DIOGO RODRIGUES FERNANDES (251F-A3B7-42AC)

Curriculum Vitae

DIOGO RODRIGUES FERNANDES

I am an enthusiastic young scientist, and my primary focus lies at the intersection of biotechnology and biomedicine. I am particularly interested in further extending my expertise in these fields to gain a better understanding of human diseases and develop effective treatments for them. Currently, I am a PhD student at the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease (MMD) Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, led by Dr. Ana Rita Carlos, assistant professor at the Faculty of Lisbon. My PhD project, under the supervision of Dr. Carlos and Dr. Jose Escandell, senior scientist of Instituto Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET) aims to create a new therapeutic strategy for LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-MD), the most common congenital muscular dystrophy, and a life threatening and currently incurable disease. Apart from my main project, I have been actively involved in other projects in the laboratory and lectured practical-theoretical/practical classes at the FCUL. My work so far has given me experience in several areas, including enzyme immobilization, confocal microscopy, molecular cloning, gene editing technologies (CRISPR/Cas9 technology), next-generation sequencing, viral vector production (lentivirus and adeno-associated virus), molecular and cell biology techniques (RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, Western-blot) and cell culture techniques (non-viral transfection, 3D cultures). I also have expertise in rAAV design and development of in vitro models of disease and I have recently enrolled in the CONGENTO course on laboratory animal science (rodents) - EU Functions A+D(+C) at Champalimaud. In addition, I have been actively involved in supervising undergraduate students. To complement soft skills and my training as a scientist, I also have C2 Proficiency in English certified by Cambridge and training with bioinformatic, imaging and programming tools such as galaxy, FIJI, R and MATLAB.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: DIOGO RODRIGUES FERNANDES
Date of birth: 2000/07/26
Gender: Male

Citation names

R. Fernandes, Diogo

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 251F-A3B7-42AC
ORCID iD: 0009-0009-0912-2251

Email addresses

drfernandes@fc.ul.pt (Professional)

Addresses

Edificio C2, Piso 3, Gabinete 33, 1749-016 , Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drf-/ (Professional)
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diogo-Fernandes-52?ev=hdr_xprf (Scholar)

Knowledge fields

Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology
Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Molecular Biology
Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Cell Biology
Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology - Technologies Involving the Manipulation of Cells, Tissues, Organs or the Whole Organism
Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Virology

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English	Proficiency (C2)	Proficiency (C2)	Proficiency (C2)	Proficiency (C2)	Proficiency (C2)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2024/11/16 - 2028/11/16 Ongoing	Biologia (Doutoramento) Major in Fisiologia e Biologia do Desenvolvimento Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/03/18 - 2024/09 Concluded	Métodos e Técnicas de Investigação Científica (Pós-Graduação) Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2024/03/11 - 2024/04/05 Concluded	CONGENTO Course on Laboratory Animal Science - EU Functions A+C+D (Outros) Major in Rodents Centro Champalimaud, Portugal	Approved
2021 - 2023 Concluded	Biologia Molecular e Genética (Mestrado) Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal "LAMA2-CMD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using an in vitro model" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	19
2018 - 2021 Concluded	Biotecnologia (Licenciatura) Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal "Immobilization of enzymes on diamond surfaces for the development of biosensors." (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	19

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2024/03 - 2024/09	Researcher (Research)	FCiênciasID Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, Portugal
	Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Projects

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2024/11 - 2028/11	CRISPRTher: Establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using mice and patient-derived in vitro models CE3C#1390 PhD Student Fellow FCiênciasID Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, Portugal	Ongoing
2025/01 - 2027/01	LAMA2Ther: Tratamento para LAMA2-MD usando tecnologia baseada em CRISPR/Cas9 CE3C#1428 PhD Student Fellow FCiênciasID Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, Portugal	Ongoing
2022/09/19 - 2027	Extracellular matrix in health and disease CE3C#1036 Researcher Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal	FCiênciasID Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências Ongoing
2022/09/19 - 2024/10/04	AAVscreen PTDC/BTM-ORG/1383/2020 Researcher Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Portugal Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2022/09/01 - 2023/12/31	Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais UIDB/00329/2020 10.54499/UIDB/00329/2020 Researcher FCiênciasID Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, Portugal Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso, Portugal Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2022/09/19 - 2023	Understanding the responses of fetal muscle stem cells and myoblasts to their niche in a mouse model for LAMA2-CMD 23049 MSc student Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal	AFM-Téléthon Concluded

Outputs

Publications

Conference poster	R. FERNANDES, DIOGO; Filipa Moura; Thorsteinsdottir, Solveig; Jose Miguel Escandell Planells; Carlos, Ana Rita. "LAMA2-CMD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using an in vitro model". Paper presented in Frontiers in E3: cE3c Annual Meeting, 2023. R. FERNANDES, DIOGO; Thorsteinsdottir, Solveig; Escandell, J M; Carlos, Ana Rita. Corresponding author: R. FERNANDES, DIOGO. "LAMA2-CMD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using an in vitro model". Paper presented in MDA Clinical & Scientific Conference 2023, 2023. Bernardo L. Tavares; R. FERNANDES, DIOGO; Leandro R. Freitas; Valéria C. Santos-Ebinuma; João C. F. Nunes; Márcia C. Neves; Ana V. Girão; Miguel A.C. Neto; Ana P. M. Tavares. "Boron-doped diamond surface as a platform for the development of an enzymatic biosensor". Paper presented in XXVIII Encontro Nacional da Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, 2023. Bernardo L. Tavares; R. FERNANDES, DIOGO; Freitas, Leandro R.; Ebinuma, Valeria; João C. F. Nunes; Neves, Márcia C; Girão, Ana V.; Neto, Miguel Ângelo da Costa; Ana Paula Mora Tavares. "Development of an enzymatic biosensor based on boron-doped diamond surface". Paper presented in Jornadas CICECO 2022, 2022. Tavares, Bernardo L.; R. FERNANDES, DIOGO; Freitas, Leandro R.; Ebinuma-Santos, V. C.; Nunes, J. CF.; Neves, M. C; Girão, A. V.; Neto, Miguel Ângelo da Costa; Tavares, Ana P. M.. Corresponding author: Tavares, Bernardo L.. "Development of an Enzymatic Biosensor Based on Boron-doped Diamond Surface.". Paper presented in XXVI Encontro Galego-Portugués de Química, 2021.
Journal article	Susana G Martins; Vanessa Filipa Laranjero Ribeiro; Catarina Melo; Cláudia Paulino-Cavaco; Dario Antonini; Sharadha Dayalan Naidu; Fernanda Murtinheira; et al. "Laminin-a2 chain deficiency in skeletal muscle causes dysregulation of multiple cellular mechanisms". Life Science Alliance (2024): http://dx.doi.org/10.26508/lsa.202402829. 10.26508/lsa.202402829 Susana G Martins; Vanessa Ribeiro; Catarina Melo; Claudia Paulino-Cavaco; Dario Antonini; Sharadha Dayalan Naidu; Fernanda Murtinheira; et al. "Deregulation of multiple mechanisms shapes the onset of LAMA2-congenital muscular dystrophy". bioRxiv (2024): doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.20.576409. Open access
Thesis / Dissertation	"LAMA2-CMD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using an in vitro model". Master, Fundação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 2023. http://hdl.handle.net/10451/62797.

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2024/12/12	Mouse and human models to test LAMA2 therapeutic approaches	cE3c 2024 annual meeting (Lisboa , Portugal)
2024/03/06	Desenvolvimento de uma terapia génica para a distrofia muscular com deficiência em LAMA2	XII Jornadas de Investigação em Biologia Faculty of Science of the University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)
2024/02/22	Development of a new gene therapy strategy for LAMA2-MD	Encontro Scientia University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)
2023/11/14	LAMA2-CMD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using an in vitro model	7.ª Conferência Anual da RedeSAÚDE University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)
2022/07/13	Desenvolvimento de um biossensor à base de diamante - Imobilização da enzima L-asparaginase	Research Summit 2022 University of Aveiro (Aveiro, Portugal)

Supervision

	Thesis Title Role	Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2025/02 - 2025/09	LAMA2-MD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using mice models and patient-derived cell lines Co-supervisor	Biologia Molecular e Genética (Master) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/09 - 2025/09	LAMA2-MD: establishment of a new gene therapy strategy using patient-derived cell lines Co-supervisor of Mariana Duarte	Biologia Molecular e Genética (Master) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/10/01 - 2023/12/01	Optimization of rAAV infection using 3D cellular models Co-supervisor of João Garcia, Daniela Santos and Mariana Milheiras	Biologia (Degree) Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2023/02/13 - 2023/05/31	In vitro models of LAMA2-CMD Co-supervisor of Carolina Sousa, Anabela Morais and João Garcia	Biologia (Degree) Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2023/05/05 - 2023/05/05	During the "Dia Aberto em Ciências 2023", the professors, researchers and students of the Faculty of Science of the University of Lisbon showcase their research to highschool and bachelor students. Additionally, they clarify all doubts regarding the coursers of the faculty. (2023/05/05 - 2023/05/05) Other (Other)	Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2025 - 2029	Training activities of “la Caixa” Fellowship program. Meeting	Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowship Training's programme CaixaForum Barcelona, Spain
2024/04/13 - 2024/04/13	Liga Portuguesa contra o Cancro "Portuguese League Against Cancer" was founded in 1941 as a private non-profit organization. The League works on cancer research by funding projects, which are presented every year at "IX Jornadas de Investigação em Oncologia". Conference	IX Jornadas de Investigação em Oncologia Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro, Portugal
2024/03/01 - 2024/03/01	Discussion regarding the experience with companies and people outside of academia with Dr. Teresa Maria Rocha Vieira. Round table	Companies versus Academia Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal
2024/02/28 - 2024/02/28	Mega-journal club organized by Dr. Federico Herrera regarding the Mouse Brain Cell Census initiative published by Nature. Other	Mega-journal club: Mouse Brain Cell Census v2.0 Universidade de Lisboa Instituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas, Portugal
2024/02/27 - 2024/02/27	Industry experts Dr. Priya Chockalingam, Dr. Torsten Wuestefeld, and Jay Tanna will explore the potential of innovative cell and gene therapy types alongside the recent critical approvals of Casgevy¿ and Lyfgenia¿, monitoring long-term efficacy, identifying potential risks, improving manufacturing processes, optimizing dosing regimens, and developing robust monitoring systems. Round table	Accelerating Science Forum: Longevity and compliance in cell and gene therapies SelectScience, United Kingdom
2024/01 - 2024/01	Explore the frontiers of biomanufacturing in this comprehensive webinar, where leading experts from the field share insights on recent advancements in viral vector gene delivery. Join our speakers as they provide a foundational understanding of various vector types, such as lentiviruses, adeno-associated viruses (AAV), and retroviruses, and their respective roles in gene delivery. The webinar will then address recent technological advancements in viral vector manufacturing and explore quality control measures necessary for safety. Round table	Advances in viral vector gene delivery for cell therapy biomanufacturing Cell Press, United States
2023/09/07 - 2023/09/09	In this annual event, organized since 2015, cE3c researchers gather together to present and discuss their latest projects, scientific results and outreach activities, and explore novel ideas. This event is reserved to the cE3c community. The event is organized periodically either at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon or at the University of Azores, to strenghten the relationship between researchers from the Azores and Lisbon and foster the development of new collaborations. Conference	Frontiers in E3: cE3c Annual Meeting Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal
2022/12/12 - 2022/12/12	Meeting of the Doctoral Program ProRegeM and NOVA Medical School with several invited speakers. Congress	Advanced Therapies – Medicine for the XXI Century Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
2022/11/25 - 2022/11/25	This workshop of redeSAÚDE promotes a reflection regarding the current and future perspectives of gene therapy. Chairs: Teresa Moreno (CHLN), Margarida Amaral (redeSAÚDE e Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa) Workshop	Terapia Génica- O presente e o futuro Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Association member

	Society Organization name	Role
2025/01/01 - Current	European society of gene and cell therapy	PhD student
2025/01/01 - Current	CA21113 - Genome Editing to Treat Humans Diseases (GenE-Humdi)	PhD student

Course / Discipline taught

	Academic session	Degree Subject (Type)	Institution / Organization
2024/04/15 - 2024/04/19	Genetic Engineering Pratical Classes	Biologia (Licenciatura)	Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/02/05 - 2024/02/07	Hands-on Molecular Tools – Beginners Crash Course	(Curso de Especialização Tecnológica)	Congento Consortium for Genetically Tractable Organisms, Portugal
2023/10/20 - 2023/11/20	Biomolecular Methods Theoretical-Practical class	Biologia Molecular e Genética (Mestrado)	Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Interview (newspaper / magazine)

	Activity description	Newspaper / Forum
2022/06/22	Interview due to the UA/Caixa Geral de Depósitos Award, which distinguishes success among students that completed a undergraduate degree.	Universidade de Aveiro News

Mentoring / Tutoring

	Topic	Student name
2019/09/19 - 2021/07/26	Student Mentor	Beatriz Belo, Ana Beatriz Fontão, Diogo Loureiro, João Nunes, Patrícia Coelho and Rafael Carvalho

Distinctions

Award

2024	Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowship @BecariosFLC CaixaForum Barcelona, Spain
2023	Best Poster Award in Frontiers in E3: cE3c Annual Meeting Universidade de Lisboa Centro de Ecologia Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Portugal
2022	UA/Caixa Geral de Depósitos Award Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
2022	Delta Award Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal