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Ana Carolina Pinheiro da Silva has a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Algarve (2017) and a Master's Degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Coimbra (2019). During her master's degree she carried out her dissertation research project at the Vectors and Gene Therapy Group in the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) of the University of Coimbra, entitled "Alelle-specific silencing of Machado-Joseph disease", whose oral defense led to a final classification of 20 (out of 20). In 2019, Ana Carolina was awarded a merit scholarship by the University of Coimbra. Since then, she is a research fellow at CNC, where she has participated in different research projects in the field of gene therapy, including projects in collaboration with international pharmaceutical companies (WAVE Life Sciences and PTC Therapeutics), with particular focus on the use of antisense oligonucleotides and viral vectors for the treatment of brain disorders. Currently, she is a PhD student in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine of the University of Coimbra with a research project that aims at developing an allele-specific microRNA-based therapy encoded by AAV vectors to treat Machado-Joseph disease. In 2021, Ana Carolina received a scholarship to attend the meeting of the Portuguese Society of Neurosciences. Ana Carolina's work contributed to the presentation of 2 oral communications and 5 poster communications in national and international conferences and has also published 1 review article, as first author, in Brain journal and is a co-author in an original article published in Nuclei Acid Therapeutics.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Ana Carolina Pinheiro da Silva

Citation names

  • Silva, Ana Carolina
  • Silva, Ana C

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
D31D-2175-A128
ORCID iD
0000-0003-3888-5847

Email addresses

  • acsilva@cnc.uc.pt (Professional)

Telephones

Mobile phone
  • 963127747 (Personal)

Addresses

  • Rua Larga, Faculty of Medicine, 3004-504 , Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

  • cnc.uc.pt/people/acsilva (Professional)

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1)
Education
Degree Classification
2020 - 2025
Ongoing
 Doctoral Program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (Doutoramento)
Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar, Portugal
2022/05/30 - 2022/06/03
Concluded
 Biotech Transfer: Step-by-Step (Outros)
Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology University of Coimbra, Portugal
2020/11/09 - 2020/11/20
Concluded
 IV Modular Training in Laboratory Animal Science Function A (Outros)
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal

Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research, Portugal
16,9
2020/11/09 - 2020/11/20
Concluded
 IV Modular Training in Laboratory Animal Science Modules 20, 21, 22 (Outros)
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal

Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research, Portugal
15,9
2017/09 - 2019/09
Concluded
 Molecular and Cellular Biology (Mestrado)
Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal
"Allele-specific silencing of Machado-Joseph disease" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 19
2014/09 - 2017/07
Concluded
 Biomedical Sciences (Licenciatura)
Universidade do Algarve Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, Portugal
"Estudo da regulação da expressão do gene HoxB9 pelo relógio molecular embrionário" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 18
2016/08/03 - 2016/08/31
Concluded
 Internship (Outros)
Universidade dos Açores Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas, Portugal
2015/07/13 - 2015/08/31
Concluded
 Internship (Outros)
Universidade dos Açores Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas, Portugal
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2019/11 - Current Researcher (Research) Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2020/05 - 2020/11 Research4COVID-19 - Expedited validation and large-scale manufacture of a blowing device for collection with inactivation of samples for detection of SARS-CoV-2
269_596884125
Researcher
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2019/11 - 2020/11 BrainHealth 2020 - Detecção Precoce, Neuro-modulação e Terapias Avançadas para Neuropatologias
CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000008
Research Fellow
Centro 2020
Ongoing

Contract

Designation Funders
2020/12/01 - Current mirSilencing
NA
PhD Student Fellow
PTC Therapeutics Inc
Ongoing
2019/11 - Current Targeting mutant ATXN3 for the treatment of Spinocerebellar Ataxia 3 (SCA3)
NA
Researcher
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
 Wave Life Sciences
Ongoing
2018/09 - 2019/09 Targeting mutant ATXN3 for the treatment of Spinocerebellar Ataxia 3 (SCA3)
NA
Other
Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Portugal
 Wave Life Sciences
Ongoing

Other

Designation Funders
2020/03/26 - 2020/05 Laboratório de Análises Clínicas da Universidade de Coimbra - SARS-Cov2 Detection
NA
Other
Universidade de Coimbra Laboratório de Análises Clínicas , Portugal
Ongoing
Outputs

Publications

Conference abstract
  1. Afonso, Inês T.; Silva, Ana Carolina; Henriques, Carina; Miguel M. Lopes; Baganha, Rafael; Lima, Patricia; Koppenol, Rebekah; et al. "mixCapAAV1/2 Vector: Distribution, Spreading and Tropism Analysis in Normal Mice". Paper presented in 24th Annual Meeting of the PortugueseSociety for Human Genetics (SPGH), Lisboa, 2020.
Conference poster
  1. Silva, Ana Carolina; Henriques, Carina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Fernandes, Ana Rita; Lopes, Miguel M; Pereira, Dina; Duarte, Sónia P; et al. "Allele-specific silencing for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 via AAV9 polycistronic microRNA-based therapy". Paper presented in Annual Meeting of the Doctoral Program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB day), 2024.
  2. Silva, Ana Carolina; Henriques, Carina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Fernandes, Ana Rita; Miguel M. Lopes; Pereira, Dina; Duarte, Sónia P; et al. "Allele-specific silencing of mutant ATXN3 rescues motor deficits and neuropathology in a severely impaired mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) upon intra-cisterna magna administration". Paper presented in 30th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), 2023.
  3. Lobo, Diana D; Quintino, Luis; Silva, Ana Carolina; Henriques, Carina; Ribeiro, R; Lopes, Sara M; Perdigão, Pedro; et al. "CRISPR activation as a therapeutic tool for Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)". Paper presented in 30th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), 2023.
  4. Leandro, Kevin; Rufino-Ramos, David; Lopes, S; Pasqua, C; Santos, P; Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, D; et al. "Extracellular vesicles-mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 systems to treat Machado-Joseph Disease/Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3". Paper presented in 30th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), 2023.
  5. Silva, Ana Carolina; Henriques, Carina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Pereira, Dina; Duarte, Sonia; Lopes, Sara M. ; Miguel M. Lopes; et al. "Investigating routes of administration and AAV serotypes for development of a gene-based therapy for spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)". Paper presented in 30th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), 2023.
  6. Leandro, Kevin; Rufino-Ramos, David; Lopes, Sara; Pasqua, Carlo; Santos, Paulo; Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, Diana; et al. "Extracellular vesicles-mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 systems to treat Machado-Joseph Disease". Paper presented in 2023 CAG Triplet Repeat Disorder -Gordon Research Conference, 2023.
  7. Leandro, Kevin; Rufino-Ramos, David; Lopes, Sara Monteiro; Pasqua, C; Santos P; Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; et al. "Extracellular vesicles-mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 systems to treat Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3/Machado-Joseph Disease". Paper presented in CAG Triplet Repeat Disorders GRC, 2023.
  8. Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Henriques, Carina; Martins, Inês M; Lopes, Sara M. ; Duarte, Sónia; Wagner, Elizabeth; Nobre, Rui Jorge; Pereira de Almeida, Luis. "Silencing of mutant ATXN3 through antisense oligonucleotides rescues molecular and neuropathological features in Machado-Joseph disease mice". Paper presented in 29th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), 2022.
  9. Henriques, Carina; Lopes, Miguel; Albuquerque, Patricia; Rufini-Ramos, David; Gaspar, Laetitia; Lobo, Diana; Silva, Ana Carolina; et al. "Production and isolation of natural and biologically active exo-AAVs for brain gene delivery". Paper presented in Anual congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, 2022.
  10. Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Henriques, Carina; Martins, Inês M; Lopes, Sara M. ; Duarte, Sónia P; Wagner, Elizabeth; Nobre, Rui Jorge; Pereira de Almeida, Luis. "Antisense oligonucleotide mediated allele-specific silencing of mutant ATXN3 improves disease features in mouse models of Machado-Joseph disease". Paper presented in XVII Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, 2021.
  11. Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Henriques, Carina; Martins, Inês M.; Lopes, Sara M. ; Duarte, Sónia P; Wagner, Elizabeth; Nobre, Rui Jorge; Pereira de Almeida, Luis. "Allele-specific silencing of Machado-Joseph disease using antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics". Paper presented in 1st Symposium on Oligonucleotide Technologies and Therapeutics in Portugal (OTP2021), 2021.
  12. Afonso, Inês T.; Silva, Ana Carolina; Henriques, Carina; Lopes, Miguel; Baganha, Rafael; Lima, Patricía; Kopenol, Rebekah; Nobre, Rui Jorge. "Brain distribution, spreading and tropism of a recently developed gene delivery system - mixCapAAV1/2vector". Paper presented in AIMS, 2021.
Journal article
  1. de Sousa-Lourenço, João; Silva, Ana Carolina; Pereira de Almeida, L; Nobre, Rui Jorge. "Molecular therapy for polyQ disorders: from bench to clinical trials". Trends in Molecular Medicine 30 9 (2024): 804-808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2024.05.004.
    Published • 10.1016/j.molmed.2024.05.004
  2. Carina Henriques; Miguel M Lopes; Silva, Ana Carolina; Diana D Lobo; Romina Aron Badin; Philippe Hantraye; Luís Pereira de Almeida; Rui Jorge Nobre. "Viral-based animal models in polyglutamine disorders". Brain (2024): https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae012.
    Published • 10.1093/brain/awae012
  3. Lopes, Miguel M; Lopes, Sara M; Baganha, Rafael; Henriques, Carina; Silva, Ana Carolina; Lobo, Diana; Cortes, Luísa; Pereira de Almeida, Luis; Nobre, Rui Jorge. "Isolation of Adeno-associated Viral Vectors Through a Single-step and Semi-automated Heparin Affinity Chromatography Protocol". JoVE (2024):
    Published
  4. Rui Jorge Nobre; Diana D. Lobo; Carina Henriques; Sonia P. Duarte; Sara M. Lopes; Ana C. Silva; Miguel M. Lopes; et al. "MiRNA-Mediated Knockdown of ATXN3 Alleviates Molecular Disease Hallmarks in a Mouse Model for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3". Nucleic Acid Therapeutics (2021): https://doi.org/10.1089/nat.2021.0020.
    10.1089/nat.2021.0020
  5. Silva, Ana C ; Lobo, Diana Duarte; Martins, Inês M; Lopes, Sara M. ; Henriques, Carina; Duarte, Sónia P; Dodart, Jean-Cosme; Nobre, Rui Jorge; Pereira de Almeida, Luis. "Antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases: the case of polyglutamine disorders". Brain 143 2 (2020): 407-429.
    Published • 10.1093/brain/awz328
Newspaper article
  1. Vinhas, Ana Catarina; Vasconcelos-Ferreira, Ana; Henriques, Carina S.; Silva, Ana Carolina; et. al. "Uma viagem rara", PÚBLICO, 2020, https://www.publico.pt/2020/02/28/ciencia/fotogaleria/viagem-rara-400481.
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Silva, Ana Carolina. "Allele-specific silencing of Machado-Joseph disease". Master, Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, 2019. https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/handle/10316/87992.
  2. Silva, Ana Carolina. "Estudo da regulação da expressão do gene HoxB9 pelo relógio molecular embrionário". Degree, Universidade do Algarve Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, 2017.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2024/02/09 Targeted silencing via AAV9 polycistronic microRNA therapy rescues SCA3 molecular, neuropathological and motor deficits 54th Annual meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society
Sociedade Portuguesa de Farmacologia (Lisboa, Portugal)
2023/11/24 Polycistronic artificial microRNAs delivered by AAV9 alleviate Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA3) Pharma PhD Day 2023
(Coimbra, Portugal)
2023/05 Isolation of Natural and Biologically Active EV-AAVs for Brain Gene Delivery 26th Annual Congress of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT)
2021/02/18 Allele-specific silencing of Machado-Joseph disease using antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics LI Annual meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society, XXXIX Clinical Pharmacology meeting and XX Toxicology meeting
(Lisboa, Portugal)
2021/02/18 MixCapAAV1/2 vector: a novel gene delivery system distribution, spreading and tropism analysis in normal mice LI Annual meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society, XXXIX Clinical Pharmacology meeting and XX Toxicology meeting

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2023/09/29 - 2023/09/29 Science communication activity during the "Noite Europeia dos Investigadores" in Coimbra (2023 edition).
Other
 Noite Europeia dos Investigadores Coimbra
Noite Europeia dos Investigadores UC, Portugal
2023/05/23 - 2023/05/23 Science communication activity to promote scientific literacy in the Pint of Science Festival (2023 edition).
Festival
 Pint of Science
Pint of Science Portugal, Portugal

Association member

Society Organization name Role
2022 - Current European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Member
2021 - Current Portuguese Society for Neuroscience Member
Distinctions

Award

2021 Scholarship to participate in the 2021 meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience
Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2020 Bolsa por Mérito pela Universidade de Coimbra 2018/2019
2018 Prémio da Caixa Geral de Depósitos de melhor aluna graduada na Universidade do Algarve em Ciências Biomédicas no ano letivo 2016/2017
Caixa Geral de Depositos, Portugal