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I hold a BSc (2022) and MSc (2024) in Biochemistry, both from NOVA-FCT, with a final grade of 18/20 and 19/20, respectively. Currently, I am enrolled in an Initiation Course to Research in Biomolecular Sciences and working at Biochemistry and Bioenergetics of Heme Proteins Research Laboratory - UCIBIO (Applied Molecular Biosciences Research Unit). My research focuses essentially on the characterization of electroactive microorganisms - capable of converting chemical energy into electric current and plays a significant role in the biogeochemical cycling of metals, especially those that are toxic (such as uranium)- namely Geobacter species, using several biophysics techniques, with special emphasis on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) and Redox-Titrations followed by UV-Visible spectroscopy. As part of my academic accomplishments, I was awarded with a Merit Grant for being the student with the higher final grade in Chemistry Department (between 3 bachelors) and I received a scholarship for being the Best Science student to graduate in a BSc, at NOVA-FCT in 2021/2022. To date, I have published 2 papers in international peer-reviewed journals (1 as first author) and participate in national and international conferences with a total of three oral communications (as first author), two flash presentations (one as first author) and four poster communications (one as first author).
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Alexandre Santos Aires Almeida

Citation names

  • Almeida, Alexandre

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
9816-018A-9753
ORCID iD
0009-0007-5255-1962
Google Scholar ID
QA6tBpoAAAAJ

Telephones

Telephone
  • 212948550 Ext.: 10936 (Professional)

Addresses

  • UCIBIO located in the Chemistry Department from FCT- UNL, Campus Caparica , 2829-516, Caparica, Almada, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

Knowledge fields

  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Biophysics
  • Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Molecular Biology

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Upper intermediate (B2) Proficiency (C2) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Upper intermediate (B2)
Spanish; Castilian Intermediate (B1) Upper intermediate (B2) Elementary (A2) Upper intermediate (B2) Intermediate (B1)
Education
Degree Classification
2025/01/23 - 2025/09/01
Ongoing
 Initiation Course to Research in Biomolecular Sciences (Outros)
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022/09/17 - 2024/12/13
Concluded
 Bioquímica (Mestrado)
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
"Uncovering the secrets of Geotalea uraniireducens: a study of key players in uranium bioremediation pathway" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 19
2019/09/15 - 2022/06/28
Concluded
 Biochemistry (Licenciatura)
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
"Expressão, Purificação e Caracterização de mutantes da proteína trihémica PpcA de Geobacter metallireducens" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 18
Affiliation

Others

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2023/09/01 - 2024/12/13 Master's Dissertation Project in Biochemistry : "Uncovering the secrets of Geotalea uraniireducens: a study of key players in uranium bioremediation pathway" Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022/11/01 - 2023/12/31 Investigation Scholarship MSc. Researcher Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022/02/01 - 2022/06/23 Bachelor's Final Project in Biochemistry: "Expressão, Purificação e Caracterização de mutantes da proteína trihémica PpcA de Geobacter metallireducens" Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2021/09/01 - 2021/09/30 Scientific Internship Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
Projects

Contract

Designation Funders
2021/01/01 - 2025/12/31 Instituto para a Saúde e a Bioeconomia
LA/P/0140/2020
10.54499/LA/P/0140/2020
Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento, Portugal

Universidade de Lisboa Instituto de Bioengenharia e Biociências, Portugal

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias, Portugal

Rede de Química e Tecnologia Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde, Portugal

Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal

Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2022/01/17 - 2024/01/16 Redox Maze: Elucidation of bacterial extracellular electron transfer pathways for sustainable bio-based applications
EXPL/BIA-BQM/0770/2021
10.54499/EXPL/BIA-BQM/0770/2021
Research Fellow
Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal

Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2020/01/01 - 2023/12/31 Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas
UIDB/04378/2020
10.54499/UIDB/04378/2020
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal

Rede de Química e Tecnologia Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde, Portugal

Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Tecnologias e Agroambiente, Portugal

Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2020/01/01 - 2023/12/31 Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas
UIDP/04378/2020
10.54499/UIDP/04378/2020
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal

Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal

Rede de Química e Tecnologia Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde, Portugal

Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Tecnologias e Agroambiente, Portugal

Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded

Other

Designation Funders
2021/09/01 - 2021/09/29 Escola de Verão UCIBIO-NOVA - Iniciação à Investigação em Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas
UCIBIO/Verão com Ciência
Scientific Initiation Fellow
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
Concluded
Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract
  1. Portela, Pilar C.; Silva, Marta A.; Damas, Gonçalo; Assis, Tiago; Almeida, Alexandre; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "Improving energy production by tuning redox proteins' properties". Paper presented in FEBS Open Bio 12, Lisbon, 2022.
    Published
Conference poster
  1. Almeida, Alexandre; Silva, Marta Alexandra; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "Uncovering the secrets of Geobacter uraniireducens: a study of key players in uranium bioremediation pathway". Paper presented in MICROBIOTEC´23, 2023.
  2. Portela, Pilar C.; Silva, Marta A.; Damas, Gonçalo; Assis, Tiago; Almeida, Alexandre; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "Improvement of EET efficiency in Geobacter by development of cytochromes with rationally designed redox properties". Paper presented in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Symposium 2023, Institute of Science and Teccnology Austria (ISTA), 2023.
  3. Portela, Pilar C.; Silva, Marta A.; Damas, Gonçalo; Assis, Tiago; Almeida, Alexandre; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "Improving energy production by tuning redox proteins properties". Paper presented in The Biochemistry Global Summit (25th IUBMB Congress, the 46th FEBS Congress and the 15th PABMB Congress), 2022.
  4. Portela, Pilar C.; Silva, Marta A.; Damas, Gonçalo; Assis, Tiago; Almeida, Alexandre; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "Engineering redox proteins for optimal bioenergy production". Paper presented in MICROBIOTEC´21, 2021.
Journal article
  1. Almeida, Alexandre; Turner, David L.; Silva, Marta A.; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "New insights in uranium bioremediation by cytochromes of the bacterium Geotalea uraniireducens". Journal of Biological Chemistry 301 2 (2025): 108090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2024.108090.
    Open access • Published • 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.108090
  2. Portela, Pilar C.; Silva, Marta A.; Almeida, Alexandre; Damas, Gonçalo F.; Salgueiro, Carlos A.. Corresponding author: Salgueiro, Carlos A.. "Tweaking the redox properties of PpcA from Geobacter metallireducens with protein engineering". Biochemical Journal 481 24 (2024): 2017-2036. https://doi.org/10.1042/bcj20240423.
    Published • 10.1042/bcj20240423
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. "Uncovering the secrets of Geotalea uraniireducens: a study of key players in uranium bioremediation pathway". Master, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 2024. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/177062.
  2. "Expressão, Purificação e Caracterização de mutantes da proteína trihémica PpcA de Geobacter metallireducens". Degree, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 2022.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2025/05/08 Exploring PpcG´s dual redox-Bohr centers: revolutionizing electron transfer in uranium bioremediation 5th Meeting of Young Biophysicists: Biophysics Festival 25' Caparica
Portuguese Young Biophysics Society (Caparica, Portugal)
2024/05/09 Uncovering the secrets of Geobacter uraniireducens: exploring essential components for uranium bioremediation 4th Meeting of Young Biophysicists: Biophysics Festival 24' Covilhã
Portuguese Young Biophysics Society (Covilhã, Portugal)
2024/02/19 Uncovering the secrets of Geobacter uraniireducens: a study of key players in uranium bioremediation pathway Journeys of the Master’s Degrees of the Chemistry and Life Sciences Departments of the Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon
Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Lisboa, Portugal) (Caparica, Portugal)
2023/06/01 Expression, purification and characterization of trihemic cytochromes from Geobacter uraniireducens 3th Meeting of Young Biophysicists: Biophysics Festival 23' Porto
Portuguese Young Biophysics Society (Porto, Portugal) (Porto, Portugal)
2022/06/03 Engineering of electron transfer proteins to improve bioenergy production 2nd Meeting of Young Biophysicists: Biophysics Festival 22' Aveiro
Portuguese Young Biophysics Society (Aveiro, Portugal)

Event organisation

Event name
Type of event (Role) 		Institution / Organization
2024/09/01 - 2025/05/09 5th Meeting of Young Biophysicists: Biophysics Festival 25' Caparica (2025/05/08 - 2025/05/09)
Congress (Member of the Organising Committee)
 Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2023/09/01 - 2024/05/10 4th Meeting of Young Biophysicists: Biophysics Festival 24' Covilhã (2024/05/09 - 2024/05/10)
Congress (Member of the Organising Committee)
 Universidade da Beira Interior Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2025/04/30 - 2025/04/30 Volunteer at Expo FCT 2025- Chemistry Department/Biochemistry Section
Exhibition
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2024/04/10 - 2024/04/10 Volunteer at Expo FCT 2024- Chemistry Department/Biochemistry Section
Exhibition
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022/04/27 - 2022/04/27 Volunteer at Expo FCT 2022- Chemistry Department/Biochemistry Section
Exhibition
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022/03/30 - 2022/03/30 Volunteer at Futurália 2022 - Biochemistry 3rd year student representant
Exhibition
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal

Course / Discipline taught

Academic session Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2023/12/11 - 2023/12/13 Hands-on-Course "NMR: From Theory to Practice" Hands-on-Course "NMR: From Theory to Practice" (Outros) Universidade da Beira Interior Centro de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde, Portugal

Mentoring / Tutoring

Topic Student name
2025/02/01 - Current Lab tutoring of BSc Student - Project: Production and biochemical characterization of ExtA cytochrome domains from Geobacter sulfurreducens Laís Crispim (Student BSc. in Biochemistry)
2024/02/01 - 2024/07/08 Lab tutoring of BSc Student - Project: Expression, purification and charcaterization of multiheme cytochromes from Cable Bacteria Leonardo Miranda (Student BSc. in Biochemistry)
2023/02/01 - 2023/07/08 Lab tutoring of BSc Student - Project: Expression, Purification and Characterization of triheme cytochromes from Geobacter uraniireducens Henrique Pinheiro (Student BSc. in Biochemistry)
Distinctions

Award

2025 Best Student Award in MSc. in Biochemistry
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2023 Best Science Student Award 2021/22
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022 Chemistry Department Bachelor 2021/2022 Scholarship
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022 Best Student Award in BSc. in Biochemistry
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal