A. Cristina Rego (Ph.D.) is Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (FMUC) and head of ‘Mitochondria
and Neurodegenerative Disorders’ (MiND) research group at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), Univ. Coimbra
(UC), and CIBB (Centro de Inovação em Biomedicina e Biotecnologia). AC Rego obtained the Ph.D. in Cell Biology in 1999 at
UC under supervision of Prof. Catarina R. Oliveira, was postdoctoral researcher in the Lab of Prof. David G. Nicholls, Univ.
Dundee, Scotland, UK, and visiting researcher at the Buck Institute, Novato, CA, USA, from 1998-2000. In 2004-05 AC Rego was
the coordinator of the BEB PhD Programme at CNC. Currently, she coordinates the Master in Molecular and Translational Neuroscience
at FMUC. AC Rego investigates molecular mechanisms of familial and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's
and Huntington's diseases, focusing on early-stage modifications in mitochondrial function, dynamics and biogenesis, metabolic
deregulation and related exosomal content, as well as the link with glutamatergic postsynaptic (dys)function, and transcriptional
(de)regulation. Funding has been garnered by HighQ Foundation (USA), Lundbeck Foundation, 'Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar'
(IIIUC), 'Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia' (FCT) and EHDN-European Huntington’s Disease Network projects, two 1st edition
major prizes/awards promoted by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) and Fundação Luso Americana para o Desenvolvimento
(FLAD), and through industry contracts (e.g. TEVA, Sigma-Tau, Mycology Lab, Prilenia Neurotherapeutics). AC Rego holds a h-factor
51 (Web-of-Science; h-factor 59 at Google Scholar) and >10900 citations, published 144 peer-reviewed publications (of which
113 original articles), 27 book chapters (11 in portuguese) and 140 abstracts in research meetings. AC Rego supervised/co-supervised
the work of 12 post-doctoral fellows and investigators, 20 Ph.D. students and 60 Master students (concluded degrees). AC Rego
acts as ad-hoc reviewer for scientific journals (e.g. Acta Neuropathologica, Antioxidants and Redox Signal., Brain, Cell Death
& Disease, Eur. J. Neuroscience, Free Radic. Biol. and Medicine, Mol. Neurobiol., Neurobiol. Disease, Neuroscience, Redox
Biology, Sci. Reports) and funding bodies, namely Parkinson's UK, Alzheimer's Research UK, Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Agence
Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), Auckland Medical Research Foundation (AMRF), Telethon Fondazione, Israel Science Foundation,
Wellcome Trust, Alzheimer's Association, COST or JPND. AC Rego was member of the ERA-Chair recruitment and monitoring team
ERAatUC, at University of Coimbra, ERC Synergy panel member in 2022 and 2024, and member of FENS Programme Committee in 2024.
AC Rego was Vice-President of the Portuguese Brain Council (2017-24), President of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience
(SPN) (2019-23) and current President of SPN Fiscal Council (2023-27). Moreover, AC Rego has been a member/vogal of the board
of CNC and CNC-UC (2019-20 and 2023-25).