Catarina Isabel Carvalhas de Almeida (901F-0194-5041)

Curriculum Vitae

Catarina Isabel Carvalhas de Almeida

Catarina Carvalhas-Almeida holds a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from the Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (IPC, Portugal, 2013–2016) and a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology with a specialization in Neurobiology from the University of Coimbra (UC, Portugal, 2016–2018). She is currently pursuing a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC (2021–present). During her Master’s program, Catarina conducted her thesis research at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, at Ana Sebastião's laboratory. Following her MSc, she worked as a research technician in Megan Carey’s lab at the Champalimaud Foundation Center for the Unknown. Catarina later secured a research fellowship in Cláudia Cavadas’s group at the Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology – University of Coimbra (CNC-UC), as part of the HealthyAgeing2020 project (ref. CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000012). Her research focused on investigating the impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a highly prevalent sleep disorder, on aging. Driven by her passion for sleep and circadian biology, Catarina pursued a PhD funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). Her PhD project, titled "Glial Clocks, Biomarkers, and Disease Modeling of Sleep Disorders," is supervised by Dr. Ana Rita Álvaro, Professor Cláudia Cavadas, and Professor Amita Sehgal. The research is conducted at CNC-UC and at the Chronobiology & Sleep Institute - Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. During her PhD, Catarina was awarded a Fulbright and FLAD scholarship, which enabled her to work as a visiting graduate student in the United States. Specializing in sleep, chronobiology and neurobiology, Catarina has significantly contributed to research projects in collaboration with hospitals and research institutions. She is the author or co-author of several peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and oral communications, and has received multiple academic awards. Beyond research, Catarina is actively engaged in teaching, mentoring, science communication, and public outreach. Her outreach work includes creating educational content, leading awareness campaigns, and participating in events designed to bridge the gap between science and society.

Ler resumo completo ↓

Identificação

Identificação pessoal

Nome completo: Catarina Isabel Carvalhas de Almeida

Nomes de citação

Almeida, Catarina
Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina

Identificadores de autor

Ciência ID: 901F-0194-5041
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4942-8249

Moradas

Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology. Faculdade de Medicina, Polo I, Rua Larga, Universidade de Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal (Profissional)

Websites

https://www.linkedin.com/in/catarina-carvalhas/ (Rede social)

Domínios de atuação

Ciências Médicas e da Saúde - Medicina Básica - Neurociências

Idiomas

Idioma	Conversação	Leitura	Escrita	Compreensão
Português (Idioma materno)
Inglês	Utilizador proficiente (C1)	Utilizador proficiente (C2)	Utilizador proficiente (C2)	Utilizador proficiente (C2)
Espanhol; Castelhano	Utilizador independente (B1)	Utilizador independente (B2)	Utilizador independente (B1)	Utilizador independente (B2)

Formação

	Grau	Classificação
2021/11/01 - 2024/12/01 Em curso	Programa Doutoral em Ciências Farmacêuticas (Doutoramento) Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2021/02/01 - 2024/02/01 Em curso	EIT health Ageing PhD School (Doutoramento) EIT Health, Alemanha
2022/11/01 - 2023/03/31 Concluído	UC Biotech Stars (Outros) Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2022 Concluído	CLIC – Clinical Investigator Certification (Outros) Universidade de Aveiro Associação para a Formação Profissional e Investigação, Portugal, Portugal
2020/02/08 - 2020/02/08 Concluído	IELTS (Diploma de especialização) University of Cambridge, Reino Unido British Council Portugal, Portugal	Band score 7.5 - C1
2018/10/20 - 2018/11/30 Concluído	Course on Laboratory Animal Science for Function B, (FELASA, Cat.B) (Especialização pós-licenciatura) Fundação Champalimaud, Portugal
2016/09/10 - 2018/09/30 Concluído	Cell and Molecular Biology with Neurobiology specialization (Mestrado) Especialização em Neurobiolgy Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Portugal "Relevance of astrocytes/microglia communication for NLRP3 signalling in the CNS – proof of concept in an ex vivo model of epilepsy" (TESE/DISSERTAÇÃO)	18/20
2013/09/12 - 2016/07/29 Concluído	Biotechnology (Licenciatura) Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Portugal "Evaluate the mutation c.900_901dupGT effect of the GRN gene in immune response and autophagy: A study in heterozygous and homozygous patients" (TESE/DISSERTAÇÃO)	15/20
2015/09/01 - 2016/02/29 Concluído	Biotechnology (Bachelor (1.º ciclo de estudos)) Mendelova univerzita v Brne, República Checa	A

Percurso profissional

Ciência

	Categoria Profissional Instituição de acolhimento	Empregador
2025/01/01 - 2025/06/30	Assistente de Investigação (carreira) (Investigação)	Fundación Mapfre, Espanha
	Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2021/01/01 - 2024/12/31	Estagiário de Investigação (Investigação)	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2023/09/15 - 2024/06/15	Investigador visitante (Investigação)	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Estados Unidos
2019/12/01 - 2020/12/31	Assistente de Investigação (carreira) (Investigação)	CNC.IBILI, Portugal
	Neuroendrocrinology and Aging Group, Cavadas' Laboratory - CNC.IBILI, Portugal
2019/07/01 - 2019/11/30	Estagiário de Investigação (Investigação)	Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal

2018/10/01 - 2019/06/30	Assistente de Investigação (carreira) (Investigação)	Fundação Champalimaud, Portugal
	Megan Carey's Laboratory - Fundação Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Portugal

Outros

	Categoria Profissional Instituição de acolhimento	Empregador
2017/05/01 - 2018/09/30	MSc Thesis Student	Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal
	Ana Sebastião's Laboratory - Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal
2016/04/01 - 2016/08/31	BSc Thesis Student	CNC.IBILI, Portugal
	Vectors and Gene Therapy Group - Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology - CNC, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal
2015/07/01 - 2015/07/31	Summer Internship	Sonae Indústria, Portugal

Projetos

Bolsa

	Designação	Financiadores
2022/10 - 2023/10	OSAscreener OSAscreener Bolseiro de Doutoramento

Projeto

	Designação	Financiadores
2024/03/01 - 2025/06/30	InsomniaO'clock InsomniaO'clock Bolseiro de Investigação	Fundación Mapfre
2019/12/01 - 2020/11/30	"HEALTHYAGING 2020 (CENTR0-01-0145-FEDER-000012)" CENTR0-01-0145-FEDER-000012 Outra CNC.IBILI, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Em curso
2018/10/01 - 2019/06/30	”Undestanding the role of climbing fiber inputs to the cerebellum” and ”Dissecting the role of cerebellar cortex vs. deep cerebellar nucleus on eyelid conditioning”. 640093 Bolseiro de Técnico de Investigação Fundação Champalimaud, Portugal Megan Carey's Laboratory - Fundação Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Portugal	Concluído

Outro

	Designação	Financiadores
2025/03/01 - Atual	REACT-FFI: (Re)shaping (A)pproaches for (C)ircadian Rhythm and gene (T)herapy in Familial Fatal Insomnia REACT-FFI Bolseiro de Doutoramento	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Em curso
2023/02 - 2024/01	Sleep at a glance - A good night under the stars Sleep at a glance Bolseiro de Doutoramento	ResMed Foundation Concluído
2022 - 2023/06/30	Sleep 2 be happy https://cnc.uc.pt/en/scicomm-projects/sleep-2-be-happy	ResMed Foundation Em curso
2021/02/01 - 2022/01/31	Sleep4All Sleep4All	ResMed Concluído

Produções

Publicações

Artigo em jornal	Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Raquel Duarte; Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Varela Amaral, Sara; Rita Félix; André Caetano. "A insónia familiar fatal, uma doença muito rara (explicada em BD)", Público, 2024, https://www.publico.pt/2024/02/29/ciencia/noticia/insonia-familiar-fatal-doenca-rara-explicada-bd-2081869. Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Cavadas, Claudia; Moita, Joaquim; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Estevão, Maria Helena. "Por que razão a luz dos dispositivos electrónicos afecta o sono? (The impact of electronic devices on sleep)", Jornal "O Público", 2021, https://www.publico.pt/2021/03/17/ciencia/noticia/luz-dispositivos-electronicos-afecta-sono-1954190.
Artigo em revista	Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Alves, João B; Davi, Tiago; Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Ribeiro, Rodrigo; Serra, Joana; et al. "A clock gene-related signature for predicting insomnia diagnosis and its association with sleep/circadian parameters in insomnia patients". (2025): Submetido Rodrigo F N Ribeiro; Dina Pereira; Sara M Lopes; Tiago Reis; Patrick Silva; Diana D Lobo; Laetitia S Gaspar; et al. "Circadian rhythms are disrupted in patients and preclinical models of Machado-Joseph disease". Brain (2025): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awaf199. 10.1093/brain/awaf199 Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Cristo, Maria I.; Cavadas, Claudia; Ramalho-Santos, João; Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Amaral, Sandra. "An overview of the impact of sleep disturbances on male (in)fertility". Sleep Medicine Reviews (2025): Em revisão Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Sehgal, Amita. "Glia: the cellular glue that binds circadian rhythms and sleep". SLEEP (2025): https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsae314. Publicado • 10.1093/sleep/zsae314 Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Bernardez, Sara; Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Cavadas, Claudia; Williams, JA; Sehgal, Amita. "Regulation of metabolic rhythms by glial clocks". Journal of Biological Rhythms (2025): Em revisão Helena Leal; Catarina Carvalhas-Almeida; Ana Rita Álvaro; Cláudia Cavadas. "Modeling hypothalamic pathophysiology in vitro for metabolic, circadian, and sleep disorders". Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism (2024): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2024.01.001. 10.1016/j.tem.2024.01.001 Gaspar, Laetitia S.; Smith, David F.; Pyakurel, Santoshi; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. Autor correspondente: Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Treatment with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Alters Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Signatures of Obstructive Sleep Apnea". European Respiratory Journal (2024): Submetido Catarina Carvalhas-Almeida; Joana Serra; Joaquim Moita; Cláudia Cavadas; Ana Rita Alvaro. "Understanding neuron-glia crosstalk and biological clocks in insomnia". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105100. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105100 Catarina Carvalhas-Almeida; Cláudia Cavadas; Ana Rita Álvaro. "The impact of insomnia on frailty and the hallmarks of aging". Aging Clinical and Experimental Research (2022): https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-022-02310-w. 10.1007/s40520-022-02310-w Catarina Almeida. "Peripheral biomarkers to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Sleep Medicine Reviews 64 (2022): 101659-101659. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2022.101659. 10.1016/j.smrv.2022.101659 Gaspar, Laetitia S.; Hesse, Janina; Yalçin, Müge; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Long-term continuous positive airway pressure treatment ameliorates biological clock disruptions in obstructive sleep apnea". EBioMedicine 65 (2021): 103248. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103248. 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103248 Gaspar, Laetitia S.; Santos, Bárbara; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Cardoso, João; Varela Amaral, Sara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Cavadas, Cláudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "The Superpowers of Our Sleep". Frontiers for Young Minds 8 (2020): https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2020.540052. 10.3389/frym.2020.540052
Capítulo de livro	Varela Amaral, Sara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Por que razão a luz dos dispositivos electrónicos afecta o sono?". In Saúde no Saber. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2023.
Livro	Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Varela Amaral, Sara; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Gaspar, L.S.; Cavadas, Claudia. A Saúde no Saber: um projeto de promoção de literacia em saúde. Portugal: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra. 2023. Publicado
Poster em conferência	João Alves; Davi, Tiago; Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Rodrigo F.N. Ribeiro; Claudia Cavadas; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Clock gene signature predicts Insomnia and links to sleep/ circadian parameters". Trabalho apresentado em BEB day 2025, 2025. Rodrigo F.N. Ribeiro; Dina Pereira; Lopes, Sara; Reis, Tiago; Silva, Patrick; Diana Lobo; Gaspar, Laetitia; et al. "Circadian rhythms are disrupted in Machado-Joseph Disease: an in vitro, in vivo, and clinical study". Trabalho apresentado em International Congress for Ataxia Research, 2024. Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Alves, João; Araújo, Tiago; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Ferreira, Mafalda; Serra, Joana; et al. "CLOCK GENES PROFILES AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL USING MACHINE LEARNING IN CHRONIC INSOMNIA —A PILOT STUDY". Trabalho apresentado em 27th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society, 2024. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Koritala, Bala S. C.; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Bhadri, Shweta S.; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Unraveling the Molecular and Physiological Impacts of OSA and Its Treatment on the Biological Clock: insights from animal and human studies". Trabalho apresentado em Research Seminar promoted by the European Respiratory Society on ¿Sleep apnoea and its consequences: from animal models to precision medicine¿, 2024. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Impact of Obstructive sleep apnea on DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Aging Markers". Trabalho apresentado em 3rd RESETageing Conference, 2023. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "From Apnea to Aging: Insights into the impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and its treatment on DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Aging.". Trabalho apresentado em 17th World Sleep Congress, 2023. Caetano, Carolina; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Correia, Marta Quatorze; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; et al. "Dormir com consCiência". Trabalho apresentado em SciCom Pt, 2023. Montenegro , Mario; Moreira , Francisca; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Cardoso, João; et al. "The Dream Machine: a science and theatre hybrid communication format experiment.". Trabalho apresentado em PSCT (Public Communication of Science and Technology) Conference 2023, 2023. Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; Serra, Joana; Pereira de Almeida, Luis ; Cavadas, Claudia; Pedro Perdigão; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Chronic insomnia: generation of iPSCs-derived neuronal disease model and characterization of peripheral circadian rhythms of patients". Trabalho apresentado em eSleep, 2023. Caetano, Carolina; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Correia, Marta Quatorze; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Varela Amaral, Sara. ""Dormir com consCiência".". Trabalho apresentado em SciCom Pt, 2023. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Hesse, Janina; Yalcin, Müge; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Obstructive sleep apnea clock (dys)regulation: Potential applications in osa diagnosis and treatment?". Trabalho apresentado em 26th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society, 2022. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Koritala, Bala S. C.; Bhadri, Shweta S.; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Obstructive Sleep Apnea impact on Physiology: insights from a cohort study and a mouse model.". Trabalho apresentado em Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB) Meeting, Coimbra, Portugal, 2022. "Insomnia patient-derived iPSC neurons with potential for disease modeling". Trabalho apresentado em World Sleep Congress 2022, 2022. Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Moita, Joaquim; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "The impact of obstructive sleep apnea and its treatment in cellular and molecular aging". Trabalho apresentado em 16th World Sleep Congress, 2022. Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Pereira de Almeida, Luis ; Cavadas, Claudia; Pedro Perdigão; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Characterization iPSC-derived neuronal cells with potential for disease modeling of human insomnia". Trabalho apresentado em 12th International Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Stem Cells and Cell Therapies, 2022. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Hesse, Janina; Yalçin, Müge; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Obstructive sleep apnea and clock dysfunction: any connection with climate changes?". Trabalho apresentado em BEBday 2022, 2022. Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Pereira de Almeida, Luis ; Cavadas, Claudia; Perdigão, Pedro; Álvaro, Ana Rita . Autor correspondente: Perdigão, Pedro. "Establishing iPSC-derived neuronal cell model to study human insomnia pathophysiology". Trabalho apresentado em XVI Symposium of Experimental Biology and Biomedicine Doctoral Programme, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, 2022. Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Unravelling the role of extracellular vesicles as key mediators of aging triggered by obstructive sleep apnea". Trabalho apresentado em BEB day 2022, 2022. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Carmo-Silva, Sara; Teixeira, Fátima; Moita, Joaquim; Claudia Cavadas; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Using patients’ blood samples to better understand the impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Aging". Trabalho apresentado em JRC Summer School on Non-animal approaches in Science 2021, European Commission, 2021. Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Teixeira, Fátima; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Unraveling the impact of obstructive sleep apnea on senescent associate secretory phenotype". Trabalho apresentado em Sleep and Breathing, 2021. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Hesse, Janina; Yalçin, Müge; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Exploring the impact of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure treatment on biological clock disruption in Obstructive Sleep Apnea patients.". Trabalho apresentado em ERS/ESRS Sleep & Breathing Conference, 2021. Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Lopes, Rita; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Screening and Awareness of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: from Research to Society". Trabalho apresentado em 25th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society, 2020. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Carmo-Silva, Sara; Teixeira, Fátima; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Obstructive Sleep Apnea as an Aging Trigger: Insights from Biological Clocks.". Trabalho apresentado em Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB) Meeting, Coimbra, Portugal, 2019. Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Carmo-Silva, Sara; Teixeira, Fátima; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Unraveling the impact of obstructive sleep apnea on cellular aging". Trabalho apresentado em 1st PhD Annual Meeting in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2019. F. Ribeiro, Antónia; Almeida, Catarina; Sebastião, Ana M; Cláudia, A. Valente. "NLRP3 Inflammasome assembly in microglia-induced reactive astrocytes". Trabalho apresentado em XVI Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN2019), 2019. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carmo-Silva, Sara; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Moita, Joaquim; Cavadas, Cláudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita ; et al. "Obstructive Sleep Apnea as an Aging Trigger: from Mechanisms to Biomarkers.". Trabalho apresentado em Neuroscience and Disease CIBB retreat, Coimbra, Portugal, 2019. Almeida, Catarina; Ribeiro, Antónia; Sebastião, Ana M; Cláudia A. Valente. "Microglia-dependent activation of NLRP3 inflammasome within astrocytes". Trabalho apresentado em Mind-Brain College 4th Annual Meeting, 2018. Almeida, Catarina; Sebastião, Ana M; Cláudia A. Valente. "Is astrocytes/microglia communication relevant for NLRP3 signalling in the brain?". Trabalho apresentado em FENS Forum Annual Meeting - Berlin, 2018, 2018. Almeida, Catarina. "How does astrocytes/microglia communication impact NLRP3 signalling in the CNS?". Trabalho apresentado em Portuguese Glial Network - III Symposium i3S, Porto, 2018. Almeida, Catarina; Sebastião, Ana M; Cláudia A. Valente. "Relevance of astrocytes/microglia communication for NLRP3 signalling in the CNS – proof of concept in an ex vivo model of epilepsy". Trabalho apresentado em SynaNet 2nd Annual Scientific Meeting, University of Lisbon, Portugal*, 2018.
Pré-impressão	Ribeiro, Rodrigo F.N.; Pereira, Dina; Lopes, Sara M.; Reis, Tiago; Silva, Patrick; Lobo, Diana D.; Gaspar, Laetitia S.; et al. "Circadian Rhythms are Disrupted in Patients and Preclinical Models of Machado-Joseph Disease". 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.03.631212. 10.1101/2025.01.03.631212
Resumo em conferência	Durães, João; Ribeiro Rocha, Elza; Lima, Marisa; Barros, Francisco; Bernardes, Catarina; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Bárbara Santos; et al. "REST-ACTIVITY RHYTHMS IN DEMENTIA WITH LEWY BODIES AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: ASSOCIATIONS WITH CLINICAL FINDINGS AND CSF BIOMARKERS". Trabalho apresentado em 38ª Reunião do Grupo de Estudos de Envelhecimento Cerebral e Demência, 2024. Publicado Gaspar, Laetitia S; Hesse, Janina; Yalcin, Müge; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "The impact of obstructive sleep apnea treatment with continuous positive airway pressure on the biological clock". Trabalho apresentado em 16th World Sleep Congress, 2022. Publicado • 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.05.159 Gaspar, Laetitia S; Koritala, Bala S; Bhadri SS; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Ferreira, Mafalda; Moita, Joaquim; et al. "Obstructive sleep apnea impact on physiology: insights from a mouse model and a case-control study". Trabalho apresentado em 16th World Sleep Congress, 2022. 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.05.702 Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Lopes, Rita; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Santos-Carvalho, Ana. "Screening and awareness of obstructive sleep apnea: from bench to society". Trabalho apresentado em 25th Congress of the European-Sleep-Research-Society (ESRS), Sevilha, 2020. Publicado Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Carmo-Silva, Sara; Teixeira, Fátima; Ferreira, Mafalda; et al. "Obstructive sleep apnea impacts on hallmarks of cellular and molecular aging". Trabalho apresentado em 25th Congress of the European-Sleep-Research-Society (ESRS), Sevilha, 2020. Publicado Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Lopes, Rita; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Cardoso, João; et al. "Science communication as a successful strategy for sleep awareness". Trabalho apresentado em 25th Congress of the European-Sleep-Research-Society (ESRS), Sevilha, 2020. Publicado Santos, Bárbara; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Lopes, Rita; Santos-Carvalho, Ana; Barros-Viegas, Ana Teresa; Cavadas, Claudia; Álvaro, Ana Rita. "Secreening and Awareness of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: from Research to Society". Trabalho apresentado em Journal of Sleep Research, 2020. Publicado • 10.1111/jsr.13181 Almeida, Catarina; Ribeiro, Antónia F.; Sebastião, Ana M; Cláudia A. Valente. "NLRP3 Inflammasome assembly in microglia-induced reactive astrocytes". Trabalho apresentado em XVI Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN2019) published at the Journal Frontiers in Cell. Neurosci. doi: 10.3389/conf.fncel.2019.01.00019, Lisbon, 2019. Publicado
Tese / Dissertação	"Relevance of astrocytes/microglia communication for NLRP3 signalling in the CNS – proof of concept in an ex vivo model of epilepsy". Mestrado, Universidade de Coimbra, 2018. "Evaluate the mutation c.900\_901dupGT effect of the GRN gene in immune response and autophagy: A study in heterozygous and homozygous patients". Licenciatura, 2016.
Website	Almeida, Catarina. "O que é a COVID-19?" "What is COVID-19?". 2020. https://www.uc.pt/covid19/article?preview=true&key=a-bbf31d2c49. Gaspar, Laetitia S; Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina; Santos, Bárbara; Álvaro, Ana Rita. SleepApneaID. 2020. https://sleepapneaid.wixsite.com/online.

Propriedade Intelectual

Patente

Álvaro, Ana Rita ; Gaspar, Laetitia S; Santos, Bárbara; Carvalhas de Almeida, Catarina; Cavadas, Claudia. 2024. "ApneaScreener - Innovation in the diagnosis and monitoring of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome". Portugal.
Pendente

Outros

Invenção

SleepID: A quick and dynamic cards game for 4 - 6 players, where the aim is to diagnose sleep disorders. Children and adults (> 12 years). 2021. Carvalhas-Almeida, Catarina.

Atividades

Apresentação oral de trabalho

	Título da apresentação	Nome do evento Anfitrião (Local do evento)
2025/02/05	Tools to measure circadian rhythm and sleep: Actigraphy analysis	Doctoral Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB), Advanced Courses 2024/2025, “Circadian Rhythm & Sleep in Health and Disease” Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar (Coimbra, Portugal)
2025/02/03	FFI & Insomnia on circadian rhythm (dys)regulation	Doctoral Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB), Advanced Courses 2024/2025, "Circadian Rhythm & Sleep in Health and Disease" Universidade de Coimbra Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar (Coimbra, Portugal) (Coimbra, Portugal)
2024/12	Clock Genes Profiles as a Diagnostic Tool using Machine Learning in Chronic insomnia - A Pilot Study	PharmaDay - Encontro Anual de Estudantes de Doutoramento em Ciências Farmacêuticas Faculdade de Farmácia - Universidade de Coimbra
2024/12	Regulation of Metabolic Rhythms by glial clocks	Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB) Meeting, Coimbra, Portugal
2024/06	Disease Modeling of Fatal Familial Insomnia using iPSC-Derived Neuronal Cells: A Human Perspective	SPCE-TC Interactive Webcast on Cell Therapies SPCE-TC
2024/01	Neuronal disease modeling and circadian rhythms of Chronic Insomnia patients	CSI research meetings Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania (Estados Unidos)
2024	iPSC-Derived Neuronal Cells to model Fatal Familial Insomnia	54ª Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Farmacologia, 42ª Reunião de Farmacologia Clínica e 23ª Reunião de Toxicologia
2023/02	CLOCK GENES EXPRESSION OF CHRONIC INSOMNIA PATIENTS: A PILOT STUDY	SPF Meeting 2023 - Reunião da Sociedade Portuguesa de Farmacologia, Farmacologia Clínica e de Toxicologia Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra (Coimbra, Portugal)
2022	Establishing iPSCs-derived neuronal cell model to study human Fatal Familial Insomnia pathophysiology	Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB) Meeting, Coimbra, Portugal
2017/09/23	Relevance of astrocytes/microglia communication for NLRP3 signalling in the CNS – proof of concept in an ex vivo model of epilepsy	IMM Neurosciences Seminar Instituto de Medicina Molecular, University of Lisbon (Coimbra, Portugal)

Organização de evento

	Nome do evento Tipo de evento (Tipo de participação)	Instituição / Organização
2019/12/15 - 2024/05/15	World Sleep Day 2020-present: Organization and Participation in the World Sleep Day related events in collaboration with Associação Portuguesa do Sono (APS). (2020/03/13 - 2024/03/20) Outro (Membro da Comissão Organizadora)	CNC.IBILI, Portugal Associação Portuguesa do Sono, Portugal
2017/11/01 - 2018/02/07	XLVIII Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society (2018/02/05 - 2018/02/07) Encontro (Membro da Comissão Organizadora)	Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal
2017/10/01 - 2018/01/29	Organizing Comitee of SynaNet 3rd Annual Meeting (2018/01/16 - 2018/01/18) Encontro (Membro da Comissão Organizadora)	Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal

Participação em evento

	Descrição da atividade Tipo de evento	Nome do evento Instituição / Organização
2020/03/30 - 2020/06/30	Participated in different activities for the diagnosis of COVID-19, including sample processing, virus inactivation and RT-PCR. Outro	Volunteer for COVID-19 diagnosis at COVID-19 UC Lab, Laboratório de Análises Clínicas, University of Coimbra Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2020/02/05 - 2020/02/07	L Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society is the main conference in Portugal that represents the scientific progress in Experimental Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology. Encontro	L Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Farmácia, Portugal
2019/12/01 - 2020/01/31	The basics of Research Data Management Outro	The basics of Research Data Management Universidade do Minho, Portugal
2019/12/19 - 2019/12/20	The CIBB meeting 2019 at the Unidade Central Polo III, University of Coimbra, helps to promote and strengthen the scientific excellence of different Research Centres located in Coimbra. Encontro	Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB) Meeting CNC.IBILI, Portugal
2019/11/21 - 2019/11/21	From Knowledge to Market, a Tech Intensive Entrepreneurship Session/ FuEL Your Ambition - Workshop is an immersive session on the potential for commercial exploration of knowledge/technology developed by groups of researchers and other entrepreneurs, bringing a Belgian company with over 50 years of experience in this technology transfer and prototyping to help scientists translate their research. Oficina (workshop)	From Knowledge to Market, a Tech Intensive Entrepreneurship Session/ FuEL Your Ambition - Workshop Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento em Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal Instituto Pedro Nunes, Portugal
2018/07/07 - 2018/07/11	FENS Forum Annual Meeting 2018, at Berlin, Germany is the biggest european congress for neuroscience, presenting the latest research on different neuroscience-related fields. Congresso	FENS Forum Annual Meeting Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Bélgica
2018/06/11 - 2018/06/16	SynaNet 2018 Summer School: ”Signals from the brain” practical workshops and talks about electrophisiology, calcium imaging and techniques to study cell-to-cell communication. Fostering of international scientific collaborations. Twinning action financed by H2020 - Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders: from synapses to networks (SynaNet), Portugal Oficina (workshop)	SynaNet 2018 Summer School: ”Signals from the brain” Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Itália
2018/05/18 - 2018/05/18	The Portuguese Glial Network gathers portuguese researchers, as well as foreign researchers, who are interested in the role of glial cells in the function of the nervous system, in health and disease conditions. Simpósio	Portuguese Glial Network - III Symposium Universidade do Porto Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Portugal
2018/02/20 - 2018/02/21	2nd Ed. of the Workshop Career Development and Soft Skills for young scientists – From Lisbon to the World is focused on training scientists to be excellent researchers and inspiring leaders. The scientific training is complemented with soft skills training, which are useful both in academic and industrial environments and was conducted by leaders from R&D Pierre Fabre, Institute Curie Paris and University College London. Oficina (workshop)	Second Edition of the Workshop Career Development and Soft Skills for young scientists – From Lisbon to the World Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal
2018/02/05 - 2018/02/07	XLVIII Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society is the main conference in Portugal that represents the scientific progress in Experimental Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology. Encontro	XLVIII Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Pharmacology Society Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
2018/01/16 - 2018/01/18	SynaNet 2nd Annual Scientific Meeting and Satellite Symposium on ”Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders” comprises the consorciam of four different European Universities: University of Lisbon, Portugal; La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Kwopio University of Eastern Finland, Finland; Lancaster University, United Kingdom Simpósio	SynaNet 2nd Annual Scientific Meeting and Satellite Symposium on ”Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders” Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal
2017/12/12 - 2017/12/14	Talks and practical workshops about the Basics of Flow Cytometry. Fostering of international scientific collaborations. Twinning action financed by H2020 - Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders: from synapses to networks (SynaNet), Portugal Oficina (workshop)	SynaNet Winter School and Workshop on Basics of Flow Cytometry Itä-Suomen yliopisto - Kuopion kampus, Finlândia
2017/10/19 - 2017/10/20	The Mind-Brain College of the University of Lisbon integrates 7 Schools (Faculdade de Ciências (FCUL), Faculdade de Farmácia (FFUL), Faculdade de Letras (FLUL), Faculdade de Medicina (FMUL), Faculdade de Psicologia (FPUL), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) e Instituto de Ciências Socias (ICS), which organize every year a meeting to connect research centers in essential areas important to the mind and brain studies. Encontro	3rd Students Meeting of Mind-Brain College Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal
2017/09/25 - 2017/09/29	Seminars and practical courses on animal models to study neurologic diseases and behaviour and workshop on career development. Fostering of international scientific collaborations. Twinning action financed by H2020 - Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders: from synapses to networks (SynaNet), Portugal Oficina (workshop)	SynaNet Summer School “Behavioural Models of Disease – Diverse Routes to Translation” and “Developing your Career” Workshop Lancaster University, Reino Unido
2016/11/29 - 2016/11/29	New Perspectives in Academic Careers in Portugal held by the American Society for Microbiology is about the prospects for researchers focusing on academic careers. Additionally, they provide a workshop on Scientific Writing and Publishing for young researchers to improve their skills on writing and publishing. Conferência	New Perspectives in Academic Careers in Portugal Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2016/11/18 - 2016/11/19	1st International Symposium is an event that promotes the discussion on fundamental and translational research in stem cell biology applied to the central nervous system where a group of leading researchers from all over the world discuss their work, sharing recent findings on 2D and 3D in vitro neuronal models, stem cell transplantation, in vivo gene therapy and neural tissue engineering. Simpósio	1st International Symposium ”Brain With Out Borders” Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2016/07/18 - 2016/07/22	Seminars and practical hands-on workshops on Cell Culture and Tissue theoretical and practical training. Oficina (workshop)	IV Cell Culture and Tissue Training Course Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Medicina, Portugal

Membro de associação

	Nome da associação	Tipo de participação
2024 - Atual	Society for Research in Biological Rhythms (SRBR)	Member
2022 - Atual	Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN)	Member
2018/04/01 - Atual	Portuguese Glial Network	Member
2022 - 2023	Portuguese Society of Pulmonology	Member

Distinções

Prémio

2024	[Individual award] FLAD R&D@PhD USA fellowship to support living costs in the United States.
2024	[Group Award] Thomé Villar / Boehringer Ingelheim Award 2024, 1st Prize, ex-aequo. Award for the best scientific research work on the Pulmonology field. Project: Gene Expression Profiling and DNA Methylation Patterns in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Impact of
2024	[Individual award] Best oral communication award at PharmaDay 2024, a meeting of the students of the PhD Programme in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2024	[Group Award] Liborio Parrino Award 1st edition - Distinguished Activity Award for the 2024 World Sleep Day Celebration
2024	[Group Award] Promoção da Cultura Científica 2024 - A Good Sleep Under the Stars: An animated series - Série Animada
2023	[Individual award] Fulbright Grant for Research with the support of FCT (2023/2024) Fulbright Portugal, Portugal
2023	[Individual award] Travel grant to attend the FENS Forum Regional Meeting 2023, Algarve, Portugal Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências, Portugal
2023	[Individual award] Best graphical abstract award 2023 - BEB day, a meeting of the students of the PhD Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2023	[Group award] BiotechSTARS 2023. Award for the best business idea. Project: ApneaScreener
2023	[Group Award] Distinguished Activity Award for the 2023 World Sleep Day Celebration, by the World Sleep Society.
2023	[Group Award] Research Grants IGNACIO H. DE LARRAMENDI 2023 - Mapfre Foundation for the project: InsomniaO’clock - new technology to insomnia detection algorithm Fundación Mapfre, Espanha
2022	[Group award] "Promoção da Cultura Científica" Award. Distinguishes projects from the University of Coimbra that bridge science and culture and engage society in science. Project: Science also sleeps: raising awareness about good (and bad) sleep habits. Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
2022	[Group Award] Thomé Villar Award 2022, 1st Prize, ex-aequo. Award for the best scientific research work on the Pulmonology field. Project: OSAging: the effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on cellular and molecular aging.
2022	[Group Award] Thomé Villar Award 2022, 1st Prize, ex-aequo. Award for the best scientific research work on the Pulmonology field.Project: Contribution of intermittent hypoxia to clock dysregulation in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: insights from a mouse model
2021	[Group award] SPP Robalo Cordeiro 2021 Award, by the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology. Award for the best scientific research work on the Respiratory field. Project: Obstructive Sleep Apnea as an Aging Trigger: from Mechanisms to Biomarkers.
2021	[Group Award] Distinguished Activity Award for the 2021 World Sleep Day Celebration, by the World Sleep Society.
2020	[Group Award] Selected for Scicare Novartis Program - Total Immersion Week - for biotech entrepreneurship Novartis Farma SA, Portugal
2020	[Group award] 730 years UC Award. Distinguishes innovative academic projects, under the celebrations of the 730 years of the University of Coimbra. Project: The Dreams Machine, a theatre representation of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
2020	[Group award] Distinguished Activity Award for the 2020 World Sleep Day Activities, by the World Sleep Society.
2019	[Group award] Best Pitch From Knowledge to Market, a Tech Intensive Entrepreneurship Session/ FuEL Your Ambition - Workshop Instituto Pedro Nunes, Portugal

Outra distinção

2015	Erasmus+ Mobility Fellowship for my BSc in Biotecnology (winter semester of 2015/2016) at Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic Erasmus Plus, Bélgica Mendelova univerzita v Brne, República Checa Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Portugal