João Calmeiro

University of Coimbra (CNC UC), Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy

João Calmeiro has a BSc in Biotechnology from the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, an MSc in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra (FFUC), the Oxford Biodesign Program from the University of Oxford, and is currently in the final year of his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (specialization in Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy), from FFUC. Currently, he is working for the pharmaceutical company Tecnimede Group, the start-up company Toxfinder Lda, and UC. He works in the field of cancer immunotherapy, developing novel antitumor immunotherapeutic strategies, mainly dendritic-cell based. In his PhD project, João is aiming at the development and validation of the first pilot laboratory for cell therapy in Portugal. During his PhD, João also worked at Institut Curie (Immunity and Cancer unit) in Paris. Previously, João worked at NOVA Medical School in Lisbon (CEDOC), at the biotech start-up company SICGEN in Coimbra and Lisbon, and at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology in Coimbra. João Calmeiro was awarded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, by Novartis, by ImmunoTools and by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology - EIT Health (a body of the European Union). He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). In 2020, João was considered 1 of the 100 leaders of tomorrow by Global Biotech Revolution (Cambridge, UK), and was selected to participate in the GapSummit at the University of Cambridge. Since 2020, João is also a member of parliament (MP) of the Health Parliament Portugal. 

Bruno M. Neves

University of Aveiro, Department of Medical Sciences & Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED)

Bruno Neves graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Coimbra (2006) and did a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Centre for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra and Innate Immunity and Inflammation Unit, Instituto de Biologia y Genética Molecular, University of Valladolid, Spain (2011). From 2011 to 2018, Bruno was an invited professor in the Chemistry Department of the University of Aveiro and at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra. Since 2018, he is Assistant Professor and investigator in the Medical Sciences Department and Institute for Research in Biomedicine (iBiMED) at the University of Aveiro, where he is the director of the degree in Biomedical Sciences. Throughout his scientific path, Bruno published more than 40 papers in SCI indexed journals, six book chapters, supervised 14 master students and 3 PhD students. He has several patent applications and is the co-founder and CEO of Toxfinder Lda, a start-up company focused on the development of non-animal alternative toxicological tests. Current research interests include the development of novel antitumor immunotherapeutic strategies and the understanding of how danger sensing mechanisms and stress responses are integrated by innate immune cells.

Maria T. Cruz

University of Coimbra (CNC UC), Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy

Maria Teresa Cruz is a professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She is a Principal Investigator of the research line Innate Immunity in Inflammatory Pathologies. Her research has been focused mainly on two areas: the molecular mechanisms involved in peripheral and neuroinflammation; and the development of methodologies to evaluate the ability of natural and industrial chemicals to modulate innate immunity. It is intended that the scientifically relevant data generated by the first approach may contribute to the development of efficient laboratory tests in screening for possible new drugs or potentially immunotoxic chemicals. Maria Teresa Cruz has published 6 book chapters and 112 articles in SCI indexed journals, supervised or co-supervised 11 PhD students and 21 master theses, and has an h-index of 26 with 4,086 citations, according to the Web of Science.