Iola Melissa Fernandes Duarte

Iola F. Duarte is currently a Principal Researcher in the field of cell metabolism and metabolomics at CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro (UA). She studied Biochemistry & Food Chemistry at the University of Aveiro, and received her Ph.D degree in Chemistry from the same University in 2003. After working as a post-doctoral fellow in joint projects between CICECO-UA and Imperial College London (2003-2006) / Faculty of Medicine-University of Coimbra (2006-2007), she became assistant researcher at CICECO-UA, under the FCT program Ciência 2007. Since 2015, she has held the position of Principal Researcher at the same institution, under the programs Investigador FCT 2014 (IF/01439/2014) and CEEC Individual 2018 scientific employment stimulus (CEECIND/02387/2018), having been awarded a permanent contract at UA in 2020.

Presently, her main research interests and activity focus on: i) Metabolism of tumour and immune cells; ii) Metabolic activity in the tumor microenvironment; iii) Microbiota-metabolome interactions in cancer and therapy response; iv) Metabolic signatures of toxicity/efficacy by drugs, phytochemicals, and nanomaterials; v) Integration of cell metabolomics into the evaluation of biomimetic 3D in vitro models.

I.F. Duarte published ca. 100 papers, 75% in Q1 Journals, with > 4400 citations (h-index 42, source: Scopus). She is also (co)author of 10 book chapters and over 150 conference abstracts (of which 17 were published in SCI Journals). Additionally, I.F. Duarte has delivered 27 talks by invitation, 11 at International conferences and 16 at National meetings, and 10 oral communications (call for participation) at International meetings. She has coordinated 7 research projects with competitive funding (1 ongoing) and has participated as team member in 14 other projects (3 ongoing). She has been a UA representative in a Collaboration Agreement with Bruker BioSpin and in two European Inter-Laboratory Comparisons (2014, 2016). I.F. Duarte has supervised 1 junior researcher (ongoing), 3 post-doctoral fellows, 10 PhD students (1 ongoing), 27 MSc students (2 ongoing), 20 undergraduates and 5 Scientific Initiation grantees. She has also hosted 9 researchers/students from foreign Universities (e.g., within the Erasmus+ Programme) and she has been awarded, in 2019, a Visiting Professor position at the University of Bari (Italy) and, in 2023, a Visiting Researcher position at the University of Campinas (Brazil). Additionally, I.F. Duarte has been active in organizing scientific events, participating in Juries and evaluation panels, acting as Guest Editor, Editorial Board member and Reviewer for several Journals and promoting science dissemination. In 2021, she has been honored in the 3rd edition of the book 'Mulheres na Ciência' (Women in Science) by 'Ciência Viva', the national agency for scientific and technological culture. 

i) Metabolism of tumour and immune cells;

ii) Metabolic activity in the tumor microenvironment;

iii) Microbiota-metabolome interactions in cancer and therapy response;

iv) Metabolic signatures of toxicity/efficacy by drugs, phytochemicals, and nanomaterials;

v) Integration of cell metabolomics into the evaluation of biomimetic 3D in vitro models.

Catarina Jesus (Junior Researcher), Luís Mendes (PhD student), Beatriz Teixeira (MSc student), Beatriz Cardoso (MSc student)

Biomoléculas, First Degree in Biomedical Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, UA.

Bioquímica I, First Degrees in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, UA.

Bioquímica e Biofísica, First Degree in Nursing, ESSUA, UA.

Química Macromolecular, MSc Course in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, UA.

Proteómica e Metabolómica, MSc Courses in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, UA.

Nutrição e Dietética, First Degree in Gerontology, Health School, UA.

Laboratório MH1, First Degree in Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences Department, UA.

Principal Investigator (PI)

- MIME: Exploring gut microbiota-metabolome interactions in breast cancer neoadjuvant therapy: searching for new response predictors, Ref. 2023.14914.PEX, starting 2025, funding: FCT.

- ATHEROFIT: Phytochemical-based metabolic immunomodulation to prevent/attenuate particulate matter-mediated atherosclerosis, Ref. OHM-Estarreja/2019-2128, 2019-2021, funding: LabEx DRIIHM, Device for Interdisciplinary Research on Human-Environments Interactions.

- Impact of silk-based nanomedicines on the cellular metabolome, Ref. 12101 DD1720 RDF Grant 1715, 2016-2018, funding: Research and Development Grant from the University of Strathclyde.

- Metabolic profiling: a novel tool for evaluation of the toxicological and biological effects of nanomaterials, Ref. PTDC/SAU-TOX/120953/2010, 2012-2015, funding: FCT.

- Metabolomic study of lung cancer: metabolic signatures in tissues and biofluids, Ref. CIMAGO 04/12, 2013-2015, funding: CIMAGO, Faculty of Medicine of Coimbra (FMUC), PT.

- Metabolic profiling and biochemical differentiation of human lung tumours by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods, Ref. PTDC/QUI/68017/2006, 2008-2011, funding: FCT.

- Biochemical characterisation of stomach, endometrial and lung tumour tissues by High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HRMAS) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Ref. CIMAGO 14/06, 2006-2009, funding: CIMAGO (FMUC), PT.

Team member

- Cost Action CA21135 - Modelling immunotherapy response and toxicity in cancer (IMMUNO-model), 2022-2026.

- MAPFib: Regulators of fibrosis in Scleroderma: how the microenvironment affects the pDC-fibroblast crosstalk, 2024-2026, funding: The Edith Busch & World Scleroderma Foundation Research Grant Programme.

- OLIhealth -  Project Agenda ILLIANCE [C644919832 00000035 | Project no. 46], 2022-2026, funding: PRR Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência under the Next Generation EU from the European Union.

- BetterBone: Metabolite-activated 3D stem cell differentiation into bone, 2023-2026, funding: FCT.

- Metabolomics analyses for the identification of a set of biomarkers of apoptosis, 2020-2023, funding: Ministerio della Università e della Ricerca, Italy.

-  BIOIMPLANT: A Metabolomics-guided Bioreactor for Improved Bone Engineered Implants, Ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031498, 2018-2021, funding: FCT.

- HOTsPOT: Novel upconversion nanoparticles for multimodal therapy of melanoma: photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy, Ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031794, 2018-2021, funding: FCT.

- REFINECYANO: Using biorefinery to value cyanobateria pigments, Ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030914, 2018-2021, funding: FCT.

- Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine, Ref. SCT-2011-02-030-4872, 2013-2015, funding: PORC-MaisCentro.

- New Valorization Strategies for Eucalyptus spp. Bark Extracts, Ref. PTDC/AGR-FOR/3187/2012, 2013-2015, funding: FCT.

- Search for new markers of therapy response in lung cancer, Ref. CIMAGO 03/12, 2013-2015, funding: CIMAGO (FMUC), PT.

- Future asthma management helped by non-invasive sampling:  contributes for the definition of a rapid and non-invasive diagnostic tool, Ref. PTDC/QUI-QUI/117803/2010, 2012-2015, funding: FCT.

- A Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)-based metabonomic study of health disorders of fetus and mother during pregnancy: towards biochemical characterisation and early diagnostics, Ref. PTDC/QUI/66523/2006, 2008-2011, funding: FCT.

- Implantable scaffolds for local osteossarcoma chemotherapy, Ref. PTDC/SAU-BEB/66896/2006, 2007-2010, funding: FCT.

Dias AS, Almeida CR, Helguero L, Duarte IF. Antitumoral Activity and Metabolic Signatures of Dichloroacetate, 6-Aminonicotinamide and Etomoxir in Breast-Tumor-Educated Macrophages. J Proteome Res. 2024 (in press).

Monteiro CF, Deus IA, Silva IB, Duarte IF, Custódio CA, Mano JF. Tumor-on-a-chip model incorporating human-based hydrogels for easy assessment of metastatic tumor inter-heterogeneity. Adv Funct Mater 2024;34:2315940.

Ferreira LP, Jorge C, Lagarto MR, Monteiro MV, Duarte IF, Gaspar VM, Mano JF. Photoacoustic processing of decellularized extracellular matrix for biofabricating living constructs. Acta Biomaterialia 2024;183:74.

Dias AS, Almeida CR, Helguero LA, Duarte IF. Metabolic Reprogramming of breast tumor-educated macrophages revealed by NMR metabolomics. Cancers 2023;15(4):1211.

Silva TD, Alves C, Oliveira H, Duarte IF. Biological Impact of Organic Extracts from Urban-Air Particulate Matter: An In Vitro Study of Cytotoxic and Metabolic Effects in Lung Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(23):16896.

Cardoso M, Gaspar VM, Ferreira C, Silvestre R, Duarte IF, Mano JF. Macrophage-targeted shikonin-loaded nanogels for modulation of inflammasome activation. Nanomed: Nanotechnol, Biol Med 2022;42:102548.

Silva TD, Alves C, Oliveira H, Duarte IF. Metabolic dysregulations underlying the pulmonary toxicity of atmospheric fine particulate matter: focus on energy-producing pathways and lipid metabolism. Air Qual Atmos Health 2022;15:2051.

Calmeiro J, Mendes L, Duarte IF, Leitão C, Tavares AR, Ferreira DA, Gomes C, Serra J, Falcão A, Cruz MT, Carrascal MA, Neves BM. In-Depth Analysis of the Impact of Different Serum-Free Media on the Production of Clinical Grade Dendritic Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy. Frontiers in Immunology 2021, 11:593363.

Guerra AR, Soares BIG, Freire CSR, Silvestre AJD, Duarte MF, Duarte IF. Metabolic effects of a Eucalyptus bark lipophilic extract on triple negative breast cancer and nontumor breast epithelial cells. J Proteome Res 2021;20(1):565.

Ferreira LP, Gaspar VM, Mendes L, Duarte IF, Mano JF. Organotypic 3D decellularized matrix tumor spheroids for high-throughput drug screening. Biomaterials 2021;275:120983.

Phuagkhaopong S, Mendes L, Müller K, Wobus M, Bornhäuser M, Carswell HVO, Duarte IF, Seib FP. Silk hydrogel substrate stress relaxation primes mesenchymal stem cell behavior in 2D. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021;13(26):30420.

Monteiro MV, Gaspar VM, Mendes L, Duarte IF, Mano JF. Stratified 3D microtumors as organotypic testing platforms for screening pancreatic cancer therapies. Small Methods 2021;5(5):2001207.

Cicuéndez M, Fernandes M, Ayán-Varela M, Oliveira M, Feito MJ, Diez-Orejas R, Paredes JI, Villar-Rodil S, Vila M, Portolés MT, Duarte IF. Macrophage inflammatory and metabolic responses to graphene-based nanomaterials differing in size and functionalization. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020;186:110709.

Dias AS, Almeida CR, Helguero LA, Duarte IF. Metabolic crosstalk in the breast cancer microenvironment. Eur J Cancer. 2019;121:154-171.

Totten J, Wongpinyochit T, Carrola J, Duarte IF, Seib FP. PEGylation-dependent metabolic rewiring of macrophages with silk fibroin nanoparticles. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2019, 11(16):14515-14525.

- María Teresa Portolés, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

- Olatz Murua, Tecnalia, Donostia - San Sebastián, Spain.

- Alberto Garcia-Zamalloa, Donostia University Hospital,  Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute, Basque Country, Spain.

- Raquel Moral Cabrera, Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.

- Ciro Leonardo Pierri, Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Italy.

- Philipp Seib, Institute for Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany.

- Peter Hoet, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Belgium.

- Winfried Neuhaus, Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria.

- Eneida de Paula, Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brasil.

- Gustavo Goldman, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil.

- Fernando Echeverri, Instituto de Quimica, Universidad de  Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.