopharmaceuticals.com/employee/kristof-vercruysse/

Keynote Speakers

Professor Paula Macedo

Maria Paula Macedo is a Full Professor, Pedagogic Council Member and coordinates doctoral programs at NOVA Medical School. Macedo’s extensive research significantly contributes to our understanding of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism. She investigates genetic and environmental factors affecting insulin clearance and resistance in prediabetes, while also exploring the interconnected roles of the gut, brain, and liver in regulating diabetes, obesity, and Steatotic Liver Disease.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2549-0275 and https://www.nms.unl.pt/pt-pt/nova-medical-school/quem-somos/detalhe/n/Maria%20Paula%20Macedo/personid/3934

Professor Mara Freire

Mara G. Freire is a Coordinator Researcher at CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro, Portugal. Her research interests cover the development of cost-effective purification processes for high-value biopharmaceuticals and efficient pre-treatment techniques for biological samples envisaging early-stage diagnosis and sustainable recovery processes for high-value compounds with therapeutic properties from biomass. Mara is also interested in the synthesis and application of ionic liquids as therapeutic drugs.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8895-0614 and https://www.ciceco.ua.pt/?tabela=pessoaldetail&menu=219&user=204

Professor Ana Margarida Grenha

Ana Margarida Grenha is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology - University of Algarve, and a researcher at the Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR). Ana has a PhD and an Habilitation in Pharmaceutical Technology and her research focuses on respiratory drug delivery, particularly on the development of drug delivery carriers for inhalation. Her research group is also keen on exploring the potential of natural materials, namely polysaccharides, fostering new applications that benefit from their intrinsic properties. She has been the PI of several funded projects, and has authored ca. 50 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and 2 patents (1 pending) in the field of drug inhalation. She has supervised 4 PhD thesis and approximately 10 Master thesis, all in the field of drug delivery. She was awarded the prize Investigador Universidade do Algarve 2022 and in 2020 received the Robalo Cordeiro Award from the Portuguese Society of Pneumology, attributed to a scientific project on pulmonary immuniation strategies.

She is currently the Director of the Integrated Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences at UAlg and is a member of the Board of Directors of CCMAR-UAlg since 2018.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.ualg.pt/bio/amgrenha and https://ccmar.ualg.pt/users/amgrenha

Professor Céu Figueiredo

Céu Figueiredo is Group Leader at Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. Her research explores the pathogenesis of microbe-associated cancers, particularly Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric cancer. Current research focuses on the role of the microbiome in gastric carcinogenesis across different geographic regions. To support these efforts, her team has been developing high-resolution methods for microbiome characterization in tissues and cell-free DNA. The end goal is to advance strategies for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment based on microbial influences.

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.i3s.up.pt/personal-info.php?id=159&idg=136

Professor Rune Matthiensen

Rune Matthiesen leads the computational and experimental biology (CEB) group at NOVA Medical School (NMS), where he focuses on unraveling the mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer through large-scale biological experiments using model systems, followed by biomarker validation in clinical samples. He has extensive experience in large-scale clinical proteomics based on LC-MS, in combination with machine learning and epidemiological computational methodologies. In addition to being responsible for multiple courses and co-responsible for a master's program, he has been Principal Investigator on 15 research projects focusing on clinical proteomics and data integration with clinical samples. Currently, Dr. Matthiesen plays a pivotal role as the coordinator of the prestigious EU project, EVCA - Centre for Excellence in Diagnostic and Advanced Therapeutics based on Extracellular Vesicles (Horizon2020 GA n° 101079264, EVCA).

Learn more about our speaker at: https://www.cienciavitae.pt/BB1A-A606-EE77