João Borges

Assistant Researcher

Contact

Department

  • Chemistry
  • 29.3.38

Research

Links

Latest News

Short biography

João Borges is a Senior Researcher at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Porto. He has been focusing his research and collaborating with interdisciplinary and international partners on the molecular design, synthesis and development of bioinspired supramolecular multicomponent biomaterials by combining polysaccharides, peptides and nucleic acids to interface with living systems. Those self-assembling biomaterials, include biomimetic Layer-by-Layer-driven soft self-assembling nanobiomaterials and bioinspired, chemically programmable and dynamic supramolecular hydrogels to be used as bioinstructive matrices to control cell functions and as platforms for controlled drug/protein/therapeutics delivery.  João has been lecturing on supramolecular biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies in Portugal and abroad at undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as on communication and presentation skills, and he has been PI of R&D projects funded at European (SupraLife, ID: 101079482) and national levels (SUPRASORT, ID: PTDC/QUI-OUT/30658/2017), and team member in several other EU and FCT funded projects.

He has been chairing international scientific conferences and symposia in major international conferences (e.g., SupraLife First/Second/Third School, IUPAC WCC 2023, ESB 2023, TERMIS-EU 2025), member of the scientific and organizing committees of national and international conferences (e.g., IUPAC WCC 2023, 5th SPLC-CRS Young Scientists Meeting, 9th PYCheM), referee and chairman, guest editor of themed collections / special issues (e.g., J. Mater. Chem. B, Pure and Applied Chemistry, Frontiers in Medical Technology)), and has been invited to deliver plenary, keynote and invited lectures in major international conferences (e.g., TERMIS-EU 2019, 2025; 12th WBC 2024, SupraLife Second School 2024, 5th SPLC-CRS Young Scientists Meeting 2025). João is the recipient of several honors and awards, including elected Chemistry Europe Fellow (Class of 2022/2023), elected Member of the Global Young Academy (2024-2029), elected Member of the Young Academy of Portugal of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences (2024-2026), and received the Periodic Table of Younger Chemists Award (2019). He is also an Editorial Advisory Board Member of the Journal of Materials Chemistry B (RSC) and Associate Editor for Frontiers in Medical Technology.

Beyond his academic activity and scientific impact, João has been strongly commited to connecting, mentoring, and empowering young scientists in advancing their professional development, as well as to delivering a positive social impact by being invested in science communication, outreach, policy and diplomacy as a Member of the Global Young Academy (GYA), Young Academy of Portugal of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences (SJC-ACL), International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN), and European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN). He has been actively serving and embracing leadership roles in several early-career chemists’ networks and professional scientific organizations at national, European, and international levels, extensively supporting the networking activities among and empowering early-career scientists. In particular, he has been Vice-Chair (2021) and Chair of the IYCN (2021-2022).

He is currently Member of the Biomaterials Chemistry Group at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Co-Leader of the Programme Organizing Committee for the 2025 GYA Annual General Meeting, and Co-Chair of the Global Conversation on Sustainability (GCS) – a joint project by the IYCN and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) – which aims to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by raising awareness and implementing sustainable practices globally, and a National Representative of the IYCN Standing Committee at IUPAC.

João is a member of several professional scientific organizations, including the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB), the Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ), and IUPAC.

Professional Appointments

Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC, https://www.rsc.org/):

  • Since 2024: Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Materials Chemistry B.
  • Since 2024: Elected member of the RSC Biomaterials Chemistry Committee.

Global Young Academy (GYA, https://globalyoungacademy.net/):

  • Since 2024: Co-Leader of the Programme Organizing Committe for the 2025 GYA Annual General Meeting.
  • Since 2024: Member of the Communications Committee.
  • Since 2024: Member of the ‘Science Advice’, ‘Scientific Excellence’, ‘Trust in Young Scientists’ and ‘The GYA and the UN SDGs’ working groups.

Young Academy of Portugal (https://www.acad-ciencias.pt/eng/institutos/apresentacao-do-sjc/):

  • Since 2024: Elected Member of the Young Academy of Portugal of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC, https://iupac.org/):

  • Since 2024: National Representative of the IYCN Standing Committee at IUPAC.
  • Since 2022: Task Group Co-Chair of the IUPAC/IYCN joint project "Global Conversation on Sustainability" (https://www.gcs-day.org).

International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN, https://www.iycnglobal.com/): 

  • August 2022-August 2023: Past Chair and Advisor.
  • August 2021-August 2022: Chair.
  • April 2021-August 2021: Vice-Chair.
  • September 2019-April 2021: Member of the Executive Board and  Conference Presence Committee Leader.
  • September 2018-September 2019: Member of the Conference Presence Committee.

European Young Chemists' Network (EYCN; young division of EuChemS, https://www.eycn.eu/): 

  • 2017-2023: Member of the Networks and Global Connnections Teams.
  • 2017-2021: Coordinator of the European Young Chemists' Meetings (EYCheM).
  • 2017-2019: Portuguese Delegate.

The Young Chemists Group (GQJ - Grupo de Químicos Jovens, https://gqj.spq.pt/) of the Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ - Sociedade Portuguesa de Química):

  • 2016-2018: Member of the Directing Board.

Ongoing Supervisions

Gonçalo Jorge Silva Coelho

PhD Student

Luís Almeida

Junior Researcher

Projects

Unlocking the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the University of Aveiro in supramolecular multicomponent biomaterials for enabling advanced biomaterials for healthcare (SUPRALIFE)

CoordinatorEuropean Comission
The SUPRALIFE project is a Twinning project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme which is coordinated by the COMPASS Research Group at CICECO, at the University of Aveiro (UAVR, Portugal). The consortium also brings together the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, The Netherland...

3D cells colonization in marine-derived hydrogels through controlled micro-channels patterning for bone repair (PROMENADE)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
magnetic; 3D cell colonization; hydrogel

Bioinspired tile-matching to create ultrastructured bone microtissues in a close-to-native fashion (TETRISSUE)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
The driving force behind TETRISSUE is inspired in the fundamentals of the native bone regenerative process and supported by a strong technological character to produce highly vascularized ultrastructured bone replacements. Its innovative character is mainly related with the integration of key elements working in tandem: (1) bioinstructi...

CIRCUS - Directing Bone Dynamics Through The Synergistic Action Of Immune Cells With Bioengineered Cell Microfactories Containing Patterned Microplatforms (CIRCUS)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Desenvolvimento de hidrogeis de inspiracao marinha multifuncionais e de elevado desempenho para regeneracao de cartilagem, reticulados com ligacoes nao-covalentes e bio-instrutivas deslizantes. (MARGEL)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Desenvolvimento de uma membrana periodontal multicamada composta por blocos inovativos a base de polimeros de origem marinha e enzima para regeneracao guiada de osso que possui mineralizacao enzimatica controlada. (MIMETIc)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Dispositivos Supramoleculares Auto-Regulados baseados na Complementaridade dos Pares de Base do ADN: Uma Tecnologia Biomimética e com Reconheciemnto Molecular para Isolar Células Específicas para Aplicações Biomédicas (SUPRASORT)

CoordinatorFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Hidrogéis de Lisados de Plaquetas para Regeneração do Miocárdio (BEAT)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Marine Origin Biopolymers as Innovative Building Blocks from the Sea for the Development of Bioresorbable Multilayered Membranes for guided bone regeneration (BLUETEETH)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Natural origin polymers from algae and arthropods can be obtained in large scale, and a great effort has been paid to find applications for such high-added value materials. Periodontal disease is frequent in humans and constitutes, together with dental caries, the principal cause of tooth loss in adults. Currently, one of the available treatment...

Metodologias eficientes para a conjugação de polissacarídeos naturais com péptidos para obtenção de membranas multifuncionais para regeneração periodontal. (COP2P)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Produção de Plataformas Microcapsulares 3D+ para Avaliação Laboratorial em Larga Escala de Novas Terapias Combinatórias para o Cancro do Pâncreas (PANGEIA)

PartnerFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Publications

Building the Young Program for IUPAC|CHAINS 2023

João Borges, Eva Meeus, Maximilian Menche, Fatima Mustafa, Koen Van den Helder
2024, ChemistryViews.

Recent Developments in Layer-by-Layer Assembly for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering Applications

Borges, J; Zeng, JF; Liu, XQ; Chang, H; Monge, C; Garot, C; Ren, KF; Machillot, P; Vrana, NE; Lavalle, P; Akagi, T; Matsusaki, M; Ji, J; Akashi, M; Mano, JF; Gribova, V; Picart, C
2024, ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, 13, 8.
ISBN: 2192-2659

Natural Polymer-Polyphenol Bioadhesive Coacervate with Stable Wet Adhesion, Antibacterial Activity, and On-Demand Detachment

Sacramento, MMA; Oliveira, MB; Gomes, JRB; Borges, J; Freedman, BR; Mooney, DJ; Rodrigues, JMM; Mano, JF
2024, ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, 13, 13.
ISBN: 2192-2659

Acidochromic Free-Standing Multilayered Chitosan-Pyranoflavylium/Alginate Membranes toward Food Smart Packaging Applications

Cunha, M; de Freitas, V; Borges, J; Mano, JF; Rodrigues, JMM; Cruz, L
2024, ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS, 6, 11, 6820-6830.

Towards a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Early-Career Chemists

Dobbelaar, E; Goher, SS; Vidal, JL; Obhi, NK; Felisilda, BMB; Choo, YSL; Ismail, H; Lee, HL; Nascimento, V; Al Bakain, R; Ranasinghe, M; Davids, BL; Naim, A; Offiong, NA; Borges, J; John, T
2024, ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION, 63, 35.
ISBN: 1521-3773

Preface for the special issue 'Activities and Actions Towards a Sustainable Future' - a joint project by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN)

Vidal, JL; Borges, J
2024, PURE AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY, 96, 9, 1245-1246.
ISBN: 1365-3075

Supramolecular presentation of bioinstructive peptides on soft multilayered nanobiomaterials stimulates neurite outgrowth

Lopes, M; Torrado, M; Barth, D; Santos, SD; Sever-Bahcekapili, M; Tekinay, AB; Guler, MO; Cleymand, F; Pêgo, AP; Borges, J; Mano, JF
2023, BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE, 11, 14, 5012-5024.

Marine-origin polysaccharides-based free-standing multilayered membranes as sustainable nanoreservoirs for controlled drug delivery

Sousa, CFV; Monteiro, LPG; Rodrigues, JMM; Borges, J; Mano, JF
2023, JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY B, 11, 28, 6671-6684.

Self-Supporting Hyaluronic Acid-Functionalized G-Quadruplex-Based Perfusable Multicomponent Hydrogels Embedded in Photo-Cross-Linkable Matrices for Bioapplications

Sousa, V; Amaral, AR; Castanheira, EJ; Marques, I; Rodrigues, JMM; Félix, V; Borges, J; Mano, JF
2023, BIOMACROMOLECULES, 24, 7, 3380-3396.

Chitosan-Based Biomaterials: Insights into Chemistry, Properties, Devices, and Their Biomedical Applications

Petroni, S; Tagliaro, I; Antonini, C; D'Arienzo, M; Orsini, SF; Mano, JF; Brancato, V; Borges, J; Cipolla, L
2023, MARINE DRUGS, 21, 3.

Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications

Helena S. Azevedo, João F. Mano, João Borges
2021, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
ISBN: 978-1788017572

Extending the Functionality of Marine-origin Polysaccharides Through Chemical Modification for Biomedical Applications

In Helena S. Azevedo, João F. Mano, João Borges (Eds.), Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications
João M. M. Rodrigues, Edgar J. Castanheira, Dora C. S. Costa, Djenisa H. A. Rocha, João Borges and João F. Mano
2021, 180-204, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
ISBN: 978-1-78801-757-2

Shaping Soft Structures Using Bottom-up Layer-by-layer Assembly Technology for Biomedical Applications

In Helena S. Azevedo, João F. Mano, João Borges (Eds.), Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications
João Borges, Cristiana F. V. Sousa, Isabel M. Bjørge, Sara Nadine, Clara R. Correia, Sónia G. Patrício and João F. Mano
2021, 444-473, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
ISBN: 978-1-78801-757-2

Stimuli-responsive Nanocomposite Hydrogels Incorporating Soft Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

In Helena S. Azevedo, João F. Mano, João Borges (Eds.), Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications
Pedro Lavrador, João Borges, Vítor M. Gaspar and João F. Mano
2021, 566-593, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
ISBN: 978-1-78801-757-2

Soft Matter for Biomedical Applications

Helena S. Azevedo, João F. Mano, João Borges
2021, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
ISBN: 978-1788017572

We use cookies for marketing activities and to offer you a better experience. By clicking “Accept Cookies” you agree with our cookie policy. Read about how we use cookies by clicking "Privacy and Cookie Policy".


Privacy and Cookie Policy

Personal data

CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials respects your privacy, ensuring confidentiality of personal data you share with the institution through this way, not collecting any personal information about you without your consent, under the terms required by General Data Protection Regulations (RGPD).

The data collected in forms are intended exclusively for processing user requests and will not be used for any other purpose, always safeguarding their confidentiality, under the terms of the protection conferred by the aforementioned regulation.

The collection and processing of data is the responsibility of CICECO and its storage is properly protected, only authorized CICECO employees can access the information within the scope of their functions, always being clear in the respective collection forms the purposes for which they are intended. The remaining issues to be considered in this matter will be handled by the University of Aveiro in accordance with the regime established by the GDPR.

Cookies policy

Cookies are small files with alphanumeric information that are stored on your computer's hard drive by your browser and are intended to improve the user experience and enhance website navigation.

Collection and use of technical information

The cookies used on CICECO are anonymous, and no information about our users that allows their personal identification is stored in them.

The technical information recorded consists of:

  • iP (Internet Protocol) address of the visitor;
  • the type of internet browser used by the website visitor and the respective operating system used;
  • the date and time of the consultation;
  • the pages visited on the site and the documents downloaded
  • The technical information collected is used for statistical purposes only.

Cookies used

Session cookies

These cookies are used to record user preferences, such as the language in which websites are displayed or to maintain authenticated user sessions, and are automatically deleted when the browser is closed.

Persistent cookies

These cookies store information that is needed between sessions. For example, a persistent cookie is set to record that you have been made aware of the cookie policy so that the message regarding this policy is not shown again the next time you visit the website. This cookie remains on the computer until it reaches its expiry date or is deleted by the user.

Data protection

The present privacy policy covers the Information System of the University of Aveiro (SIUA), governed by the General Data Protection Regulations (RGPD) Regulation (EU) No. 2016/679, of April 27th, 2016.

Data Protection Officer

The University of Aveiro has a Data Protection Officer (DPO), who ensures compliance of the processing of personal data with the legislation in force, and is available through the following email address epd@ua.pt.

Close