Born in Braga in 1978.
BSc in Applied Biology from the University of Minho, in 2000.
PhD in Materials Science and Technology – Tissue Engineering and Hybrid Materials from the University of Minho, in 2005, where he also completed his Habilitation in 2018
Between 2005-2008, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Toronto and at the Institute of Research in Life and Health Sciences (School of Medicine, University of Minho), with work dedicated to the study of the paracrine effects of stem cells on the central nervous system. Since 2021, he is a Coordinating Investigator at EMed/ICVS.
His main research area is directed towards the development of therapeutic strategies for central nervous system regenerative medicine through the use of stem cell secretome, combining areas such as namely stem cell biotechnology and bioreactors, hydrogels and controlled release systems, and 3D cellular models. He is the author of more than 180 scientific articles in indexed international journals, more than 20 book chapters and 2 patents, and has also edited a book.
He coordinated the participation of the University of Minho in 27 projects funded by national entities, international organizations and industrial partners, among which stand out the European Commission, La Caixa Foundation and Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation. Additionally, he was a member of the team in 17 projects. He supervised 24 doctoral students and 25 master's students, and mentored 7 postdoctoral researchers.
He was President of the Portuguese Society of Stem Cells and Cellular Therapies (2019-2023) and member of the Board of Directors of the European Society for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration (2014-2015).
As an invited speaker, he delivered more than 100 lectures at conferences and research institutes. He organized 12 international congresses and symposia, as well as several science dissemination activities in collaboration with members of the society in general, namely secondary schools and patient associations.
He held various positions in national and international scientific evaluation structures including FCT, Horizon Europe, European Research Council, European Innovation Council, among others.
He was Vice-President for Research at the School of Medicine of the University of Minho (2022-2025), President of the EMed Council (2021-2022), member of the ICVS Board (2022-2025), President of B.ACIS – Health Innovation Center (2024-2025), and member of the Doctoral Programme Committees in Health Sciences (2021-2024) and Biomedicine and Health Sciences (2024-2025), as well as member of the coordinating commission for researcher evaluation at EMed (2022-2025). He founded, and coordinated the thematic research team ReNEU until 2025.
Throughout his career, he received several awards and distinctions, among which stand out the Gulbenkian Research Prize in the Frontier of Life Sciences, the Melo and Castro Research Prize in spinal cord injuries, the Grünenthal Prize in Basic Research, and the Scientific Merit Award from the University of Minho.
