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Catarina Moreira holds a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and a master's degree in Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (formerly Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices) from the University of Aveiro. Throughout her academic journey, she has gained multidisciplinary experience in areas such as Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Materials Science, while also developing expertise in various laboratory techniques applied to Biotechnology. During her Bachelor's studies, she conducted her final research project within Team SPECKO, a research group from CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials. Her project, entitled "Development of periodic mesoporous organosilicas for hormone capture," provided hands-on experience in chemical synthesis and advanced characterization techniques, including FTIR, NMR, TGA, STEM, adsorption isotherms and analytical chemistry using HPLC. After BSc, she continued this research voluntarily to further develop her expertise, participating in JORNADAS CICECO 2022 conference, where she presented a poster as first author . The findings of her Bachelor's project resulted in a scientific paper that is currently under review. Driven by her growing interest in materials applied to health, she pursued a master's degree in Biomaterials and Nanomedicine, where she further expanded her knowledge in materials science, biomedicine, biomechanics, specializing in Biomedical Devices. Her master's thesis, developed at the Institute for Biomedicine (iBiMED/UA), focused focused on developing and validating capacitive electrodes for controlled electrical stimulation of sensory neurons, aiming to enhance neuroregeneration following Central Nervous System injuries. During this work, she gained experience in CAD software, screen-printing, cell culture, electrical stimulation, instrumentation, automatic control, biochemical assays, phase contrast microscopy, western/immunoblotting. The breakthrough outputs resulted in three first-author communications: two poster presentations (VIII iBiMED Symposium and XVI Symposium on Bioengineering), and a manuscript under submission to Small Science (IF 11.2). Her work was also recognized with the Best Oral Presentation award at the XVI Symposium on Bioengineering from the University of Porto. Alongside her MSc thesis, she participated in cancer research involving cancer spheroids and organ-on-a-chip platforms. Further, she collaborated in the development of automatic controllers inspired in Black Hole-dynamics for potential cancer treatment applications, co-authoring a pioneering article in Computers in Biology and Medicine. Additionally, she started to establish international network collaborations, with Dr. Rosalia Moreddu from University of Southampton, and Dr. Mustafa Djamgoz (Imperial College London), where she helped to systematically catalogue over 70 cancer cell lines, addressing critical gaps such as underrepresentation of young patients, male breast cancer, and ethnic diversity, as well as genetic drift in long-term culture. This work, under review at Cancer Letters, offers a valuable tool for selecting relevant in vitro models for translational cancer research. Her academic background and research experience enable her to contribute effectively to interdisciplinary projects with broad scopes and innovative challenges, particularly in the fields of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science.
Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Ana Catarina Nunes Moreira

Citation names

  • Moreira, A. Catarina
  • Ana C. Moreira
  • Ana Moreira

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
4013-37AB-936E
ORCID iD
0009-0006-5117-7182
Google Scholar ID
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=pt-PT&user=V29ZhAQAAAAJ

Email addresses

  • a.moreira@ua.pt (Professional)

Addresses

  • Campus Universitario de Santiago, Agra do Crasto – Building 30, 3810-193, Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

Knowledge fields

  • Engineering and Technology - Materials Engineering
  • Engineering and Technology - Mechanical Engineering
  • Engineering and Technology - Nano-technology - Nano-materials
  • Engineering and Technology - Mechanical Engineering - Nuclear Related Engineering
  • Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology - Health-Related Biotechnology
  • Engineering and Technology - Electrotechnical Engineering, Electronics and Informatics - Automation and Control Systems

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
French Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2) Elementary (A2)
English Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1)
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
Education
Degree Classification
2025/05/19 - 2026/02/20
Ongoing
Curso Avançado em Investigação Científica (CAIC) (Outros)
Major in Ciências e Engenharia
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2022/09/17 - 2024/12/20
Concluded
Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices (Mestrado)
Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais e Cerâmica, Portugal
"Development of capacitive interdigitated cosurface electrodes for in vitro electrical stimulation of neuronal cells" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
17/20 ; Thesis graded 19/20
2021/11/05 - 2023/05/05
Concluded
Direct English - level 4 (B1 certification) (Outros)
Direct English, Portugal
2019/09/15 - 2022/07/18
Concluded
Biotechnology (Licenciatura)
Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Química, Portugal
"Development of periodic mesoporous organosilicas for hormone capture" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
13/20
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution
Employer
2025/05/20 - Current Researcher (Research) Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Tecnologia Mecânica e Automação, Portugal
Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Tecnologia Mecânica e Automação, Portugal
2023/10/15 - 2024/12/20 Research Trainee (Research) Universidade de Aveiro Instituto de Biomedicina, Portugal
2022/02/22 - 2022/07/18 Research Trainee (Research) Universidade de Aveiro CICECO, Portugal
Projects

Other

Designation Funders
2025/05/19 - Current CARBONCT - Multifunctional carbon nanocapsules for highly efficient neutron cancer therapy.
2022.03596.PTDC
Research Fellow
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal

Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Outputs

Publications

Conference poster
  1. Moreira, A. Catarina; de Sousa, Bárbara M.; Diogo G. Pires; Marco P. Soares dos Santos; Sencadas, Vitor; Vieira, Sandra Isabel. "In-House Engineered Cosurface Capacitive Electrodes For Customized Neuronal Electrical Stimulation". Paper presented in VIII iBiMED Symposium, 2025.
  2. Moreira, A. Catarina; de Sousa, Bárbara M.; Diogo G. Pires; Sencadas, Vitor; Marco P. Soares dos Santos; Vieira, Sandra Isabel. "Cosurface Capacitive Electrodes: A New Approach for Personalized Neuronal Electrical Stimulation". Paper presented in XVI Symposium on Bioengineering, 2025.
  3. Moreira, A. Catarina; de Sousa, Bárbara M.; Marco P. Soares dos Santos; Sencadas, Vitor; Vieira, Sandra Isabel. "Neuritogenic effects of in-house developed capacitive interdigitated electrical stimulators". Paper presented in VII iBiMED Symposium, 2024.
  4. Moreira, A. Catarina; Beatriz Pereira; Gameiro, Mariana; Catarina Caramelo; ROQUE, CECÍLIA. "Bioengineered functional living-beads as vascularization platforms". Paper presented in Final Project of the Advanced and Biomimetic Biomaterials Course Unit, 2023.
  5. Moreira, A. Catarina; Geraldine Sequera; Morais, Tiago; Marina Ilkaeva; Sousa, Érika; Pereira, Diogo; Sardo, Mariana; et al. "Development of periodic mesoporous organosilicas for hormone capture". Paper presented in Jornadas CICECO 22, 2022.
Journal article
  1. Franco Jones, Catarina ; Dias, Diogo; Moreira, A. Catarina; Gonçalves, Gil; Stefano Cinti; Mustafa B. A. Djamgoz; Ferreira, Frederico; Sanjuan-Alberte, Paola; Rosalia Moreddu. "Multidimensional classification framework for breast cancer cell selection and its integration with advanced disease models". iScience (2025):
    Submitted • 10.48550/arXiv.2502.15868
  2. Moreira, A. Catarina; de Sousa, Bárbara M.; Diogo G. Pires; Marco P. Soares dos Santos; Vieira, Sandra Isabel. "Enhanced neuronal differentiation upon electrical stimulation through capacitive cosurface electrodes". Small Science (2025):
    Submitted
  3. Morais, Tiago; Pereira, Diogo; Geraldine Sequera; Moreira, A. Catarina; Marina Ilkaeva; Mafra, Luís; Sardo, Mariana; Calisto, Vânia; Mirtha Alejandra Oliveira Lourenço. "Efficient Removal of 17a-Ethinylestradiol from Water Using Silica-Based Porous Adsorbents: Impact of Organic Functionalities and Water Matrices". Journal of Environmental Management (2025):
    Under revision
  4. Marco P. Soares dos Santos; Rodrigo M. C. Bernardo; João Vidal; Ana Moreira; Delfim F. M. Torres; Carlos A.R. Herdeiro; Hélder A. Santos; Gil Gonçalves. "Next-generation chemotherapy treatments based on black hole algorithms: From cancer remission to chronic disease management". Computers in Biology and Medicine (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108961.
    10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108961
Preprint
  1. Diogo Dias; Franco Jones, Catarina ; Moreira, A. Catarina; Gonçalves, Gil; Mustafa Bilgin Djamgoz; Frederico Castelo Ferreira; Sanjuan-Alberte, Paola; Rosalia Moreddu. "Multidimensional Classification Framework for Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines". 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.15868.
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. "Development of capacitive interdigitated cosurface electrodes for in vitro electrical stimulation of neuronal cells". Master, Universidade de Aveiro, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/43757.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2025/07/09 Metabolic crosstalk across the gut-pancreas axis: microbiome-driven modulation of PDAC progression 2nd International Portugal-USA Summer Course in Cancer Research
Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (I3S) (Porto, Portugal)
2025/06/14 Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential HCEMM 2nd Summer School in Mathematical Modeling in Cancer Research
Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (Szeged, Hungary)
2025/03/23 Cosurface Capacitive Electrodes: A New Approach for Personalized Neuronal Electrical Stimulation XVI Symposium on Bioengineering
FEUP, University of Porto (Porto, Portugal)

Event organisation

Event name
Type of event (Role)
Institution / Organization
2024/07/05 - 2024/07/06 GodTellers - Christian inspired music festival (2024/07/05 - 2024/07/06)
Festival (Member of the Organising Committee)
Grupo de Jovens de Canelas, Portugal
2023/07/26 - 2023/07/29 Dias nas Dioceses (JMJ LISBOA 2023) (2023/07/26 - 2023/07/29)
Meeting (Member of the Organising Committee)
COV - Comité Organizador Vicarial, Portugal
2023/07/26 - 2023/07/29 Dias nas Dioceses (JMJ LISBOA 2023) (2023/07/26 - 2023/07/29)
Meeting (Member of the Organising Committee)
COP - Comité Organizador Paroquial, Portugal
2023/07/26 - 2023/07/28 GodTellers - Christian inspired music festival (2023/07/26 - 2023/07/28)
Festival (Member of the Organising Committee)
Grupo de Jovens de Canelas, Portugal
2022/07/12 - 2022/07/16 Douro Cup - Torneio Internacional de Futebol Juvenil (2022/07/12 - 2022/07/16)
Exhibition (Other)
Douro Cup, Portugal
2022/07/01 - 2022/07/02 GodTellers - Christian inspired music festival (2022/07/01 - 2022/07/02)
Festival (Member of the Organising Committee)
Grupo de Jovens de Canelas, Portugal
2019/07/09 - 2019/07/13 Douro Cup - Torneio Internacional de Futebol Juvenil (2019/07/09 - 2019/07/13)
Exhibition (Other)
Douro Cup, Portugal
2019/07/05 - 2019/07/06 GodTellers - Christian inspired music festival (2019/07/05 - 2019/07/06)
Festival (Member of the Organising Committee)
Grupo de Jovens de Canelas, Portugal
2018/09/08 - 2018/09/09 3º Grande prémio Red bull - Gravity-powered race featuring non-motorized cars (2018/09/08 - 2018/09/09)
Exhibition (Other)
Red Bull Portugal, Portugal
2018/07/06 - 2018/07/07 GodTellers - Christian inspired music festival (2018/07/06 - 2018/07/07)
Festival (Member of the Organising Committee)
Grupo de Jovens de Canelas, Portugal
2017/06/03 - 2017/06/03 GodTellers - Christian inspired music festival (2017/06/03 - 2017/06/03)
Festival (Member of the Organising Committee)
Grupo de Jovens de Canelas, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event
Event name
Institution / Organization
2025/06/30 - 2025/07/09 2nd International Portugal-USA Summer Course in Cancer Research - International Course featuring high-impact, state-of-the-art research presented by leading scientists such as Douglas Hanahan, Ronald DePinho, Linda Chin, Miriam Merad, Laurence Zitvogel, Guido Kroemer, and other prominent international and national experts.
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
2025/06/18 - 2025/06/18 Presentation of Thesis Topics for Prospective Students of the Department of Materials and Biomedical Engineering
Workshop
Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais e Cerâmica, Portugal

Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Física, Portugal
2025/06/10 - 2025/06/14 HCEMM Summer School 2025 Mathematical Modeling in Cancer Research
Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, Hungary
2025/04/18 - 2025/04/18 Information session on master’s programs for students in the Chemistry student group. Testimonial as a graduate student from the Master's program in Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices.
Round table
Apresentação de Mestrados NEQ-AAUAv
Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Química, Portugal
2025/03/21 - 2025/03/22 'Microchip fabrication using 3D printing for biomedical applications'
Workshop
Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Tecnologia Mecânica e Automação, Portugal
2025/03/21 - 2025/03/21 'Production and Characterization of Nanoparticles for Loading Bioactive Compounds' attended as part of the XVI Symposium on Bioengineering, 2025
Workshop
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2025/01/28 - 2025/01/28 'Introduction to 3D printing and modeling'
Workshop
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2024/05/08 - 2024/05/08 Information session on master’s programs for students in the Chemistry department. Testimonial as a student in the Master's program in Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices.
Round table
Apresentação de Mestrados NEQ-AAUAv
Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Química, Portugal
2023/08/01 - 2023/08/06 Jornadas Mundiais da Juventude (JMJ) Lisboa 2023
Meeting
Jornadas Mundiais da Juventude Lisboa 2023
JMJ Lisboa 2023, Portugal
2023/03/29 - 2023/03/29 Seminars exploring the interplay between chemistry, materials science, and their diverse applications
Seminar
A Química dos Materiais
Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais e Cerâmica, Portugal

Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Química, Portugal
2013/05/22 - 2019/05/22 Participation in the national fundraising campaigns for the Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome
Banco Alimentar contra a fome, Portugal
2019/01/14 - 2019/01/27 Jornadas Mundiais da Juventude (JMJ) Panamá 2019
JMJ Panamá 2019, Panama
2017/04/18 - 2018/04/18 Participation in the national fundraising campaigns for the Liga Portuguesa contra o Cancro
Other
Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro, Portugal
2016/04/23 - 2016/04/25 Jubileu da Adolescência
Meeting
Jubileu da Adolescência
Diocese de Roma, Italy

Association member

Society Organization name Role
2025/01/01 - Current Associação de Expressão e Cultura Cristã de Canelas (AECCC) Vice-president

Mentoring / Tutoring

Topic Student name
2024/08/01 - 2025/02/01 Assisted in student training in Western and immunoblotting Bruna Cruz
Distinctions

Award

2025 Best Oral Communication at XVI Symposium on Bioengineering
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Other distinction

2025 Selected participant for the HCEMM Summer School 2025 Mathematical Modeling in Cancer Research (1 of 25 participants among +100 applications) (10Jul - 14Jul 2025)
Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, Hungary
2025 Selected participant for the 2nd International Portugal-USA Summer Course in Cancer Research (30Jun - 9Jul 2025)
Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal