ATG Newsletter issue 9

ATG Newsletter Issue 09

July 2019

Welcome to another edition of the ATG Member Newsletter

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ATG Newsletter

Back to Basics

Issue 09

Mafalda Azevedo

July 2019 Contributors: André Sousa Ana Rita Araújo Filipa Ferreira Lígia Tavares Mafalda Azevedo Maria De Sousa Marta Madureira Pedro Resende Olga Sin Raquel Real Telmo Catarino & everyone who answered the questionnaire Cover: Mafalda Azevedo Editors:

Editor-in-Chief

Many of us think of the GABBA and ATG communities as a large family, a place to where we came together to do a PhD and a place to go back to every year when we reunite at the Annual GABBA Meeting. Although similar in our goals, we come from completely different backgrounds, whether scientific or not. The reasons why we decided to pursue a career in science, doing research or something else, are particular to each one of us.

In this newsletter, we wanted to delve deep into our interests and sources of inspiration and decided to do something a little bit more interactive. Last May we invited you to take a questionnaire and were surprised by the number of people that responded; 40% of all students and ATGs participated!

Filipa Ferreira

We asked you about your current whereabouts, your interests,

Mafalda Azevedo

your exposure to science and your reasons to be scientists.

Marta Madureira

We are now happy to share the results with you.

Lastly, a brief note on the fifth anniversary of this newsletter; I would like to congratulate everyone who has ever contributed

ATG - All Time GABBA The Alumni Association of the Graduate Program in Areas of Basic and Applied Biology University of Porto - Portugal www.atg.up.pt

i3S, R. Alfredo Allen, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal

in any way to make this project happen and remind you that it is only with the help and contribution of all that it is possible to make it continuously better.

We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter!

***

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Contents Message from the President of the Executive Board LĂ­gia Tavares 5 De Sousa et al.

Maria de Sousa 8 Back to Basics Mafalda Azevedo & Marta Madureira 12 City of Knowledge Part I. Knowledge Ana Rita AraĂşjo & Telmo Catarino 32 ATG News Mafalda Azevedo 42 Maria de Sousa Summer Research Program 43

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Have you already become a member?

To become a member, all you need to do is pay the annual dues, fill out the membership form, and email us the payment confirmation along with the membership form.

You may find the form on the ATG website: www.atg.up.pt

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Message from the President of the Executive Board Lígia Tavares

Dear GABBA community and ATG newsletter readers, First of all, I would like to thank the opportunity to become the new ATG president. It is an honor and a pleasure but also a responsibility. I want to thank Pedro Resende, the former ATG president for the excellent work in keeping our community together, disseminating our work and increasing the visibility of ATG. I aim to continue the work done while expanding our visibility and outreach activities. Only with an informed “I want to thank Pedro Resende, the former ATG president (…) I aim to continue the work done while expanding our visibility and outreach activities.”

and interested society we can aim to have good scientists and a healthy scientific community.

The idea of a healthy scientific community takes me to this newsletter subject where we discuss the “Back to Basics” and whether we foster a more Basic (fundamental) or Applied research. And again, GABBA is a good example of a healthy community. We had more basic modules such as cell cycle and developmental biology, and more applied modules such as Oncobiology and Immunology. GABBA also had students with a more applied background as Medicine and Engineering and other more fundamental as Biology and Biochemistry. Having this experience helps us to understand that Basic science does not exist 5

without Applied, as it is a direct consequence and follow up. But the other way is also true as you need the basics to increase and widen the knowledge and research areas. We have to remember that curiosity lead us to this path and that science cannot be forecasted or predicted. As a community we have to spread the importance of both Basic and Applied research so that our future leaders are more informed and make better “We have to remember that curiosity lead us to this path and that science cannot be forecasted or predicted. (‌) As Prof. Maria de Sousa used to say our curiosity and the freedom to pursue it leads us to the biggest achievementsâ€?

policies.

The final subject I want to mention is that the GABBA program is, as last year, without governmental funding. We are all fearing the continuation of the program and as members of this community we should be aware of this and do as much lobbing as we can for the continuation of the program. We should raise attention to the great value of the program, its unique characteristics and the opportunity that is was for us to pursue our curiosity. As Prof. Maria de Sousa uses to say, our curiosity and the freedom do pursue it leads us to the biggest achievements! And to great science!

To do great science we need a good balanced life, so have a good summer holiday.

Enjoy life! ***

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We know you are really busy with other impact factors, but your help would really have a major impact on ATG! ATG really needs your help!

Send us an email when you are ready to help us, will you?

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DE SOUSA et al.

Maria de Sousa

Dear ATG Newsletter, After much hesitation I decided to send the answers to the “Science is a human activity like many others: of passion, disappointment, creativity, what makes it unique is a sense of uniqueness in a contribution (…)”

Questionnaire. The reality is that you will have a life expectancy greater than mine. With my life, one learns the importance of being aware of the surrounding world. Of creating good collaborations. Of having top students. Science is a human activity like many others: of passion, disappointment, creativity, what makes it unique is a sense of uniqueness in a contribution, of the importance of collaborations for that uniqueness, of daring to test and prove new ideas, etc. What I do not say you will find out by yourselves. It is great to have ATGs and their achievements as companions. To my knowledge 3 ATGs made it to direct a new Aging Group at the Mayo Clinic, another yet again to

“I participated in outreach programs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Research Institute in New York as an Associate Member, Head of the Cell Ecology Lab.”

Oxford, another heading an Institute at Columbia U, and others that I might not know. All ATGS are to me the greatest company back to the basics of discovering the astonishing dimension of human life.

Thank you Maria

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GABBA Edition Co-founder, 1996 Graduation Year 1963 Gender Female Age 79 Where do you currently live?

Portugal “I had the privilege of growing up in a time of transition between much ignorance and significant discoveries for applied clinical practice.�

Is your current job science-related?

Yes. If yes, are you currently doing research?

Yes. What did you graduate on?

Medicine, undergrad, Immunology, PhD. Are you more interested in basic or applied biology?

Cannot distinguish them.

Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

Yes. When did you realize you liked science/research?

In medical school.

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Did your school have a science club?

No, but it had super Science teachers in Physics and Biology with super practical classes.

Did you have exposure to science/research outside of school? (through science outreach programs, science fairs, etc) I participated in outreach programs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Research Institute in New York as an Associate Member, Head of the Cell Ecology Lab. Why did you decide to be a scientist (even if you are no longer in science)?

Remember, Jonas Salk announced his polio vaccine in March 1953 (see below), I think I had just entered med School. In 1954, Seiman Waksman “People who admitted that they knew little, being the acknowledged experts in their respective fields in the world!�

celebrated the tenth anniversary of the discovery of streptomycin (read below). Thus, I had the privilege of growing up in a time of transition between much ignorance and significant discoveries for applied clinical practice. I decided to do research experiencing the extent of what was unknown and the realization that many who knew very little behaved as if they knew a lot (professors in Med School).

Did anyone inspire you to be a scientist?

Yes, all of those that I met in London as a Gulbenkian Fellow in Mill Hill.

People who admitted that they knew little, being the acknowledged experts in their respective fields in the world! I should highlight the influence of Delphine Parrott, the tutor during the Fellowship.

If could go back in time, would you pursue a PhD? Absolutely.

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***

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Back to Basics Our GABBA community is diverse and spreads around the world.

We asked you questions to find out more about our interests and sources of scientific inspiration.

Now it is time to reveal the results.

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Back to Basics: questionnaire results Mafalda Azevedo & Marta Madureira

This past May, we challenged the ATG and GABBA communities to fill in a questionnaire about their interest in science and sources of inspiration. From a total of 235 students from 21 editions, a total of 95 people or 40% responded to the challenge. All the editions are represented in the results, although some better than others. At least one person from each edition responded to the questionnaire, the 12th

DEMOGRAPHICS

Questionnaire Participation by Edition

8 6 4 2 0

2

1

(1 99 6 (1 ) 99 7 3 (1 ) 99 9 4 (2 ) 00 0 5 (2 ) 0 6 01) (2 0 7 02) (2 0 8 03) (2 0 9 04) (2 10 005 (2 ) 11 006 (2 ) 12 007 (2 ) 13 008 (2 ) 14 009 (2 ) 15 010 (2 ) 16 011 (2 ) 17 012 (2 ) 18 013 (2 ) 19 014 (2 ) 20 015 (2 ) 21 016 (2 ) 01 7)

“From a total of 235 students in 21 editions, a total of 95 people or 40% responded to the challenge.�

Absolute Frequency, %

10

GABBA Edition (Year)

Participated

Number of students

14

Did not participate

12 10 8 6 4 2

2

1

(1 9

96 (1 ) 99 7 3 (1 ) 99 9 4 (2 ) 00 0 5 (2 ) 0 6 01) (2 0 7 02) (2 0 8 03) (2 0 9 04) (2 10 005 (2 ) 11 006 (2 ) 12 007 (2 ) 13 008 (2 ) 14 009 (2 ) 15 010 (2 ) 16 011 (2 ) 17 012 (2 ) 18 013 (2 ) 19 014 (2 ) 20 015 (2 ) 21 016 (2 ) 01 7)

0

GABBA Edition (Year)

Graduation Year

13 Gender

Age 5% 12%

26-30

edition being the one with the most participants and the 6th edition the one with the fewer participants.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Is y

Our population is Participation very equal in terms of gender, with 43% being male Questionnaire

by Edition Participated

Number of participants

8

10

8 the 30-something year old being the vast majority of us. Nearly 3 in 10 6

6 4

4

2 participants have already finished their graduate studies and over 50%

2 0

DEMO

0

(1 9 2 96) (1 9 3 97) (1 9 4 99) (2 0 5 00) (2 0 6 01) (2 0 7 02) (2 0 8 03) (2 0 9 04) (2 10 005 (2 ) 11 006 (2 ) 12 007 (2 ) 13 008 (2 ) 14 009 (2 ) 15 010 (2 ) 16 011 (2 ) 17 012 (2 ) 18 013 (2 ) 19 014 (2 ) 20 015 (2 ) 21 016 (2 ) 01 7)

(1 9 2 96) (1 9 3 97) (1 9 4 99) (2 0 5 00) (2 0 6 01) (2 0 7 02) (2 0 8 03) (2 0 9 04) (2 10 005 (2 ) 11 006 (2 ) 12 007 (2 ) 13 008 (2 ) 14 009 (2 ) 15 010 (2 ) 16 011 (2 ) 17 012 (2 ) 18 013 (2 ) 19 014 (2 ) 20 015 (2 ) 21 016 (2 ) 01 7)

Absolute Frequency, %

Did not participate

14 and 57% female. The ages roughly range from 26 to 50 years old, with 12

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Questionna

1

1

of them did that in between 2013 and now.

GABBA Edition (Year)

GABBA Edition (Year)

Age 5%

43%

12%

57%

6 4 27%

26-30 31-35

2

36-40

0

25%

41-45 46-50

3

2

19

18

Student 28% Alumnus 72% GABBA Edition (Year)

20

17

20

16

20

15

20

14

20

13

20

12

20

11

20

10

20

09

20

20

08

Year of Graduation

Gender

43%

19

18

57%

When d

11.6% Before elementary school

20

17

20

16

20

15

20

14

20

13

Qatar 1.1% Year of Graduation United Arab Emirates 1.1% Australia 1.1%

20

12

20

11

20

10

20

09

20

20

08

07

20

06

20

05

20

04

20

20

03

02

20

01

20

96

0

20

United States of America 14.7%

19

Canada 2.1%

Graduation Year

Sweden 1.1% 14 The Netherlands 2.1% 12 United Kingdom Germany 10 20.0% 6.3% Switzerland 8 Austria 4.2% 3.1% 6 Portugal 38.9% Spain 4 Italy 3.1% 1.1% 2

Frequency, %

07

20

06

20

05

20

04

20

03

20

02

1

(1 9

31%

20

Ar

GABBA status

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96 (1 ) 99 7 (1 ) 9 4 99) (2 0 5 00) (2 0 6 01) (2 0 7 02) (2 0 8 03) (2 0 9 04) (2 10 005 (2 ) 11 006 (2 ) 12 007 (2 ) 13 008 (2 ) 14 009 (2 ) 15 010 (2 ) 16 011 (2 ) 17 012 (2 ) 18 013 (2 ) 19 014 (2 ) 20 015 (2 ) 21 016 (2 ) 01 7

Gender

Absolute Frequency, %

10

Graduation Year

1.1% Other

The Nether 2.1% United Kingdom 20.0%

Canada We then asked you a few questions about your interests and current Copyright Š Free Vector Maps.com

2.1%

Switzerland 4.2%

Unitedpresent States whereabouts. There are members of GABBA and ATG in 14 Portugal of America 14.7%

38.9%

Spain

countries around the world. 80% of the participants live in Europe, with3.1% the vast majority living in Portugal. Outside of Europe, the favorite destination is the United States of America, where nearly 15% of our community lives.

14

43%

8

57%

12%

27%

6 2

Student 28%

19

18

46-50

20

17

20

16

20

15

20

14

20

13

20

12

20

11

20

10

20

09

20

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20

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20

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20

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20

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01

20

96

20

31-35

41-45 31%

0

26-30 36-40

25%

4

19

Frequency, %

10

Year of Graduation

Canada 2.1% United States of America 14.7%

Sweden 1.1% The Netherlands 2.1% United Kingdom Germany 20.0% 6.3% Switzerland Austria 4.2% 3.1% Portugal 38.9% Spain Italy 3.1% 1.1%

Qatar 1.1% United Arab Emirates 1.1%

Australia 1.1%

Copyright © Free Vector Maps.com

“There are members of GABBA and ATG present in 14 countries around the world. 80% of the participants live in Europe, with the vast majority living in Portugal.”

From those who participated in the questionnaire, only 4% said they do not have a science-related job at the moment. From those 90% who do have a science-related job, 80% are doing research in an academic institution, 8% do research in industry, and a total of 12% either does not do research or has other activities. As for other career paths, one of the participants said they currently are a Science and Technology Manager. Interestingly, there was also some room for entrepreneurship among GABBAs, with another participant stating: “I started my own company in aquaculture. We are currently getting funding to develop a R&D project and develop a new product for the seafood industry”.

Is your current job science-related?

If yes, are you currently doing research?

No 4% Not applicable 6%

Yes 90%

No 8% Yes, in an academic institution 80%

Other 4% Yes, in industry 8%

15 GABBA status

Are you more interested in basic or applied biology?

Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

Alumn

If yes, are you currently doing research?

Is your current job science-related?

Since our program has name No a broad range of interests (just like No its Other 4%

8%

Not applicable 6%

4%

Yes, in says), we wanted to ask whether you liked basic or applied biology industry Yes, in an

“One of the advantages of being a GABBA student is being exposed to the broad range of topics that are approached during the first year of GABBA. This might be the reason why most participants want to explore GABBA status something that is either completely different or somewhat different as their PhD project (…)”

Student 28%

a

ight © Free Vector Maps.com

Yes 90%

8%

academic institution 80%

better, or maybe both. Turns out that applied biology alone is the least favorite one. Almost half of the participants are interested in both basic and applied, and 30% prefer more fundamental biology.

Are you more interested in basic or applied biology?

Not applicable 1%

Both 47%

Alumnus 72%

Somewhat similar 41% 41%

I don't know 1%

Applied 21%

Basic 30%

Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

Completely Completely different different 40% 40%

When you liked science/research?

Onedid ofyou therealize advantages of being a GABBA

Similar 17%

Not applicable 2%

Did yourisschool have a scienceto club? student being exposed

but Iof was not the broad range of29.5% topics 17.9% that are approached during the first Yes, year a part of it 2%

16.8%

3.2% why most participants want to 15.8% GABBA. This might be the reason

11.6% Before elementary school

After college

No 77%

Do not remember 17%

Yes and I was a part of it 4%

explore something that is either completely different or somewhat 4.2% different as their PhD project than what they had worked with before.

I don’t know

1.1% Other

High College Only Elementary 17% ofMiddle the participants chose to work on something similar to school school school

what they had worked on before. This could reflect the careful selection of the students by the Coordinating Committee and the core values of the Program.

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D ou

47%

1% I don't know

Applied 1% Completely Complet For the next question, Basic we wanted to take our participants back in time Student 28%

Alumnus 72%

differen different 40%

21%

30%

and ask “When did you realize you liked science/research?”. Over 90% 40% of the participants remember when science or research became something important for them. For the majority, that interest began in high school. Surprisingly, over 25% realized they liked science at a very young age, either before or during elementary school. Over 20% If yes, are you currently doing research?

urrent job science-related?

No 4%

entary ool

17.9% Yes

15.8%

Before elementary school

No 76%

1.1% Other

24% 3.2% After college

No 77%

4.2% I don’t know Elementary

Middle

school school Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

High school

College

Did anyone inspire you to be a scientist?

realized their interest in science/research during or after their university Somewhat similar 41% 41%

No

studies, which could perhaps raise the question of44%whether there is Not

I don't know 1%

poor advertisement and/or 2% understanding of research career paths 1%in Completely Completely Similar

Not applicable

different different

applicable

Yes 55%

17%

40% 40%age brackets. younger

In fact, when asked about the existence of a science club at school, almost 80% of participants answered no. However, of the 6% of

current job science-related? ou realize you liked science/research?

es 5.8% 0%

29.5%

applicable 1%

47%

Basic 30%

programs, science fairs, etc)

Yes, in industry 8%16.8%

Yes, in an academic institution 11.6% 80%

“Over 20% realized their interest in science/research during or after their university a studies, which could perhaps raise the question if there is poor advertisement u more interested in basic or and/or applied biology? understanding of research right © Free Vector Maps.com career paths in younger age brackets.”

Not Both

Applied 21%

Other 4%

No 8%

Not applicable 6%

s %

Did you have exposure to science/research

When did you realize you liked science/research?

Did your outside of school? (through science outreach

If yes, are you currently doing research?

Did your school have a science club?

No 4%

29.5% 16.8%

17.9% Not applicable 6%

Other 4% Yes, but I was not Yes, in a part of it industry 8%2%

No 8%

3.2% After college

Yes, in an academic institution No 80% 77%

Do not remember 17%

Yes and I was a part of it 4%

Did you have exposure to science/research If could go back in time, would outside of school? (through science outreach you pursue a PhD? programs, science fairs, etc)

Absolutely!

72% No 76%

Yes 24%

Maybe 26%

Hell no!

1% No 1%

4.2% I don’t know Middle school

High school

College

u more interested in basic or applied biology?

Not

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Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

Did anyone inspire you to be a scientist?

participants that had a science club, two thirds reported they had been a part of the club.

When analyzing the level of exposure to science outside of school, almost 80% replied to not have had any experience. These statistics could lead one to conclude that investment on and development of more science outreach programs and science fairs would be a good solution to draw in the attention of potential young scientists.

In Portugal, the program Ciência Viva has a strong presence in the science outreach world, promoting several activities with schools and running

Pavilhão

do

Conhecimento,

science

museums

and

Planetariums. It is also important to mention the efforts of our very own GABBA-born association ATG, which has been running and promoting the Maria de Sousa Summer Research Program since 2017. This program supports high-school students who apply to spend 2 weeks during summer conducting research in a laboratory, supervised by an “(…) many of the participants said they were inspired when learning about genetics, with some even mentioning Mendelian genetics or Darwin’s theory of natural selection specifically.”

ATG member (see page 43 for details on this year’s edition).

There is a vast number of quotes about science, but one that might be the most well-known and appropriate for the next set of questions is one by Albert Einstein:

“I am neither clever nor especially gifted. I am only very, very curious”.

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Indeed, the two most important things that drive us to be scientists appear to be curiosity and a love for science. Contrastingly, we seem “(…) the two most important things that drive us to be scientists appear to be curiosity and a love for science.”

to be well aware that it is not the most financially rewarding profession, as 0% replied that money was a factor when deciding to become a scientist. Also worthy of note is that almost 10% stated someone had encouraged them to become a scientist.

,ntly aredoing you currently doing research?

Did you have exposure to science/research Why did you decide Why did to (even be a scient research?

Did you have exposure to science/research to you be adecide scientist if you outside of school? (through science outreach are no longer in science)?

Choose When it comes to becoming inspired by someone to become a outside of school? (through science outreach are no longer in science)? Choose all that apply.

Other Other No programs, science fairs, etc) No programs, science fairs, etc) 4% Yes, in an academic institution 80%

8%

Yes, in industry 8%

Yes, in industry 8%

“A majority of participants also shed light on a different perspective, stating that the moment they decided to become scientists was after contributing to science itself!”

scientist, the answers were significantly higher than the 10% of the

74.7%

24%

24%

Not applicable 2%Similar etely Completely imilar different ent 17% 17% % 40%

20%

Chance

Chance

20%

inspired. As our questionnaire reveals, the majority of us9.5% are Someone inspired encouraged you t No 76%

No 76%

9.5%

Someone encouraged you to do it

Other 4.2% Other respectively).

4.2% 31%, by our teachers or other scientists (33% and This 0%

Money

0%

Money

once again highlights the importance of school science programs and outreach during early educational years. Family also seems to play a

/is thesisfield on the on your the same of same field of Did anyone you to be a scientist? rch you had previously on?

Did anyone inspire you to inspire be a scientist? eviously worked on? worked Somewhat similar 41% 41%

Curiosi

63.2% previous Yes question, with beenLove for science Yes a majority of 55% stating they had 63.2% Frequency, %

4%

Frequency, %

8%

No 44%

Not applicable 2% Yes 55%

If you yes, who?

If you answered yes, answered who?

Friend 6%

No 44%

Not applicable 1% Yes 55%

Not applicable 1%

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If could go back in time, would d your school have a science club?If could go back in time, would

Scientist 31%

Teacher 33%

Other Scientist 10% 31%

Friend 6% Other 10% Parent 11%

Parent 11%

Teacher 33% Other relative 9%

Other re 9%

role, with 20% of participants saying a parent or another relative had inspired them to become a scientist.

It seems that becoming a scientist could stem from pure chance or by inspiration. And the source for this inspiration differs widely, whether it being encouraged by someone or just by knowledge itself. When asked to describe the exact moment when they decided to become a “(…) the majority of us are inspired by our teachers or other scientists (33% and 31%, respectively).”

scientist, many of the participants said they were inspired when learning about genetics, with some even mentioning Mendelian genetics or Darwin’s theory of natural selection specifically.

Once more, the importance of science outside the lessons we are taught during our academic years was made clear, with participants mentioning books and TV series about science, visiting laboratory facilities and even looking into a microscope for the first time as the driving forces to becoming a scientist.

Some of us have always wanted to be a scientist, others knew during middle school when exposed to scientific modules such as physics, chemistry and biology. Others knew later, during the transition years encompassing high-school and entering graduate studies at university.

The majority of participants also shed light on a different perspective,

“However, to some of us, becoming a scientist is still an ongoing decision.”

stating that the moment they decided to become scientists was after contributing to science itself! Many said that this moment came after writing a thesis or after being in a laboratory undertaking experiments hands-on. However, to some of us, becoming a scientist is still an ongoing decision.

Perhaps two (somewhat longer) answers stood out in this part of the questionnaire that we now share with you all, as they evidence the

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crucial love of perpetual learning so beautifully characteristic of scientists: “(…) A special moment at university was also realizing that the textbooks were just "old" accumulated knowledge and the cutting edge of human knowledge was in the

“A special moment at university was also realizing that the textbooks were just "old" accumulated knowledge and the cutting edge of human knowledge was in the scientific literature.”

scientific literature. This was also at the time when science was coming online and there was this amazing feeling of being able to just read my way to any frontier of knowledge that I wanted and take part in the discoveries.”

“(…) Then, during high school, when I had contact with the practicals in biology and chemistry, I had the full realization that the best way to discover new things and to learn forever, was to be a scientist.”

Perhaps the moment where this learning process is most intense is at the PhD level. So, when our participants were faced with the question of going back in time, over 70% answered they would “Absolutely!” pursue a PhD again. Only 2% responded they would not.

“(…) I had the full realization that the best way to discover new things and to learn forever, was to be a scientist.”

To finalize this section, we invite you to read the detailed answers some of our members gave to this questionnaire.

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Pedro Resende GABBA 11th edition, Class of 2007 Former ATG President

Graduation Year 2013 GABBA status Alumnus Gender Male Age 36

Where do you currently live?

Porto, Portugal

Is your current job science-related?

Yes.

If yes, are you currently doing research?

I am a stem cell biologist at i3S, Porto. I have my own independent line of research under Dr Claudio Sunkel´s group. We are studying how aneuploidy impacts stem cell behavior in vivo, using Drosophila as a model organism.

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What did you graduate on?

Biology.

Are you more interested in basic or applied biology?

There are different understandings of what those terms mean. If we consider the over-simplistic criteria on which basic research (or fundamental research, as many prefer) aims to generate knowledge to advance our understanding on a specific biological phenomenon and to re-write scientific textbooks, while the applied biology aims to develop a new treatment or an industrial product, I can say that I have worked on both sides of the spectrum. These days, we have accumulated so many examples of how important “basic” research is, or on how quickly “basic” can turn into “applied” and vice-versa, that it is appalling from a society point of view, to watch a growing trend to fund on “applied” research at the expense of “basic”.

“(…) we have accumulated so many examples of how important “basic” research is, or on how quickly “basic” can turn into “applied” and viceversa, that it is appalling from a society point of view, to watch a growing trend to fund on “applied” research at the expense of “basic”.”

Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

Kind of, I was interested in stem cell behavior in vivo, but I was not asking questions related to genomic stability.

When did you realize you liked science/research?

Final years of high school.

Did your school have a science club?

No, unfortunately.

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Did you have exposure to science/research outside of school? (through science outreach programs, science fairs, etc) “I remember going to some talks at Visionarium in Aveiro while still a high school student (...)”

I remember going to some talks at Visionarium in Aveiro while still a high school student, but I don't remember how I ended up there, if through a school program or by personal initiative.

Why did you decide to be a scientist (even if you are no longer in science)?

I don´t remember a very specific moment where I “decided” to follow a career in science. It was a decision matured over many years and that I still question every once in a while.

Did anyone inspire you to be a scientist?

One person in particular definitely not. It was more about a mixed group of people: teachers, friends, scientists, family.

If could go back in time, would you pursue a PhD? Yes, but I must say that I don't consider it necessary to have a successful “I don´t remember a very specific moment where I “decided” to follow a career in science. It was a decision matured over many years and that I still question every once in a while.”

career.

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Olga Sin GABBA 13th edition, Class of 2009

Graduation Year 2016 GABBA status Alumnus Gender Female Age 33

Where do you currently live?

Switzerland

Is your current job science-related?

Yes.

What did you graduate on?

I graduated on "Aggregation-promoting factors in neurodegenerative diseases".

Are you more interested in basic or applied biology?

Basic biology.

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Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

Yes.

When did you realize you liked science/research?

When I went on my very first scientific summer activity "Genetic Engineering", organized by Ciência Viva. I worked under the supervision of Margarida Gama-Carvalho, in Maria do Carmo's lab.

Yes, one day my mother showed me an advertisement from Ciência Viva in the Lidl newspaper. (…) a scientific summer activity called "Genetic Engineering", organized by Margarida Gama-Carvalho, in Maria do Carmo's lab. This was my very first contact with a research laboratory. I spent two months learning how to do basic molecular biology and attending lab meetings. A whole new world opened before my eyes!”

Did your school have a science club?

No.

Did you have exposure to science/research outside of school? (through science outreach programs, science fairs, etc) Yes, one day my mother showed me an advertisement from Ciência Viva in the Lidl newspaper. That day happened to be the deadline and I applied on the same day to a scientific summer activity called "Genetic Engineering", organized by Margarida Gama-Carvalho, in Maria do Carmo's lab. This was my very first contact with a research laboratory. I spent two months learning how to do basic molecular biology and attending lab meetings. A whole new world opened before my eyes!

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Why did you decide to be a scientist (even if you are no longer in science)?

I'm driven by the thrill of the unknown behind a research question and all the unexpected possibilities it can lead to. It makes me do what I “Alexander von Humboldt. (…) I admire him for being one of the first to advocate for nature as a living organism, a web of life, and for having the capacity to investigate the natural world in a telescopic and microscopic way.”

love: learn and understand the world around me a little bit more.

Share with us the moment/time when you decided to become a scientist.

When I organized a school trip for my classmates to Maria do Carmo's laboratory and presented my work as a result of a summer activity organized by Ciência Viva.

Did anyone inspire you to be a scientist?

My mother, even though she is not a scientist. Somehow, she always believed I could actually stand a chance at this, haha! But also, Alexander von Humboldt. Even though he is not known for discovering anything, his sense of wonder of the natural world and his outspoken love for Nature, art, poetry, the subjective and objective is something that fascinates me. I admire him for being one of the first to advocate for nature as a living organism, a web of life, and for having the capacity to investigate the natural world in a telescopic and microscopic way.

If could go back in time, would you pursue a PhD? Yes, absolutely, not only for the scientific but also personal growth.

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AndrĂŠ Sousa GABBA 11th edition, Class of 2007 Former ATG President Graduation Year 2013 GABBA status Alumnus Gender Male Age 36 Where do you currently live?

New Haven, CT

Is your current job science-related?

Yes.

If yes, are you currently doing research?

During my graduate and early postdoctoral training I have identified several genes that display human-specific expression patterns during development, especially prenatally, in several brain regions. I am currently identifying the regulatory mechanisms that drive those expression patterns and I am functionally characterizing those genes (well, of the proteins) using a combination of mouse models, brain organoids, and assembloids.

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What did you graduate on?

Biology “The interesting thing is that there is not much difference [between basic and applied science] on how you do research; the difference is more on the final product.”

Are you more interested in basic or applied biology?

I was always more interested in basic biology and I think I still am.

However, I did participate in a couple of studies that were more applied and I had a lot of fun. The interesting thing is that there is not much difference on how you do research; the difference is more on the final product.

Was/is your thesis on the same field of research you had previously worked on?

No, it was completely different. I had worked mostly in enzymology and toxicology and I did my thesis on human brain development and evolution.

When did you realize you liked science/research?

I don’t know. If I look back, I think the signs that I was going to be a scholar were there from the very beginning of elementary school.

“I think I ended up choosing to study sciences because I could still do all the others things I loved in parallel. (…)

However, the opposite would be impossible. It’s impossible to do decent science as a hobby.”

However, I liked, and still do, to do so many different things. I love biology, but also music, philosophy, history, film studies... I think I ended up choosing to study sciences because I could still do all the others things I loved in parallel. I still do a lot of them. However, the opposite would be impossible. It’s impossible to do decent science as a hobby.

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Did your school have a science club?

No.

Did you have exposure to science/research outside of school? (through science outreach programs, science fairs, etc) No, all my time outside of school was spent around music: in classes, practicing, and playing.

Why did you decide to be a scientist (even if you are no longer in science)?

I didn’t decide to become a scientist. I always chose to study the things I found to be most interesting. I actually liked mathematics and physics “I think I eventually became a scientist without ever deciding to be one.”

more than biology in high school. However, I thought I would likely be bored by the type of research that is done in those fields and, therefore, decided to become a biologist. I think I eventually became a scientist without ever deciding to be one.

Did anyone inspire you to be a scientist?

No. I got interested in science because it allows me to understand how things work, not because I admired someone and wanted to be like that person. That being said, I do have a huge list of scientists I admire, but this list is way too long to name them all here…

If could go back in time, would you pursue a PhD? Yes.

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Thank you to everyone who answered the questionnaire and provided this insight, we are sure some of you could have taken completely different conclusions and focused on different percentages within each graph – but isn’t that what also keeps research going?

Thank you for going back to basics with us, we hope you enjoyed the ride “Back to the Future”!

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ATG: A City of Knowledge.

Let’s take another look at a few of our citizens and some of their knowledge published since our last issue!

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Part I. Knowledge Telmo Catarino & Ana Rita Araújo

“... [Sousa’s publication] demonstrates that X chromosome inactivation at the onset of stem cell differentiation takes place in males and on both X chromosomes in females.”

“... [Sousa’s work] was highlighted in Science as an Editor choice.”

In this edition of the ATG Newsletter, we are proud to share with this community the great scientific contributions of the GABBA students and alumni, since the last newsletter. Among the list of publications, there are several articles that were published in prestigious high impact journals (original publications as first or last author) that we will highlight here.

Cell Biology and Disease

Elsa Sousa from the 17th GABBA edition is a recent graduate from José Silva Lab also an alumnus from the 2nd GABBA edition at University of Cambridge. Their work published in Cell Stem Cell demonstrates that X chromosome inactivation at the onset of stem cell differentiation takes place in males and on both X chromosomes in females. This is a transient and rapid phenomenon that is triggered by downregulation of native pluripotent transcription factors. This work was highlighted in Science as an Editor choice.

Sousa, E. J., Stuart, H. T., Bates, L. E., Ghorbani, M., Nichols, J., Dietmann, S., & Silva, J. C. R. (2018). Exit from Naive Pluripotency Induces a Transient X Chromosome Inactivation-like State in Males. Cell Stem Cell,22(6), 919-928.e6.

Osswald, M., Santos, A. F., & Morais-de-Sa, E. (2019). Light-Induced Protein Clustering for Optogenetic Interference and Protein Interaction Analysis in Drosophila S2 Cells. Biomolecules, 9(2).

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Moreira, S., Osswald, M., Ventura, G., Goncalves, M., Sunkel, C. E., & Morais-de-Sa, E. (2019). PP1-Mediated Dephosphorylation of Lgl Controls Apical-basal Polarity. Cell Reports, 26(2), 293-301.e7.

Correia-Melo, C., Birch, J., Fielder, E., Rahmatika, D., Taylor, J., Chapman, J., …

Passos, J. F. (2019). Rapamycin improves healthspan but not inflammaging in nfkappab1(-/-) mice. Aging Cell, 18(1), e12882.

Anderson, R., Lagnado, A., Maggiorani, D., Walaszczyk, A., Dookun, E., Chapman, J., … Passos, J. F. (2019). Length-independent telomere damage drives postmitotic cardiomyocyte senescence. The EMBO Journal, 38(5).

Gomes, A. M., Kurochkin, I., Chang, B., Daniel, M., Law, K., Satija, N., … Pereira, C.F. (2018). Cooperative Transcription Factor Induction Mediates Hemogenic Reprogramming. Cell Reports, 25(10), 2821-2835.e7.

Polvora-Brandao, D., Joaquim, M., Godinho, I., Aprile, D., Alvaro, A. R., Onofre, I., … da Rocha, S. T. (2018). Loss of hierarchical imprinting regulation at the Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome locus in human iPSCs. Human Molecular Genetics, 27(23), 3999–4011.

“...[Trigo’s publication explores] the role of the retinoic acid receptor signaling as an enhancer of mitochondrial proliferation, speed and movement toward the growing end of the neuron via hypoxiainducible factor 1α signaling, during neurite outgrowth.”

Neurosciences

Diogo Trigo is an alumnus from the 12th GABBA edition and is currently working at IBimed, University of Aveiro, in the process of aggregation in ageing with a focus on neurodegeneration. As a result of his work as a Post-doc at the Corcoran Lab, King’s College London, he published a study exploring the role of the retinoic acid receptor signaling as an enhancer of mitochondrial proliferation, speed and movement toward the growing end of the neuron via hypoxia-inducible factor 1α signaling, during neurite outgrowth.

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Trigo, D., Goncalves, M. B., & Corcoran, J. P. T. (2019). The regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in neurite outgrowth by retinoic acid receptor beta signaling. FASEB Journal: Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 33(6), 7225–7235.

Brugada-Ramentol, V., Clemens, I., & de Polavieja, G. G. (2019). Active control as evidence in favor of sense of ownership in the moving Virtual Hand Illusion.

Consciousness and Cognition, 71, 123–135.

Camacho, M., Almeida, S., Moura, A. R., Fernandes, A. B., Ribeiro, G., da Silva, J. A., … Oliveira-Maia, A. J. (2018). Hypomania Symptoms Across Psychiatric Disorders: Screening Use of the Hypomania Check-List 32 at Admission to an Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, 527.

Bastos, C. A. C., Afreixo, V., Rodrigues, J. M. O. S., Pinho, A. J., & Silva, R. M. (2019).

Distribution of Distances Between Symmetric Words in the Human Genome: Analysis of Regular Peaks. Interdisciplinary Sciences, Computational Life Sciences.

Rachinas-Lopes, P., Ribeiro, R., Dos Santos, M. E., & Costa, R. M. (2018). D-Track-A semi-automatic 3D video-tracking technique to analyse movements and routines of aquatic animals with application to captive dolphins. PloS One, 13(8), e0201614.

Genetics and Gene Expression

“Their [Beltrão and Sousa’s] recent work highlighted the importance of posttranscriptional control of protein abundance in cancer and healthy cells.”

Abel Sousa from the 20th GABBA edition is a PhD student at EMBL-EBI co-supervised by Pedro Beltrão also a GABBA member from the 6th edition. Their recent work highlighted the importance of post-transcriptional control of protein abundance in cancer and healthy cells. Using gene copy number, mRNA and protein data from hundreds of cancer samples, they were able to identify up to 40% of genes that have DNA copy number attenuated at the protein level and this might be driven by active degradation of unbound complex subunits.

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Sousa, A., Goncalves, E., Mirauta, B., Ochoa, D., Stegle, O., & Beltrao, P. (2019).

Multi-omics characterization of interaction-mediated control of human protein abundance levels. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics: MCP.

Bradley, D., & Beltrao, P. (2019). Evolution of protein kinase substrate recognition at the active site. PLoS Biology,17(6), e3000341.

Invergo, B. M., & Beltrao, P. (2018). Reconstructing phosphorylation signalling networks from quantitative phosphoproteomic data. Essays in Biochemistry, 62(4), 525–534.

Strumillo, M. J., Oplova, M., Vieitez, C., Ochoa, D., Shahraz, M., Busby, B. P., …

Beltrao, P. (2019). Conserved phosphorylation hotspots in eukaryotic protein domain families. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1977.

Wagih, O., Galardini, M., Busby, B. P., Memon, D., Typas, A., & Beltrao, P. (2018).

A resource of variant effect predictions of single nucleotide variants in model organisms. Molecular Systems Biology, 14(12), e8430.

Silva, A. M., Almeida, M. I., Teixeira, J. H., Ivan, C., Oliveira, J., Vasconcelos, D., …

Santos, S. G. (2018). Profiling the circulating miRnome reveals a temporal regulation of the bone injury response. Theranostics, 8(14), 3902–3917.

Huylmans, A. K., Toups, M. A., Macon, A., Gammerdinger, W. J., & Vicoso, B. (2019). Sex-Biased Gene Expression and Dosage Compensation on the Artemia franciscana Z-Chromosome. Genome Biology and Evolution, 11(4), 1033–1044.

Fraisse, C., Puixeu Sala, G., & Vicoso, B. (2019). Pleiotropy Modulates the Efficacy of Selection in Drosophila melanogaster. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 36(3), 500–515.

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Cancer Research

Andreia Pinho from GABBA 9th edition is working at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia, exploring the response and resistance of melanoma to immune and targeted therapies. Andreia is the first author of a study resulting from her Post-doc at The Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. She reported Robo2 as a non-autonomous stroma suppressor gene that restrains myofibroblast activation and T-cell infiltration. Her work suggests that the expression of this gene in pancreatic cancer patients may guide therapy with stroma or immune modulating agents.

“[Pinho’s] work suggests that the expression of this gene in pancreatic cancer patients may guide therapy with stroma or immune modulating agents.”

Pinho, A. V, Van Bulck, M., Chantrill, L., Arshi, M., Sklyarova, T., Herrmann, D., …

Rooman, I. (2018). ROBO2 is a stroma suppressor gene in the pancreas and acts via TGF-beta signalling. Nature Communications, 9(1), 5083.

Duarte, D., Amarteifio, S., Ang, H., Kong, I. Y., Ruivo, N., Pruessner, G., … Lo Celso, C. (2019). Defining the in vivo characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia cells behavior by intravital imaging. Immunology and Cell Biology, 97(2), 229–235.

Rocha, S., Teles, S. P., Azevedo, M., Oliveira, P., Carvalho, J., & Oliveira, C. (2019).

Gastric Cancer Extracellular Vesicles Tune the Migration and Invasion of Epithelial and Mesenchymal Cells in a Histotype-Dependent Manner.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(11).

Vieira-Silva, T. S., Monteiro-Reis, S., Barros-Silva, D., Ramalho-Carvalho, J., Graca, I., Carneiro, I., … Jeronimo, C. (2019). Histone variant MacroH2A1 is downregulated in prostate cancer and influences malignant cell phenotype.

Cancer Cell International, 19, 112.

Moreira-Barbosa, C., Barros-Silva, D., Costa-Pinheiro, P., Torres-Ferreira, J., Constancio, V., Freitas, R., … Jeronimo, C. (2018). Comparing diagnostic and

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prognostic performance of two-gene promoter methylation panels in tissue biopsies and urines of prostate cancer patients. Clinical Epigenetics, 10(1), 132.

Akkapeddi, P., Fragoso, R., Hixon, J. A., Ramalho, A. S., Oliveira, M. L., Carvalho, T., … Barata, J. T. (2019). A fully human anti-IL-7Ralpha antibody promotes antitumor activity against T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia.

Gomes, S. D., Oliveira, C. S., Azevedo-Silva, J., Casanova, M., Barreto, J., Pereira, H., … Preto, A. (2018). The Role of Diet Related Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Colorectal Cancer Metabolism and Survival: Prevention and Therapeutic Implications. Current Medicinal Chemistry.

Rosa, M. N., Evangelista, A. F., Leal, L. F., De Oliveira, C. M., Silva, V. A. O., Munari, C. C., … Reis, R. M. (2019). Establishment, molecular and biological characterization of HCB-514: a novel human cervical cancer cell line. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1913.

Leal, L. F., de Paula, F. E., De Marchi, P., de Souza Viana, L., Pinto, G. D. J., Carlos, C. D., … Reis, R. M. (2019). Mutational profile of Brazilian lung adenocarcinoma unveils association of EGFR mutations with high Asian ancestry and independent prognostic role of KRAS mutations. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 3209.

Silva, V. A. O., Rosa, M. N., Martinho, O., Tanuri, A., Lima, J. P., Pianowski, L. F., & Reis, R. M. (2019). Modified ingenol semi-synthetic derivatives from Euphorbia tirucalli induce cytotoxicity on a large panel of human cancer cell lines.

Investigational New Drugs.

Laus, A. C., de Paula, F. E., de Lima, M. A., Carlos, C. D., Gomes, I. N. F., de Marchi, P., … Reis, R. M. (2019). EGF+61 A>G polymorphism is not associated with lung cancer risk in the Brazilian population. Molecular Biology Reports, 46(2), 2417–2425.

Munari, F. F., Cruvinel-Carloni, A., Lacerda, C. F., de Oliveira, A. T. T., Scapulatempo-Neto, C., da Silva, S. R. M., … Reis, R. M. (2018). PIK3CA mutations are frequent in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma associated with chagasic megaesophagus and are associated with a worse patient outcome.

Infectious Agents and Cancer, 13, 43.

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Immunology

Diana Saleiro from the 12th GABBA edition is currently a Research Assistant at Leonidas Platanias lab, at Northwestern University, D.C., U.S.A., where she is dedicated to the definition of cellular signaling pathways regulated by interferon receptors. She recently described a previously unknown, ULK1-mediated and autophagy-independent, IFN-γ pathway that appears to be a key element of the antiviral response.

“[Saleiro] recently described a previously unknown, ULK1-mediated and autophagyindependent, IFN-γ pathway that appears to be a key element of the antiviral response.”

Saleiro, D., Blyth, G. T., Kosciuczuk, E. M., Ozark, P. A., Majchrzak-Kita, B., Arslan, A. D., … Platanias, L. C. (2018). IFN-gamma-inducible antiviral responses require ULK1-mediated activation of MLK3 and ERK5. Science Signaling, 11(557).

Rodrigues, P. M., Ribeiro, A. R., Serafini, N., Meireles, C., Di Santo, J. P., & Alves, N. L. (2018). Intrathymic Deletion of IL-7 Reveals a Contribution of the Bone Marrow to Thymic Rebound Induced by Androgen Blockade. Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md.: 1950), 200(4), 1389–1398.

Siva-Jothy, J. A., Monteith, K. M., & Vale, P. F. (2018). Navigating infection risk during oviposition and cannibalistic foraging in a holometabolous insect.

Behavioral Ecology: Official Journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology,29(6), 1426–1435.

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It would be great to count with your help for the next ATG Newsletter If you are willing to help, just write us an email.

We will take all the help & ideas you may have.

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ATG News Mafalda Azevedo RECENT GRADUATES

Filipa Neto, GABBA 14th Thesis: Yap and Taz in endothelial cell biology. Mentor: Holger Gerhardt, PhD (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin). Defense date: 07-122018.

Ana Maria Fonseca, GABBA 15th Thesis: Development of a pregnancy-specific serology test to track malaria transmission intensities. Mentor: Alfredo Mayor, PhD (Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, CRESIB, University of Barcelona). Defense date: 20-12-2018.

André Sousa, GABBA 16th Thesis: Exploring the mechanisms of systems memory consolidation in the mammalian brain. Mentor: Mark Mayford, PhD (The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego). Defense date: 28-01-2019.

Dário F. de Jesus, GABBA 15th Thesis: Investigating epigenetic reprograming mechanisms in the offspring of a non-dietary model of insulin resistance. Mentor: Rohit Kulkarni, MD, PhD (Harvard Medical School, Boston). Defense date: 06-03-2019.

Raquel Real, GABBA 17th Thesis: Contribution of human iPSCs to the study of neuron development and disease modelling in vivo Mentor: Vincenzo De Paola, PhD (Imperial College London, London). Defense date: 16-05-2019.

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Maria de Sousa Summer Research Program 2019

ATG has the pleasure to announce the Third Edition of the “Maria de Sousa Summer Research Program”.

The “Maria de Sousa Summer Research Program” is an ATG initiative which aims to provide University students with the chance to get acquainted with the world of scientific research. The program consists of a 2-week internship in a Portuguese research institute, under the supervision of an ATG member. It includes a monetary prize to be awarded to participating students, to help with transportation, food and other costs.

Projeto: Explorar o autismo no laboratório usando “mini-cérebros” 3D Local: CNC - Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Coimbra Investigador Responsável: Catarina Seabra

É cada vez maior o número de crianças diagnosticadas com perturbações do espetro do autismo. Esta condição afeta cerca de 1% da população mundial e 1 em cada 1000 crianças em idade escolar em Portugal. O autismo surge devido a alterações durante o desenvolvimento do cérebro, o que leva ao aparecimento de dificuldades tanto na comunicação e interação social e à presença de interesses restritos e comportamentos repetitivos. Para melhor compreender estes distúrbios é essencial o acesso a amostras de pacientes, por isso, um objetivo principal deste estudo passa pela colheita e utilização de células estaminais presentes em dentes de leite e dentes do siso provenientes de indivíduos com autismo. Um outro objetivo é desenvolver organoides cerebrais 3D a partir dessas células estaminais. Os organoides cerebrais são também conhecidos como “mini-cérebros” por mimetizarem o processo de maturação cerebral e servem para estudar as características fundamentais do autismo. Ao serem desenvolvidos no laboratório, pode-se prestar especial atenção às mudanças morfológicas dos neurónios e à sua comunicação entre sinapses. O grupo de Circuitos Neuronais e Comportamento está localizado no CNC (Centro de Neurociências e Biologia Celular, Coimbra) e foca-se em usar uma combinação de abordagens de genética molecular, microscopia e eletrofisiologia para estudar doenças do foro do neurodesenvolvimento.

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Projeto: The role of autophagy and mitophagy in protein aggregation during ageing Local: iBiMED - Institute of Biomedicine, Aveiro Investigador Responsável: Diogo Trigo

Protein aggregation is the biological process by which misfolded and aberrant proteins accumulate and clump together. The regulation of mitochondria function by mitophagy, a process believed to play a major role in cellular homeostasis, declines with ageing, and recent results have associated gradual increase of protein aggregation associated with the process of ageing.

The selected student will be involved characterising cellular autophagy and mitophagy in ageing human cells, helping unravel the role of mitochondria regulation to potentiate healthy ageing. Using cultured human fibroblast cell lines, the student will apply biochemical and molecular biological tools to characterise differently challenged human cells.

Projeto: Dopamine-dependent activity in the development of obesity Local: Fundação Champalimaud, Lisboa Investigador Responsável: Albino Oliveira Maia

Obesity has become of the one of the greatest threats to public health in the developed world, and currently there is no evidence that we are close to understand the underlying mechanisms in the control of feeding behaviors. Several lines of evidence indicate that dopaminergic neuronal signals are related to compulsive food intake and weight gain.

One of the proposed mechanisms is that dopamine signaling leads to overeating as a means to compensate for decreased activation of reward circuits. However, due to limitations in measuring neuronal activity in deep brain areas, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), where dopamine neuron cell bodies are found, causal correlations between dopamine synthesis and the onset and development of obesity are unknown.

Taking advantage of a novel in vivo imaging technique that allows for observation of activity, of well-defined neuronal populations, in deep brain structures, it is possible to measure, for the first time, the level of activation of dopamine-producing neurons during consumption of food.

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Projeto: Understanding apical-basal polarity in Drosophila epithelial tissue Local: i3S- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Porto Investigador Responsável: Eurico Morais de Sá

Epithelial tissues are critical compartmentalization barriers for multicellular organisms, providing specialized functions including the protection from the environment and the directional transport of selected molecules across tissues. These functions rely on the establishment of apical-basal cell polarity in epithelial cells, where cellular components, such as evolutionarily polarity protein complexes and cell-cell junctions, are asymmetrically distributed along an apical-basal axis, giving rise to functionally distinct subcellular domains. In the basolateral domain, the polarity protein and tumor suppressor Lethal Giant Larvae (Lgl) act together with Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble (Scrib) to regulate cell polarity by antagonizing the apical domain, thus ensuring the identity of the basolateral domain. However, how these three proteins cooperate to maintain interphase cell polarity, namely the basolateral localization of Lgl, is still largely unknown. In this project, the student will have an unique opportunity to learn basic concepts of fly genetics and handling, biochemical techniques and quantitative microscopy analysis using embryos and Drosophila follicle epithelium, while contributing to a current ongoing project which aims to understand the mechanisms that control the subcellular localization of the tumor suppressor and regulator of epithelial polarity Lgl.

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The GABBA Community keeps growing Are you an #iamgabba?

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook group to keep up with all the GABBA students and ATGs

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You reached the end of the ninth issue of the ATG member newsletter.

Will you help us prepare the next issue?

You can contribute with material for the existing sections or create new ones.

Together, we will make this newsletter grow!

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ATG - All Time GABBA The Alumni Association of the Graduate Program in Areas of Basic and Applied Biology University of Porto - Portugal

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