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Background: I have a Bachelor degree in Biological and Health Sciences by the University of Azores and a Master degree in Molecular Genetics by the University of Minho. Solid expertise in molecular biology, genetics, microbiology and toxicology. My master thesis dissertation aimed to understand the role of metabolism in cisplatin resistance using the yeast S. cerevisiae as a model system. We discovered that Rad4p is required for the resistant phenotype observed when yeast cells are exposed to cisplatin. In 2020 I worked as research fellow in the project FunG-Eye, where we intent to establish a yeast-based biosensor to detect fungicides and assess its risks for non-target organisms. I co-supervised and mentored one undergraduate student under the scope of this research project. Currently, I am a PhD student and I intend to assess the risk of environment pollutants to Parkinson's disease progression.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Leslie Amaral

Citation names

  • Amaral, Leslie

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
2219-ED93-2A8B
ORCID iD
0000-0003-2843-628X

Knowledge fields

  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Microbiology
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Molecular Biology
  • Exact Sciences - Computer and Information Sciences - Bioinformatics

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1)
German Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1)
Education
Degree Classification
2020/01/01 - 2024/12/31
Concluded
 PhD in Biology (Doutoramento)
Major in Cellular Biology and Health
Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
"A humanized yeast model system to assess the risk of environment pollutants to Parkinson's disease progression" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 Muito Bom
2021/10 - 2021/11
Concluded
 Science Communication (Outros)
Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2019/11/11 - 2019/11/29
Concluded
 Bioinformatics in Health Sciences (Outros)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
 16 valores
2015/10 - 2018/05
Concluded
 Genética Molecular (Mestrado)
Universidade do Minho, Portugal
"The role of metabolism in the sensitivity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 17 valores
2011/09 - 2014/06
Concluded
 Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (Licenciatura)
Universidade dos Açores Departamento de Biologia, Portugal
"Establishment of methodologies for monitoring the response of pineapple culture to forced floral induction" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 14 valores
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2020/02/17 - 2020/12/14 Researcher (Research) Universidade do Minho, Portugal
Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
2016/09 - 2018/04 Research Trainee (Research) Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
2015/01 - 2015/07 Researcher (Research) Estagiar-L fellowship from Direcção Regional do Emprego e Qualificação Profissional, Portugal
Universidade dos Açores Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2012/09 - 2014/06 Research Trainee (Research) Instituto de Inovação Tecnológica dos Açores, Portugal
Instituto de Inovação Tecnológica dos Açores, Portugal

Positions / Appointments

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2021/09 - 2023/01 Manager of Laboratory, Institute, Museum, Centre or Observatory Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2020/01/01 - 2024/12/31 A humanized yeast model system to assess the risk of environment pollutants to Parkinson's disease progression
2020.05944.BD
PhD Student Fellow
Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
Concluded
2020/02/17 - 2020/12/14 FunG-Eye: A functional approach to unravel the interaction between fungicide pollution and fungi-mediated ecosystem processes
Ref.ª PTDC/CTA-AMB/29505/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029505)
Research Fellow
Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
 Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT
Concluded
2015/01 - 2015/06 Determination of fluoride concentration in plant and animal bioindicators
M3.1.2/F/019/2011
Research Fellow
Universidade dos Açores, Portugal
 Estagiar-L fellowship from Direcção Regional do Emprego e Qualificação Profissional
Concluded

Other

Designation Funders
2012/09 - 2014/06 Cultura do Ananás dos Açores
RAAFDR-01-0482-FEDER-000003
Other
Instituto de Inovação Tecnológica dos Açores, Portugal
Concluded
Outputs

Publications

Conference poster
  1. Amaral, Leslie; Martins Márcia; Mendes, Filipa; Corte-Real M; Rego, António; Outeiro, Tiago; CHAVES, SUSANA. "A versatile yeast model to screen for pesticides as risk factors for synucleinopathies". Paper presented in I CBMA Open Day & II PhD|Bio Symposium, 2024.
  2. Amaral, Leslie; Rego, António; Tiago F. Outeiro; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Chaves, Susana. "A humanized yeast model system to assess the risk of environment contaminants to Parkinson's disease progression". Paper presented in The Biochemistry Global Summit, 2022.
  3. Mendes, Filipa; Eduarda Miranda ; Amaral, Leslie; Castro, Bruno B.; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "A yeast-based biosensor to monitor tebuconazole in environmental samples". Paper presented in The Biochemistry Global Summit, 2022.
  4. Mendes, Filipa; Eduarda Miranda ; Amaral, Leslie; Maria João Sousa; Chaves, Susana. "Novel yeast-based biosensor for environmental monitoring". Paper presented in ICY15 meets 30 ICYGMB, 2021.
  5. Amaral, Leslie; Mendes, Filipa; Martins, Vera; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "Carbon source affects sensitivity to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae". Paper presented in V Simpósio PDBMA, 2019.
  6. Mendes, Filipa; Amaral, Leslie; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "How carbon source affects the sensitivity to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin". Paper presented in I Jornadas da Ciência: [Ciência] - Concentra o Conhecimento, 2019.
  7. Mendes, Filipa; Amaral, Leslie; Martins, Vera; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "The effect of carbon source in the sensitivity to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin". Paper presented in IV PDBMA Symposium, 2018.
  8. Amaral, Leslie; Martins, Vera; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "The role of metabolism in the sensitivity of S. cerevisiae to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin". Paper presented in Congress of Microbiology and Biotechnology (MICROBIOTEC), 2017.
  9. Martins, Vera; Amaral, Leslie; Bagheri, Maryam; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "The role of metabolism in the sensitivity of S. cerevisiae to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin.". Paper presented in XIX National Congress of Biochemistry, 2016.
Journal article
  1. Brücke, Christof; Al-Azzani, Mohammed; Ramalingam, Nagendran; Ramón, Maria; Sousa, Rita L.; Buratti, Fiamma; Zech, Michael; et al. "A novel alpha-synuclein G14R missense variant is associated with atypical neuropathological features". Molecular Neurodegeneration 20 1 (2025): https://doi.org/10.1186/s13024-025-00889-y.
    10.1186/s13024-025-00889-y
  2. Al-Azzani, Mohammed; Weber, Sandrina; Ramalingam, Nagendran; Ramón, Maria; Shvachiy, Liana; Mestre, Gonçalo; Zech, Michael; et al. "A Novel a-Synuclein K58N Missense Variant in a Patient with Parkinson's Disease". Movement Disorders (2025): https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.70030.
    Published • 10.1002/mds.70030
  3. Amaral, Leslie; Márcia Martins; Manuela Côrte-Real; Tiago F. Outeiro; Susana R. Chaves; António Rego. "The neurotoxicity of pesticides: Implications for Parkinson's disease". Chemosphere (2025): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144348.
    10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144348
  4. Leslie Amaral; Filipa Mendes; Manuela Côrte-Real; António Rego; Tiago F. Outeiro; Susana R. Chaves. "A versatile yeast model identifies the pesticides cymoxanil and metalaxyl as risk factors for synucleinopathies". Chemosphere (2024): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143039.
    10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143039
  5. Mendes, Filipa; Miranda, Eduarda; Amaral, Leslie; Carvalho, Carla; Castro, Bruno B.; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana R.. "Novel yeast-based biosensor for environmental monitoring of tebuconazole". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 108 1 (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12944-z.
    10.1007/s00253-023-12944-z
  6. Pereira, Mélanie; Rodrigues, Ana Rita O.; Amaral, Leslie; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Santos-Pereira, Cátia; Castanheira, Elisabete M. S.. "Bovine Lactoferrin-Loaded Plasmonic Magnetoliposomes for Antifungal Therapeutic Applications". Pharmaceutics 15 8 (2023): 2162. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15082162.
    10.3390/pharmaceutics15082162
  7. Amaral, Leslie; Mendes, Filipa; Côrte-Real, Manuela; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana. "Lactate induces cisplatin resistance in S. cerevisiae through a Rad4p-dependent process". Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity (2020):
    Published • https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/4971525
  8. Linhares, Diana Paula Silva; Garcia, Patrícia Ventura; Amaral, Leslie; Ferreira, Teresa; dos Santos Rodrigues, Armindo. "Safety Evaluation of Fluoride Content in Tea Infusions Consumed in the Azores—a Volcanic Region with Water Springs naturally Enriched in Fluoride". Biological Trace Element Research 179 1 (2017): 158-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-0947-9.
    Published • 10.1007/s12011-017-0947-9
  9. Linhares, Diana Paula Silva; Garcia, Patrícia Ventura; Amaral, Leslie; Ferreira, Teresa; Cury, Jaime A.; Vieira, Waldomiro; dos Santos Rodrigues, Armindo. "Sensitivity of two biomarkers for biomonitoring exposure to fluoride in children and women: A study in a volcanic area". Chemosphere 155 (2016): 614-620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.04.092.
    Published • 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.04.092
Preprint
  1. Aswathy Chandran; Aishwarya Agarwal; Tianhao Wang; Leslie Amaral; Susana R. Chaves; Tiago F. Outeiro; Janin Lautenschläger. "Dual effect of a-synuclein disease variants on condensate formation". 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.06.657340.
    10.1101/2025.06.06.657340
  2. Mendes, Filipa; Meyer, Hadar; Amaral, Leslie; Castro, Bruno B.; Schuldiner, Maya; Sousa, Maria João; Chaves, Susana R.. "The antifungal activity of cymoxanil is associated with proton pump inhibition and disruption of plasma membrane potential". 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.01.583004.
    10.1101/2024.03.01.583004
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Amaral, Leslie. "The role of metabolism in the sensitivity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the anti-cancer agent cisplatin". Master, Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, 2018.
  2. Amaral, Leslie. "Establishment of methodologies for monitoring the response of pineapple culture to forced floral induction". Degree, Universidade dos Açores, 2014.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2021/03/31 Bio-detection of fungicides: an alternative to traditional methods BIO-DETEÇÃO E EFEITOS ECOLÓGICOS DE FUNGICIDAS EM SISTEMAS AQUÁTICOS: MODELOS BIOLÓGICOS E RESULTADOSDO PROJETO FUNG-EYE
University of Minho

Supervision

Thesis Title
Role 		Degree Subject (Type)
Institution / Organization
2021/04 - 2021/06 Biossensor à base de leveduras para monitorização ambiental
Co-supervisor of Gonçalo Fonseca Martins Garcia Costa
 Biologia Aplicada (Degree)
Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2020/03 - 2020/07 Characterization of the cymoxanil mode of action using S. cerevisiae
Co-supervisor of Ângela Sousa
 Bioquímica (Degree)
Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2022 - Current Investigadores voltam à escola - visa aproximar as escolas e os seus alunos dos centros de investigação e da ciência, mostrando-lhes, na primeira pessoa, como é feita a investigação, com o objetivo de os motivar para o estudo das ciências.
Workshop
Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2017/06/07 - 2017/06/21 Ciência Viva no Laboratório
Universidade do Minho Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Portugal
2017/03/24 - 2017/03/25 Programa de "Portas Abertas" da Uminho dirigido aos alunos do ensino básico e secundário, familiares, professores e orientadores vocacionais.
Workshop
 Open Weekend 2017
Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal

Course / Discipline taught

Academic session Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2022/01 - 2022/01 Exploration of fluorescent probes to monitor different cellular parameters by flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy (Outros) Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2021/05 - 2021/05 Curso Avançado em Células de Mamífero e de Levedura como Modelos complementares para compreender a morte celular programada e a autofagia (Outros) Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Mentoring / Tutoring

Topic Student name
2024/01 - 2024/05 Molecular studies of alpha-synuclein aggregation in cell models Felicia Pais Araújo
2022/09/01 - 2023/10/31 Development of effective antifungal strategies based on lactoferrin and autophagy inducers João Filipe Pereira
2022/07/01 - 2023/01/15 "Multifunctional magnetoliposomes containing magnetic and gold nanoparticles as nanocarriers for lactoferrin" Mélanie Rodrigues Pereira
2022/02/11 - 2022/02/18 No Centro da Ação - "A levedura como modelo celular para avaliar pesticidas na progressão da doença de Parkinson" Ana Clara Faria e Mariana Magalhães
Distinctions

Award

2022 Portuguese Biochemical Society Bursary
Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica, Portugal

Other distinction

2020 PhD studentships
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal