Short biography
I joined iBET in 2014, and currently I am a Senior Scientist at Cell Line Development & Molecular Virology Lab. At this institute I supported the development of therapeutic antibodies, recombinant proteins, modified immune cells, molecular and cell-based assays.
Worked on projects on the development of adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) for gene therapy, the involvement of Notch ligands in breast cancer, development of immunotherapies targeting Notch ligands. Currently I collaborate on projects to increase rAAV transduction efficiency and advance investigation of immune mechanisms triggered by rAAV. Her research contributed to the establishment of a AAV production platform, implementation of methodologies for the generation and characterization of engineered T cells, as well as to shed light on the role of the Notch ligand DLL1 in breast cancer tumorigenesis.
I hold an MSc in Biology, specialization in Microbiology, from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia (1994) and a PhD in Biology from Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Nova Lisbon University, Portugal (2001).
My past professional experience includes roles as post-doc in Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal (2002-2008), and Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil (2009-2012), and scientist in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, King of Saudi Arabia. During these years, I developed research in the fields of inflammation and cancer (solid and hematologic malignancies). In addition to managing projects, I have co-supervised several laboratory technicians as wells as master’s and PhD students.