Name: Catarina Resende Oliveira
Position: Full Professor, Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra
President of Center for Neuosciences and Cell Biology
E-mail address: [email protected]
Research area: Neuroscience and Disease – Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Group
Education:
1970- B.A. in Medicine, University of Coimbra;
1984- Ph. D. in Medicine, University of Coimbra;
1998- Aggregation in Medicine, Coimbra University
Previous positions:
1971-1984: Assistant - Faculty of Medicine - University of Coimbra
1984-1991: Assistant Professor - Faculty of Medicine - University of Coimbra
1991-1998: Associate Professor- Faculty of Medicine - University of Coimbra
1999 – Present: Full Professor - Faculty of Medicine - University of Coimbra
1976 – 1981: Intern of Neurology - Coimbra University Hospital
1981 – 1989: Junior Consultant of Neurology - Coimbra University Hospital
1989 - Present :Consultant of Neurology - Coimbra University Hospital
1992 – Present: Investigator - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology University
of Coimbra
1991 – 1999: President of Portuguese Society of Neurochemistry
1992 – 1995: Vice-President of Portuguese Society of Neurology.
2003 – 2005: President of Instituto of Investigação Interdisciplinar – University of Coimbra
2003- Present: Vice-President of Portuguese Society of Neuroscience
2003- Present: President of the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra University of
Coimbra
2004 – Present: President of Scientific Counsil of the Faculty Medicine - University of Coimbra
Research activities
Neuroscience: Neurodegenerative disorders are multifactorial complex disorders of unknown
etiopathogenesis. Oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, calcium dyshomeostasis and mitochondrial dysfunction
have been suggested to play a key role in cell death occurring in these disorders. The study of these
parameters and the evaluation of antioxidant defenses and neuronal reparing mechanisms during the
process of ageing and in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s
diseases are our main interests of research. The effect of amyloidogenic peptides, beta-amyloid peptide
and prion peptide, and alfa-synuclein in neuronal death and glial reactivity are also investigated. The
genetics of neurodegenerative diseases is another focus of interest.
Areas of interest:
Neurobiology of ageing
Molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection
Mitochondrial dysfunction and cell response to oxidative stress.
Neurobiology of drugs of abuse
Teaching activities
Supervisor of several BSc thesis (Biology and Biochemistry)
Supervisor of 17 Master thesis (concluded)
Supervisor of 10 PhD thesis (concluded)
Supervisor and co-supervisor of the following PhD thesis (Concluded):
Pereira P.- "Catarata e lesão oxidativa do cristalino. Uma abordagem à toxicidade da glicose na Diabetes" - 1996
(Supervisor)
Agostinho P.- "Efeito do "stress" oxidativo nos mecanismos que regulam a libertação de neurotransmissores nas
células da retina em cultura" - 1997 (Supervisor)
Santana I.- "A doença de Alzheimer" - 1998 (Supervisor)
Rego A. C.- "Efeito das espécies reactivas de oxigénio e do glumato na cititoxicidade das células da retina em
cultura. Um modelo de isquemia neuronal." - 1998 (Supervisor)
Pereira C.- "Mecanismos de Degenerescência celular em dois modelos de "stress" oxidativo induzido por glumato e
pela proteina beta-amiloide. Implicações para a etiopatogenia da doença de Alzheimer" - 2000 (Supervisor)
Ambrósio A.- "Estudo de genes candidatos na abordagem molécular de esquizófrenia e na doença bipolar - Análise
de linkage e associação - 2002 (Supervisor)
Sarmento A.- "Alterações Fenotípicas na células tumoral e a sua relação com a resistência à Quimioterapia" - 2002
(Supervisor)
Cardoso S.- "Molecular Mechanisms of cell death in Alzheimer´s didease: the role of mitochondria" - 2004
(Supervisor)
Grazina M.-"Genoma Mitocondrial e Défice Energético no diagnóstico das doenças da Cadeia Respiratória
Mitocondrial - 2004 (Supervisor)
Moreira P.- Efeito do Peptídeo Ab25-35 no poro de permeabilidade transitória da mitocôndria. (Um estudo
comparativo)" - 2005 (Supervisor)
Selected publications
(from a total of 157 publications)
Agostinho P, Oliceira CR. Involvement of calcineuron in the neurotoxic effects induced by amyloid-beta
and prion peptides. Eur J Neurosc, 2003, 17:1189-96
Moreira PI, Santos MS, Moreno AM, Seiça R, Oliveira CR. Increase vulnerability of brain mitochondria
in diabetic (Goto-Kakizaki) rats with aging and amyloid-beta exposure. Diabetes. 2003, 52:1449-56
Cardoso SM, Santana I, Swerdlow RH, Oliveira CR. Mitochondria dysfunction of Alzheimer’s disease
cybrids enhances Abeta toxicity. J Neurochem. 2004, 89:1417-26
Bernardino L, Xapelli S, Silva AP, Jakobsen B, Poulsen FR, Oliveira CR, Vezzani A, Malva JO, Zimmer
J. Modulator effects of interleukin-beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alfa, on AMPA-induced excitotoxicity
in mouse organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. J Neuros, 2005, 29:6734-44
Duarte AI, Santos MS, Oliveira CR, Rego AC. Insulin neuroprotection against oxidative stress in cortical
neurons – Involvement of uric acid and glutathione antioxidant defenses. Free Rad Biol Med, 2005,
39::876-89
Liu Q, Smith MA, Avila J, DeBernardis J, Kansal M, Takeda A, Zhu X, Nunomura A, Honda K, Moreira
PI, Oliveira CR, Santos MS, Shimohama S, Aliev G, de la Torre J, Ghanbari HA, Siedlak SL, Harris PL,
Sayre LM, Perry G. Alzheimer.specific epitopes of tau represent lipid peroxidation-induced
conformations. Free Rad Biol Med, 2005, 38:746-54
Rodrigues RJ, Almeida T, Richardson PJ, Oliveira CR, Cunha RA. Dual presynaptic control by ATP of
glutamate release via facilitatory P2X1, P2X2/3, and P2X3 and inhibitory P2Y1, P2Y2, and/or PsY4
receptors in the rat hippocampus. J Neurosci, 2005 25:6286-95
Grazina M, Pratas J, Silva F, Oliveira S, Santana I, Oliveira C. Genetic basis of Alzheimer's dementia:
role of mtDNA mutations. Genes Brain Behav. 2006; Suppl 2:92-107
Cunha-Oliveira T, Rego AC, Cardoso SM, Borges F, Swerdlow RH, Macedo T, de Oliveira CR.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation in rat cortical neurons treated with cocaine or
amphetamine. Brain Res. 2006.
Ferreiro E, Resende R, Costa R, Oliveira CR, Pereira C. Na endoplasmic-reticulum-specific apoptotic
pathway is involved in prion and amyloid-beta peptides neurotoxicity. Neurobiol Dis, 2006, 669-78
Oliveira JM, Chen S, Almeida S, Riley R, Gonçalves J, Oliveira CR, Hayden MR, Nicholls DG, Ellerby
LM, Rego AC. Mitochondrial-dependent Ca2+ handling in Huntington’s disease striatal cells: effect of
histone deacetylase inhibitors. J Neurosci, 2006, 26:11174-86
Honors and awards
2006- Portuguese Science Foundation – Prize for Scientific Excellence