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I was trained as a Biochemistry in Faculty of Science, Porto University from which I obtained my degree in 2009. Later in 2012, I obtained an MSc degree in Molecular Medicine and Oncology from Faculty of Medicine, in the same institution, having conducted my thesis research at UniLiPe, IBMC in Porto, on the molecular relevance of LIMP-2/GCase interaction to Action Myoclonus - Renal Failure syndrome under supervision of Dr. Clara Sá Miranda. Then I joined the lab of Dr. Ana Xavier Carvalho, at IBMC, studying the role of formin in cytokinesis. In 2016, I joined the Applied Health Sciences PhD programme, in School of Medicine at University of Minho where I developed my PhD thesis under the supervision of Dr. Andreia Teixeira-Castro, at Neurosciences Research Domain (NERD) at Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS) in Braga. My PhD thesis focus mainly on the contribution of serotonergic signalling to the suppression of Machado-Joseph disease pathogenesis. Currently, my research interests are focus on the molecular pathways that underlie the suppression of protein aggregation in the context of proteinopathies (as Machado-Joseph Disease, Alzheimer disease and Parkinson Disease), namely the serotonergic signalling role in the amelioration of protein aggregation by the impact on proteostasis.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Joana Catarina Pereira de Sousa

Citation names

  • Sousa, Joana
  • Pereira-Sousa, Joana

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
3C12-929C-EE2C
ORCID iD
0000-0001-6441-0285

Email addresses

  • b12998@med.uminho.pt (Professional)
  • d12998@med.uminho.pt (Professional)
  • joana.sousa@screen4health.com (Professional)

Websites

Knowledge fields

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

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
English Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1)
Portuguese Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1)
Education
Degree Classification
2024/05/07 - 2024/07/17
Concluded
 School of CEOs - Sharp trainning for first time CEOs (Outros)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Economia e Gestão, Portugal
2022/09 - 2024/01
Concluded
 Non-Academic Degree Course in Fundamentals for Scientific Research (Outros)
Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2023/04 - 2023/07
Concluded
 Business Lab, 16th edition (Outros)
TecMinho Associação Universidade-Empresa para o Desenvolvimento, Portugal
2022/11 - 2023/03
Concluded
 IdeaLab - Business Ideas Lab, 24th edition (Outros)
TecMinho Associação Universidade-Empresa para o Desenvolvimento, Portugal
2016/09 - 2021/12/15
Concluded
 Applied Health Sciences (PhDiHES) (Doutoramento)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
"Suppression of Machado-Joseph disease pathogenesis by serotonergic signalling: the contribution of serotonin receptors" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2017/01/30 - 2017/02/10
Concluded
 Laboratory Animal Science Course (12th Edition) (Diploma de especialização)
Major in Especialização em Laboratory Animal Science with Certification (FELASA category C)
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2010 - 2012
Concluded
 Molecular Medicine and Oncology (Mestrado)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
"Estudo do complexo LIMP-2/ß-Glucocerebrosidase. Identificação de interactores da LIMP-2" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 16
2004 - 2009
Concluded
 Biochemistry (Licenciatura)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
"Influência da deficiência em ácido fólico no transporte de butirato, expressão de transportadores de substâncias bioactivas e apoptose celular em células Caco-2" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 14
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2022/11 - 2024/06 Postdoc (Research) Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2022/03 - 2022/07 Contracted Researcher (Research) Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Others

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2023/11 - Current CEO and Founder Screen4Health, Portugal
2024/10 - 2025/04 Research Technician at High Throughput Screening Facility Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2016/09 - 2021/12 Phd Fellowship at ICVS / EM - UMinho Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2013/09/02 - 2015/12/31 Research fellowship at Cytoskeletal Dynamics Group Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
2010/09/15 - 2013/08/31 Research fellowship at UniLiPe, IBMC Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Portugal
2008/11/25 - 2009/11/25 Fellowship of integration in research from FCT/FEDER at CIIMAR Universidade do Porto Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal
2009/02/01 - 2009/08/01 Licentiate trainee in the Project “Efeito da Def. em Ácido Fólico do Transporte de Butirato, Expressão de Transportadores de Substâncias Bioactivas e Apoptose Celular em Células Caco-2” Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2023/06 - 2024/05 Testing the multimodal anti-depressant vortioxetine as a therapeutic strategy to mitigate SCA3
X
Post-doc
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
 Ataxia UK
Ongoing
2022/11 - 2023/04 Determining the Efficacy of NLX-112 in a Mouse Experimental Model of Cerebellar Ataxia
W81XWH1910638
Research Fellow
US Department of Defense
Ongoing
2016 - 2021/12/15 Suppression of Machado-Joseph disease pathogenesis by serotonergic signaling: the contribution of serotonin receptors
PD/BDE/127834/2016
PhD Student Fellow
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2013/09 - 2015/12 Actin and myosin II in the contractile ring - mechanisms of constriction
FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028255-PTDC/BEX-BCM/0654/2012
Research Fellow
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2010/09 - 2012/12 LIMP-2 studies: from clinical genetics to functional genomics
PTDC/SAU-GMG/105344/2008
Research Fellow
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2009 - 2009 Estudo Comparativo do Aparelho Digestivo em Cefalaspídeos Herbívoros e Carnívoros
CIIMAR/C2008/BII/01-25
Integration into Research Grant Fellow
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded

Contract

Designation Funders
2022/03 - 2022/07 Modulation of neuronal proteostasis by serotonin: impact on neurodegeneration
POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031987
Researcher
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing

Other

Designation Funders
2009 - 2009 Intestinal transport of diet components and protection against colorectal cancer
PTDC/SAU-FCF/67805/2006
Ungraduated trainee
Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract
  1. Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Fernandes, Jorge H.; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Joana Lopes; Liliana Costa-Meireles; Bruna Ferreira-Lomba; Da Silva, Jorge Diogo; Costa, Marta Daniela; r«. "Establishment of a Novel Assay to identify drugs that enhance protein homeostasis: towards treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases". Paper presented in SPDMov - Sociedade Portuguesa das Doenças do Movimento: Doenças do Movimento Tratáveis, Ofir, 2024.
  2. Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Duarte-Silva, Sara; Monteiro-Fernandes, Daniela; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Neves-Carvalho, Andreia; Bitan, Gal; Macedo-Ribeiro, Sandra; et al. "The molecular tweezer CLR01 reduces motor impairments and neuropathology in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 in vivo models". Paper presented in International Society for Neurochemistry-Asian Pacific Society of Neurochemistry (ISN-APSN) meeting 2022, Honolulu, USA, 2022.
Conference poster
  1. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Oliveira, Stéphanie; Jorge Fernandes; Jian Li; Maciel, Patrícia; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia. "Serotonin transporter as a modifier of proteostasis in SCA3: insights from C. elegans". Paper presented in International Congress for Ataxia Research (ICAR) 2024, 2024.
  2. Lídia Nunes-Carvalho; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Chaves, Raquel; Maciel, Patrícia; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia. "Role of the serotonin receptor 5-HT3/LGC-50 in the suppression of Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 3 (SCA3) pathogenesis". Paper presented in International Congress for Ataxia Research 2024, 2024.
  3. Meireles-Costa L; Duarte-Silva, S; Neves-Carvalho, Andreia; Silva, Joana Margarida; Monteiro-Fernandes, Daniela; Correia, Joana Sofia; Rodrigues, Bruno; et al. "ATXN3-mediated deubiquitylation of splicing factors regulates neuronal mRNA splicing and tau isoform ratio ATXN3 regulates SRSF7 levels and Tau ratio". Paper presented in EMBO Workshop: "Proteostasis: From translation to degradation"., 2023.
  4. Duarte-Silva, S; DA SILVA, JORGE D.; Monteiro-Fernandes, Daniela; Costa, Marta Daniela; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Fernandes, AR; Rodrigues, Fernando; et al. "The glucocorticoid receptor as a biomarker and neuronal therapeutic target of a disease-improving bile acid in SCA3/MJD". Paper presented in ICVS retreat, 2023.
  5. Guerreiro, Sara; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Cunha-Garcia, Daniela ; Duarte-Silva, S; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Vidinha-Mira, André; et al. "Preclinical study of a 5-HT1A receptor specific agonist in the CMVMJD135 mouse model of Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in International Society for Neurochemistry-Asian Pacific Society of Neurochemistry (ISN-APSN) meeting 2022, Honolulu, USA, 2022.
  6. Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Guerreiro, S. ; Cunha-Garcia, Daniela ; Duarte-Silva, S; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Vidinha-Mira, André; et al. "Pre- and post-symptomatic treatment with NLX-112 improved the balance and motor coordination of the CMVMJD135 mouse model of Machado-Joseph Disease". Paper presented in Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2022, Paris, France, 2022.
  7. Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Ferreira-Lomba, B.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Oliveira, S.; Maciel, P.. "Suppression of proteotoxicity by serotonin signaling". Paper presented in 8th Ataxia Investigators Meeting (AIM) (Virtual Event), 2021.
  8. Vieira, C.; Jalles, A.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Vilasboas-Campos, D.; Mota, A. F.; Vasconcelos, S.; Ferreira-Lomba, B.; et al. "Aripiprazole offsets mutant ATXN3-induced motor dysfunction by targeting dopamine D2 and serotonin 1A and 2A receptors in C. elegans". Paper presented in XVII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, 2021.
  9. Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Ferreira-Lomba, B.; Vilasboas-Campos, D.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Oliveira, S.; Maciel, P.. "Suppression of proteotoxic stress by serotonergic signaling". Paper presented in XVII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, 2021.
  10. Vilasboas-Campos, D.; Duarte-Silva, S.; Neves-Carvalho, A.; Monteiro-Fernandes, D.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Maciel, P.. "The molecular tweezer CLR01 delay disease onset and reduce neurotoxicity in animal models of Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in XIV Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2020.
  11. Pereira-Sousa, J.; Ferreira-Lomba, B.; Bellver-Sanchis, A.; Vilasboas-Campos, D.; Fernandes, J. H.; Costa, M. D.; Varney, M. A.; et al. "Befiradol, a novel 5-HT1A receptor agonist, suppresses ATXN3 proteotoxicity in a C. elegans model of Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in XIV Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2020.
  12. Costa, Marta Daniela; DA SILVA, JORGE D.; Almeida, Dulce; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Maciel, Patrícia. "Anti-aging genetic manipulation in C. elegans impact differentially in Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in Workshop on "Strategies & tools for modulating pathologic protein self-assembly in proteinopathies", 2019.
  13. Marques, Cláudia R.; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Serra, Sofia C.; Sousa, Rui A.; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Salgado, António J.. "A neuroprotective role played by secretome from mesenchymal stem cells against the action of a-synuclein on a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson’s Disease". Paper presented in XVI Meeting of Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, 2019.
  14. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Varney, Mark A.; Newman-Tancredi, Adrian; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Maciel, Patrícia. "NLX-112, a novel 5-HT1A receptor agonist, suppresses pathogenesis of mutant ATXN3 in C. elegans". Paper presented in Integrative Approaches to Protein Folding & Aggregation, 2019.
  15. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Varney, Mark A.; Newman-Tancredi, Adrian; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Maciel, Patrícia. "NLX-112, a novel 5-HT1A receptor agonist, suppresses pathogenesis of mutant ATXN3 in C. elegans". Paper presented in Strategies & tools for modulating pathologic protein self-assembly in proteinopathies, 2019.
  16. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Varney, Mark A.; Newman-Tancredi, Adrian; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Maciel, Patrícia. "NLX-112, a novel 5-HT1A receptor agonist, supresses neuronal dysfunction in a C. elegans model of Spinocerebellar Ataxia". Paper presented in 14th International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases, 2019.
  17. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Jalles, Ana; Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; DA SILVA, JORGE D.; Varney, Mark A.; Newman-Tancredi, Adrian; Maciel, Patrícia; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48). "Targeting of the serotonin (1A) receptor suppresses mutant ataxin-3 pathogenesis in C. elegans". Paper presented in 2019 International Ataxia Research Conference, 2019.
  18. Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Oliveira, Stéphanie; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Duarte-Silva, S; Hübener-Schmid, Jeannette ; Riess, Olaf ; Maciel, Patrícia. "Serotonergic signaling activation suppresses proteotoxicity". Paper presented in 2019 International Ataxia Research Conference, 2019.
  19. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Jalles, Ana; Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; DA SILVA, JORGE D.; Varney, Mark A.; Newman-Tancredi, Adrian; Maciel, Patrícia; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia. "Targeting of the serotonin (1A) receptor suppresses mutant ataxin-3 pathogenesis in C. elegans". Paper presented in 2019 International MJD Research Conference, 2019.
  20. Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Oliveira, Stéphanie; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Duarte-Silva, Sara; Hübener-Schmid, Jeannette ; Riess, Olaf ; Maciel, Patrícia. "Serotonergic signaling activation suppresses proteotoxicity". Paper presented in 2019 International MJD Research Conference, 2019.
  21. Costa, M. D.; Da Silva, J. D.; Almeida, D.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Maciel, P.. "Anti-aging genetic manipulation in C. elegans impact diferentially in Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in Workshop on "Strategies & tools for modulating pathologic protein self-assembly in proteinopathies", 2019.
  22. Pereira-Sousa, J.; Lomba, B.; Varney, M. A.; Newman-Tancredi, A.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Maciel, P.. "NLX-112, a full and potent 5-HT1A agonist, as a potential pharmacological treatment for Machado-Joseph Disease - Lessons from the worm". Paper presented in ICVS Open Day 2019, 2019.
  23. Ferreira da Lomba, B. M.; Raposo, J. L.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Maciel, P.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48). "Using luciferase mutants to study the impact of serotonergic signaling modulation of proteostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans". Paper presented in ICVS Open Day 2019, 2019.
  24. Ferreira da Lomba, B. M.; Raposo, J. L.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Maciel, P.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48). "Serotonergic signaling modulation of protein homeostasis in C. elegans expressing firefly luciferase". Paper presented in Integrative Approaches to Protein Folding & Aggregation, 2019.
  25. Costa, M. D.; Da Silva, J.; Almeida, D.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Maciel, P.. "Genetic modifiers in Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in XIII Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2019.
  26. Ferreira-Lomba, B.; Raposo, J. L.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Oliveira, S.; Maciel, P.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48). "Therapeutic Impact of the Modulation of Serotonergic Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans Models of Proteotoxicity". Paper presented in XIII Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2019.
  27. Marques, Cláudia R.; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Serra, Sofia C.; Sousa, Rui A.; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Salgado, António J.. "The secretome of mesenchymal stem cells exerts a protective effect towards a Caenorhabditis Elegans model of Parkinson’s Disease". Paper presented in Secretome without borders, 2018.
  28. Pereira-Sousa, J.; Maciel, P.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48). "A novel 5-HT1A agonist supresses mutant ATXN3-mediated neuronal dysfunction in C. elegans". Paper presented in ICVS Open Day 2018, 2018.
  29. Pereira-Sousa, J.; Lomba, B.; Varney, M. A.; Newman-Tancredi, A.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Maciel, P.. "A novel 5-HT1A receptor agonist supresses mutant atxn3-mediated neuronal dysfunction in C. elegans". Paper presented in XII Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2018.
  30. Marques, C. R.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Serra, S. C.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48); Sousa, R. A.; Salgado, A. J.. "The effect of secretome from mesenchymal stem cells on two Caenorhabditis elegans models of Parkinson's disease". Paper presented in XII Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2018.
  31. Pereira-Sousa, J.; Pinto, L.; Teixeira-Castro, A. (8113-D13B-DD48). "Modulation of neuronal proteostasis by serotonin: impact on neurodegeneration". Paper presented in XI Neurosciences Research Domain Retreat (ICVS/3B's), 2017.
Journal article
  1. Duarte-Silva S; Da Silva JD; Monteiro-Fernandes D; Costa MD; Neves-Carvalho A; Raposo M; Soares-Cunha C; et al. "Glucocorticoid receptor-dependent therapeutic efficacy of tauroursodeoxycholic acid in preclinical models of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.". The Journal of clinical investigation (2024): https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI162246.
    10.1172/jci162246
  2. Duarte-Silva, S; DA SILVA, JORGE D.; Monteiro-Fernandes, Daniela; Costa, Marta Daniela; Neves-Carvalho, Andreia; Raposo, Mafalda; Soares-Cunha, Carina; et al. "Glucocorticoid receptor-dependent therapeutic efficacy of tauroursodeoxycholic acid in preclinical models of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (IF: 19.47)". The Journal of Clinical Investigation (2024):
    Published
  3. Andreia Teixeira-Castro; João Carlos Sousa; Cármen Vieira; Joana Pereira-Sousa; Daniela Vilasboas-Campos; Fernanda Marques; Perpétua Pinto-do-Ó; Patrícia Maciel. "Learning the Biochemical Basis of Axonal Guidance: Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model". Biomedicines (2023): https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061731.
    10.3390/biomedicines11061731
  4. Cláudia Raquel Marques; Miguel de Almeida Fuzeta; Raquel Medina dos Santos Cunha; Joana Pereira-Sousa; Deolinda Silva; Jonas Campos; Andreia Teixeira-Castro; et al. "Neurodifferentiation and Neuroprotection Potential of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Derived Secretome Produced in Different Dynamic Systems". Biomedicines (2023): https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11051240.
    10.3390/biomedicines11051240
  5. Jalles, A.; Vieira, C.; Pereira-Sousa, J.; Vilasboas-Campos, D.; Mota, A. F.; Vasconcelos, S.; Ferreira-Lomba, B.; et al. "Aripiprazole Offsets Mutant ATXN3-Induced Motor Dysfunction by Targeting Dopamine D2 and Serotonin 1A and 2A Receptors in C. elegans". Biomedicines 10 2 (2022): 370. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10020370.
    10.3390/biomedicines10020370
  6. Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Ferreira-Lomba, Bruna; Bellver-Sanchis, Aina; Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Fernandes, Jorge H.; Costa, Marta D.; Varney, Mark A.; et al. "Identification of the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor as a novel therapeutic target in a C. elegans model of Machado-Joseph disease". Neurobiology of Disease 152 (2021): 105278. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105278.
    Published • 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105278
  7. Marques, Cláudia R.; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Teixeira, Fábio G.; Sousa, Rui A.; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Salgado, António J.. "Mesenchymal stem cell secretome protects against alpha-synuclein-induced neurodegeneration in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson's disease". Cytotherapy (2021): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcyt.2021.04.002.
    Published • 10.1016/j.jcyt.2021.04.002
  8. Da Silva, Jorge Diogo; Oliveira, Stéphanie; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; Costa, Marta Daniela; Maciel, Patrícia. "Loss of egli-1, the Caenorhabditis elegans Orthologue of a Downstream Target of SMN, Leads to Abnormalities in Sensorimotor Integration". Molecular Neurobiology 57 3 (2019): 1553-1569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12035-019-01833-0.
    10.1007/s12035-019-01833-0
  9. Chan, Fung-Yi; Silva, Ana M.; Saramago, Joana; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Brighton, Hailey E.; Pereira, Marisa; Oegema, Karen; et al. "The ARP2/3 complex prevents excessive formin activity during cytokinesis". Molecular Biology of the Cell 30 1 (2019): 96-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e18-07-0471.
    10.1091/mbc.e18-07-0471
  10. Lobo-da-Cunha, Alexandre; Pereira-Sousa, Joana; Oliveira, Elsa; Alves, Ângela; Guimarães, Fernanda; Calado, Gonçalo. "Calcium Detection and Other Cellular Studies in the Esophagus and Crop of the Marine Slug Aglaja tricolorata (Euopisthobranchia, Cephalaspidea)". Malacologia 57 2 (2014): 365-376. http://dx.doi.org/10.4002/040.057.0209.
    10.4002/040.057.0209
  11. Tavares, Sandra; Sousa, Joana; Gonçalves, Pedro; Araújo, João R.; Martel, Fátima. "The effect of folate status on the uptake of physiologically relevant compounds by Caco-2 cells". European Journal of Pharmacology 640 1-3 (2010): 29-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2010.04.056.
    10.1016/j.ejphar.2010.04.056
Preprint
  1. Jorge H Fernandes; Marta Daniela Costa; Daniela Vilasboas-Campos; Joana Pereira-Sousa; Bruna Ferreira-Lomba; Qiong Wang; Andreia Teixeira-Castro; et al. "Therapeutic Effects of Hemerocallis citrina Baroni Extract on Animal Models of Neurodegenerative Diseases Through Serotonin and HLH-30/TFEB Dependent Mechanisms". 2025. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202501.2306.v1.
    10.20944/preprints202501.2306.v1
  2. Silva, Alexandra; Duarte-Silva, Sara; Martins, Pedro M.; Rodrigues, Beatriz; Serrenho, Débora; Vilasboas-Campos, Daniela; Teixeira-Castro, Andreia; et al. "Allosteric Modulation of Pathological Ataxin-3 Aggregation: A Path to Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type-3 Therapies". 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.22.633970.
    10.1101/2025.01.22.633970
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Pereira-Sousa, Joana. "Suppression of Machado-Joseph disease pathogenesis by serotonergic signalling: the contribution of serotonin receptors". PhD, Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, 2021.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2019/11 Serotonergic signaling activation suppresses proteotoxicity 2019 International Machado-Joseph Disease Research Conference
(Washington DC, United States)
2019/03 Suppression of proteotoxicity by serotonergic signaling activation Workshop on "Strategies & tools for modulating pathologic protein self-assembly in proteinopathies"
Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) of the University of Porto (Porto, Portugal)
2019 Targeting of the serotonin (1A) receptor suppresses mutant ataxin-3 pathogenesis in C. elegans 2019 International MJD Research Conference
(Washington, DC, United States)

Supervision

Thesis Title
Role 		Degree Subject (Type)
Institution / Organization
2023/10 - Current Role of Serotonin receptor 5HT3/ LGC-50 in the suppression of SCA3 pathogenesis: Caenorhabditis elegans basis study.
Co-supervisor of Lídia Nunes
 Master degree in Biotechnology for health sciences (UTAD) (Master)
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2024/04 - 2024/07 Role of the serotonin receptor 5-HT3/LGC-50 in the suppression of SCA3 pathogenesis.
Co-supervisor of Ana Rita Peixoto
 Option project Integrated Master in Medicine (Other)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
2024/04 - 2024/07 Role of the serotonin receptors in SCA3 pathogenesis using Caenorhabditis elegans: generation of new genetic tools.
Co-supervisor of Joana Ribeiro
 Option project Integrated Master in Medicine (Other)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
2024/04 - 2024/06 Role of the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A/SER-4 in the suppression of SCA3 pathogenesis: a C. elegans-based study
Co-supervisor of Bruna Costa
 Biochemistry (Degree)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal
2023/12 - 2024/03 Role of the ionotropic serotonin receptor in the suppression of SCA3 pathogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans: generation of new genetic tools.
Co-supervisor of Maria Castro
 Option project Integrated Master in Medicine (Other)
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2023/03/06 - 2023/03/31 CRISPR-Cas9 engineering of ad1113 point mutation in C. elegans
Co-supervisor
 Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology - Laboratorial Rotation (Other)
Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2023/03 - 2023/03 CRISPR-Cas9 engineering of ad1113 point mutation in C. elegans
Co-supervisor
 Laboratory Rotation (Other)
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2023/01 - 2023/03 Serotonergic signalling and MachadoJoseph disease: role of the heat shock response
Co-supervisor
 Option project - Integrated Master in Medicine (Other)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
2023/01 - 2023/03 Serotonergic signalling and Machado-Joseph disease: role of the heat shock response
Co-supervisor
 Option project Integrated Master in Medicine (Other)
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2021/04 - 2021/06 Teste do antidepressivo multimodal Vortioxetina como terapia para a Doença de Machado-Joseph: um estudo baseado em C. elegans
Co-supervisor of Bruno Freitas
 Bioquímica (Degree)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal

Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2020/02 - 2020/06 Exploring how activation of serotonergic signalling suppresses proteotoxicity: establishment of a CRISPR-Cas9-based protocol
Co-supervisor
 Laboratory rotation (Other)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
2017/04 - 2017/07 Sinalização Serotoninérgica como Abordagem Terapêutica da Doença de Machado-Joseph (DMJ) em Caenorhabditis elegans
Co-supervisor of Bruna Lomba
 Bachelor Degree in Applied Biology - Bachelor Degree Project (Degree)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal

Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2025/03 - 2025/05 Semana do cérebro - mostra de C. elegans
Workshop
 Semana do Cérebro
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal
2025/02 - 2025/02 Doenças Raras - Aula para 4º ano no ensino básico do colégio alfacoop
Seminar
2024/03 - 2024/04 Semana do cérebro - mostra de C. elegans
Workshop
 Semana do Cérebro
Universidade do Minho Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Portugal

Jury of academic degree

Topic
Role 		Candidate name (Type of degree)
Institution / Organization
2024/06 Role of the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A/SER-4 in the suppression of SCA3 pathogenesis: a C. elegans-based study
(Thesis) Main arguer
 Bruna Costa (Other)
Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências, Portugal

Ad Hoc journal article review

Journal title (ISSN) Publisher
2025/01 - Current International Journal of Molecular Sciences
2024/01 - Current Molecular Neurobiology

Course / Discipline taught

Academic session Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2024/12 - 2025/05 Biomedicine Research Skills - Western-blot Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal
2022/05/02 - 2022/05/02 Principles of calcium imaging in C. elegans (included in Advanced methods for imaging and manipulation of neuronal circuits Course) (Pós-Graduação) Universidade do Minho Escola de Medicina, Portugal

Interview (tv / radio show)

Program Topic
2023/05/16 - 2023/05/16 Comunicar Ciência T2-E27 | Conversa com Joana Sousa, cientista e empreendedora, sobre a doença (rara) de Machado-Joseph.
Distinctions

Award

2023 Best business ideia at SPINUM - business ideas contest
TecMinho Associação Universidade-Empresa para o Desenvolvimento, Portugal

Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2023 3rd place at UI-CAN "Empreende@Universidade"
UI-CAN, Portugal
2019 Travel Bursary
MJD Foundation Ltd., Australia