Venue

The meeting will be held at i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto.

Rua Alfredo Allen, 208; 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351 220 408 800 | Site: http://www.i3s.up.pt/ | E-mail: events@i3s.up.pt
GPS coordinates: 41º 10’ 30.008’’ N, 8º 36’ 12.488’’ W.

Organization

Diana Nascimento
Judite Barbosa
Maria Inês Almeida
Mário Barbosa
Susana Santos

Program

Day 21 June

08:45-09:15 Registration

09:15-09:30 Welcome

09:30-10:30 Targeting non coding RNAs in fibroproliferative diseases: the example of DNM3OS
Christelle Cauffiez, University of Lille

10:30-11:00 Selected oral communications

Flávia Sofia Maia Rodrigues:
F. Rodrigues, M. Bexiga, A. Varanda, M. Mano
Dissection of the role of microRNAs in cardiac fibrosis through functional genomics screenings

Sara Moura:
SR Moura, J Freitas, MA Barbosa, MI Almeida
Modulation of H19 to change extracellular matrix components in a fibrotic context

11:00-11:30 Coffee break

11:30-12:30 What can we learn from zebrafish, a non-scaring regeneration model?
Leonor Saúde, iMM - Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes

12:30-13:00 Selected oral communications

Beatriz Custódio:
B. Custódio, J.F. Marques, J. Bessa, S.D. Santos, A.P. Pêgo
A zebrafish stroke model to screen neuroprotective nanoformulations

Rita Gomes:
Rita N. Gomes, Filipa Manuel, Cassilda Pereira, Diana S. Nascimento
Profiling cardiac fibroblasts in regenerative hearts after myocardial infarction

13.00 – 13.05 Sponsor Talk - Alfagene

13:05-14:30 Lunch and exhibition

14:30-15:30 Cellular and molecular critical modulators of lung differentiation, inflammation and fibrosis
Sandra Costa, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), Universidade do Minho

15.30 – 16.00 An immunomodulatory anti-proteolytic therapy based on mesenchymal stem/stromal cells secretome for intervertebral disc
Raquel M. Gonçalves, i3S

16.00 – 16.05 Sponsor Talk - Quimigen

16:05-16:35 Coffee break

16.35 – 17.05 Selected oral communications

Ana Luísa Castro:
AL Castro, C Ribeiro-Machado, C Oliveira, P Pereira, R Vaz, GQ Teixeira, C Neidlinger-Wilke, MA Barbosa, RM Gonçalves
Deepening the knowledge on Annulus Fibrosus Extracellular Matrix: dissecting fibrosis in intervertebral disc herniation

Rita F Santos:
Rita F. Santos, Patrícia Mota, Oksana Sokhatska, David Coelho, Catarina Cardoso, Natália Melo, André Terras, André Carvalho, Susana Guimarães, Conceição Souto Moura, Miguel Soares, Luís Delgado, António Morais, Margarida Saraiva & Helder Novais-Bastos
Unveiling common molecular pathways linked to ILDs with progressive fibrosing phenotype

17.05-17:20 Speed talks

Maria João Ramalho Fernandes:
Fernandes MJ, Sara RM, Freitas J, Marques H, Barbosa MA, Santos SG, Almeida MI
The role of hypoxia in multiple myeloma and the impact on communication with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells

Filipe Martins Maia Nogueira:
Filipe Nogueira, Andreia M. Silva, José H. Teixeira, Joana Oliveira, Maria Inês Almeida, Nuno Neves, Mário A. Barbosa, Susana G. Santos
The impact of inflammation on EV-mediated communication between Dendritic Cells and Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells

Cláudia Diniz
Cláudia Diniz, Pedro Vicente, Ana Filipa Louro, Beatriz A. Gamelas, Marta M. Silva, Paula M Alves, Margarida Serra
Scalable production of hiPSC-derived cardiac fibroblasts for myocardium regeneration

17:20-18:00 Exhibition and Cheese & Wine

20:00 Summer School Dinner

Day 22 June

9:30-10:30 Pathological mechanosensing in the failing heart
Giancarlo Forte, International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital (FNUSA-ICRC)

10:30-11:00 Embryonic substrates of cardiac fibrosis: cells and signals
J.M. Pérez-Pomares, University of Malaga

11:00-11:30 Coffee break

11:30-12:15 Selected oral communications

Adrián Ruiz Villalba:
Adrián Ruiz-Villalba, Silvia C. Hernandez, Marina Ainciburu, Amaia Vilas Zornoza, Laura Sudupe, Sarai Sarvide, Nuria Planell, Purificación Ripalda-Cemboráin, Gloria Abizanda, José Mª Pérez-Pomares, David Gomez-Cabrero, Felipe Prósper
Myocardial infarction ´through the window´: dual dynamics for cardiac fibroblasts activation

Elsa Silva:
Elsa D. Silva, Luísa Cerqueira, Andreia Silva, Francisco-Vasques Nóvoa, Inês Costa, Sofia Esteves, Nuno Santarém, Adelino Leite-Moreira, Perpétua Pinto-do-Ó, Susana G. Santos, Diana S. Nascimento
Circulating Extracellular Vesicles of HFpEF patients induce cellular senescence, endothelial dysfunction and cardiac fibrosis

Daniel Pereira de Sousa:
Daniel Pereira-Sousa, Francesco Niro, Ece Ergir, Jorge Oliver de la Cruz, Stefania Pagliari, Soraia Fernandes, Marco Cassani, Giancarlo Forte
Generation of a 3D patient-specific cardiac fibrosis model using iPSCs

12.15 – 12.20 Sponsor Talk - Enzifarma

12:20-14:00 Lunch and exhibition

14:00-15:00 Fibrosis, the good, the bad, and the ugly – A medical device perspective
Examples for soft tissue repair
Yves Bayon (Ph.D. - MBA), Chief Scientist at Medtronic, Sofradim Production

15:00-15:30 Challenges in the diagnosis and management of fibrosis
João Pedro Ferreira, Université de Lorraine, Inserm, Nancy, France; Faculty of Medicine, UP

15:30-16:00 Selected oral communications

Filipa Alexandra Lopes Simões da Silva
Filipa A. L. S. Silva, Licínia Timochenco, Soraia Pinto, Bruno Freitas, Laura Pires, Joana F. Moreira, José Ramiro Fernandes, Susana G. Santos, Maria J. Oliveira, Fernão D. Magalhães, Bruno Sarmento, Artur M. Pinto
Graphene-based materials/Carbopol hydrogels for phototherapy of skin diseases

Cristiana Maria Sousa Couto
CS Couto, K Chattahy, CL Pereira, I Teixeira, Flávia Sousa, M Lamghari, MA Barbosa, B Sarmento, RM Gonçalves, SG Santos
Immunomodulation of macrophage phenotype using ibuprofen-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles to promote cartilage repair

16.00 – 16.15 Speed Talks

Beatriz Ribeiro
Beatriz Cardoso Ribeiro, Kaoutar Chattahy, Joana Oliveira, Ana Luisa Castro, Mário A. Barbosa, Susana G. Santos, Raquel M. Gonçalves
Chitosan/poly-gamma-glutamic acid nanoparticles for delivery of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in articular cartilage

Nuno Rosa
Rosa N, Fiordalisi M, Santos S, Barbosa M
Uncovering a novel hydrogel-based therapeutic approach for Facet Joint Osteoarthritis

16:15-16:45 Coffee break

16:45-17:45 Round table
Leonor Saúde, Jose Perez-Pomares, João Pedro Ferreira, Marta Guimarães, Yves (online)

17.45-18.00 Closing Session & Awards

Speakers

Giancarlo Forte
International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital (FNUSA-ICRC)

Giancarlo Forte is Deputy Director for Science of the International Clinical Research Center, an Institute of excellence funded by the European Union within St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno, Czech Republic (FNUSA-ICRC).

He also serves as Head of the Center for Translational Medicine (CTM) at FNUSA-ICRC and holds an Adjunct Professor position in Cell Biology and Biomaterials at the University of Turku (Finland). Dr. Forte obtained his Master Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology in 2000 at the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy), where he also completed his Ph.D. in 2005 in Experimental Pathophysiology. During his Ph.D., he was a visiting researcher at the University Karls Eberhard in Tuebingen, Germany.

Next, he became a postdoctoral fellow at the Italian Institute for Cardiovascular Research (INRC), where he was awarded the Young Investigator Award for his research on cell-matrix interaction in 2008. During his postdoctoral experience, he was a visiting scientist at Tokyo Women’s Medical University (2006), and a visiting researcher at National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, 2010) in Japan.

In 2010 he was appointed a Senior Researcher position at NIMS, in Japan. And became a MANA Scientist at the World Premiere Institute for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) in the same Country.

In May 2013, he moved to a Senior Scientist position at the International Clinical Research Center (ICRC) at St. Anne’s University Hospital, Brno (Czech Republic), and then founded the Center for Translational Medicine (CTM), within the same Institution, of which he later became the Head.

His research group focuses mainly on the cell-specific response to pathological extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, with special attention to the defects in the regulation of mechanosensitive intracellular pathways as determinants of diseases.

So far, Dr. Forte authored more than 70 publications, 1 international patent, and 7 book chapters; his H-index is 24 according to Clarivate Scopus and his publications were cited more than 2400 times.

He is the founder of the Competence Center for Mechanobiology in Regenerative Medicine, an Austria-Czech Republic joint initiative and the first research center of this kind in the Czech Republic.

Dr. Forte serves as ad hoc reviewer for a number of international peer-reviewed journals which include Cardiovascular Research, Cell Reports, Journal of Cell Biology, Biomaterials, Nature Materials, and as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Physiology.

He is a long term member of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), Stem Cell Research Italy, the Platform for Advanced Cellular Therapies (PACT), and European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) organized and chaired 7 international meetings in Japan, Czech Republic, and Italy.

Due to his contribution to the prestige of the country abroad, dr. Forte was nominated Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the order of the Star of Italy) by the President of the Italian Republic in the year 2020.

During the year 2021, he was also honored with the Medaglia del Consiglio Regionale del Molise for his activity in promoting the image of the region in the world.

Leonor Saúde
iMM - Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes

Born in Covilhã (Portugal), Leonor Saúde finished her secondary education at Escola Secundária Joaquim de Carvalho, in Figueira da Foz (Portugal). She went on to study Biology at Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal. In 1996, she obtained a Master in Biochemical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal. In 2001, she obtained a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from University College London, UK.

In 2002, Leonor Saúde returned to Portugal for a postdoc at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras. In 2005, she set up her independent research group at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência and in 2008 she moved her lab to Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisboa, where she also serves as the Head of the Fish Facility since then and Member of the Executive Committee of the Training Hub since 2016. Leonor Saúde is an Invited Associate Professor at Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de Lisboa, where she teaches Histology and Developmental Biology since 2003.

Leonor Saúde won the Pfizer Prize for Basic Science (2005, 2021), the Fundación La Caixa Award (2019) and the Santa Casa Neurosciences Award (2020). She is a member of the Scientific Committee of TechnoZeb - TechnoPhage, SA since 2008 and a member of the Executive Board of the European Zebrafish Society (EZS) (2016-2021). Leonor Saúde is co-founder of the Portuguese Society for Developmental Biology (SPBD), where she served as Secretary (2011-2013), Vice-President (2013-2015) and President (2015-2017).

Leonor Saúde is a member of the Consultive Commission of Maratona da Saúde, a fundraising initiative launched in 2014 and she is co-founder and Vice-President of Associação Viver a Ciência, a science outreach initiative launched in 2004.

Sandra Costa
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS) Universidade do Minho

Sandra Costa graduated in Applied Biology from School of Sciences, University of Minho (Braga) in 2000, completed an MSc degree in Oncology from ICBAS, University of Porto (Porto) in 2003 and obtained a PhD degree in Health Sciences, Biological and Biomedical scientific area from School of Medicine, University of Minho (Braga) in 2007.

During her first post-doc at the Vesalius Research Center, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, in Massimiliano Mazzone lab, Dr. Sandra Costa explored the mechanisms wherein the skewing of macrophage polarization decisively dictated the outcome of ischemic diseases and cancer. In addition, she also addressed the role c-Met signaling in inflammatory cells, to define the mechanisms and critical cellular populations whereby c-Met inhibitors drive lung cancer. During her second post-doc, throughout which she became an invited assistant investigator, she started to expand her expertise into lung developmental biology, specifically in the identification of cellular populations critical for lung development and function.

Since 2015, she became an assistant investigator. Since then, her research goals are to bring more comprehension of immune cellular modulation on lung developmental, homeostasis and pathological contexts. Her research ambition is to generate new knowledge about immune cells regulation, as macrophages, and explore how to manipulate them to redirect the cellular mechanisms that favor lung differentiation and regeneration, opening new roots to developing potential therapeutic approaches for chronic lung diseases.

Christelle Cauffiez
University of Lille

Christelle Cauffiez is currently Professor of Cell Biology at the School of Medicine of Lille (University of Lille, France). Her research aims at evaluating the role played by non-coding RNAs in proliferative diseases such as cancer or fibrotic disorders. She is in charge of a research group that joined the UMR Canther (UMR9020 CNRS - UMR-S1277 Inserm) "Heterogeneity, Plasticity and Resistance of Cancers to Therapies" directed by Dr. Isabelle Van Seuningen, and has integrated the research team "Senescence, Fibrosis and Cancer" directed by Pr Corinne Abbadie.
Christelle Cauffiez was initially trained in Chemistry and Biotechnology at the ENSCR (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, France). She obtained a Master Degree in Toxicology in 2000 from the University of René Descartes (Paris) and completed her Ph.D in 2004 in Toxicology and Molecular Biology (EA2679, Pr Broly, Lille). She then joined the Karolinska Institute for a one year postdoctoral experience, working with Pr Ingelman-Sundberg in the Department of Molecular Toxicology (Stockholm, Sweden).
She was appointed in 2006 as Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine (University of lille) in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department and was finally promoted to full Professor in September 2020.
From 2011, her work, previously strongly focused on kidney genetic susceptibility to xenobiotics and pharmacogenetics of immunosuppressants in renal transplantation, has evolved towards the study of non-coding RNAs. She is now in charge of a research group entitled "Role of non-coding RNAs in proliferative processes".
So far, Pr. Cauffiez authored about 60 publications and 3 patents, with a h-index of 22 according to Clarivate Scopus. One of her recent publications received from the American College of Toxicology the 2021 award “Best Paper Published in International Journal of Toxicology”.

Yves Bayon (Ph.D. - MBA)
Chief Scientist at Medtronic, Sofradim Production

Yves Bayon is a former student of INSA Lyon, an Engineer in Biochemistry, and holds a Master II in Pharmacology from the University René Descartes Paris, a Doctorate in Biochemistry from INSA Lyon, and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from IAE Lyon.

The main part of his career was in the development of medical devices. With Imedex Biomaterials, he contributed to the development of the intellectual property portfolio on medical devices, in particular, based on collagen. This company became following a series of acquisitions integrated within Medtronic – Sofradim Production, in Trévoux (Ain). He has since carried out various missions, including setting up the production of porcine collagen and developing collagen-based medical devices for the repair or regeneration of soft tissues (eg Parietex™ Composite mesh and its derivatives with cumulative sales of over 1 Billion €). Its missions have broadened more recently since the acquisition by Medtronic in 2015, with transversal activities with the historical divisions of Medtronic (eg. cardiovascular, spine), in roles of consultancy and internal advice and with activities extended beyond biomaterials, in particular in connection with the digitization of medical devices (eg. AI-based solutions, e-health applications).

For a long time, in connection with the development activities of the Sofradim Production site, he has played key roles in setting up national and European collaborative projects and/or in their animation. Since 2010, he has also promoted exchanges between academics and industrialists through more than 15 symposia for learned societies, TERMIS-EU (Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society), ESB (European Society for Biomaterials). He is also a mentor to around ten European start-ups developing implantable medical devices and digital solutions. He is now a fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE). He is co-author of 76 publications and co-inventor of 34 families of patents with +9,000 citations.

Abstract Submission

The call for abstracts will be open until 13th May (notification of acceptance until 13th May).
We encourage all participants to submit an abstract with their most recent data, to be presented at the course. We expect to stimulate lively discussions and exchange of ideas between participants and speakers.
The abstract will be evaluated and selected either for oral or speed talk presentation.

Participants with accepted abstracts for oral or speed talks must complete the registration in the early bird period or the work will not be considered.

Participants that will perform the speed talk presentation should send their presentation in PDF or PPT until 30th May. Further details will be provided later.

The authors should follow the layout format of the template available on the website. The template is prepared in MS-word and can be downloaded:

Abstract template >>

Please submit your abstract:
Abstract submission form >>

Registration

The registration fee includes coffee breaks, lunches and the event material.

Early bird registration until 13th May | Payment deadline: 20th May 2022
Students* – 90 €
i3S members – 150 €
Other participants – 185 €

Normal registration until 27th May | Payment deadline: 3rd June 2022
Students* – 120 €
i3S members – 180 €
Other participants – 220 €

Social event registration fees:
Summer School Dinner: 25 €

REGISTRATION FORM >>

* Bachelor´s, Master´s, PhD’s Students
Students should enclose a letter confirming their status signed by their supervisors.

Accommodation

Walking distance to i3S

HOTEL IBIS SÃO JOÃO **
Rua Dr. Plácido Costa | 4200-450 Porto
Website (link: https://ibis.accor.com/portugal/index.pt.shtml)
Telephone: (+351) 225 513 100
E-mail: H3227@ACCOR.COM
Walking distance: 10 minutes

EUROSTARS OPORTO HOTEL ****
Rua do Mestre Guilherme Camarinha, 212 | 4200-537 Porto
Website (link: https://www.eurostarshotels.com.pt/eurostars-oporto.html)
Phone: (+351) 225 072 090
E-mail: reservas@eurostarsoporto.com
Walking distance: 15 minute

AXIS PORTO – BUSINESS & SPA HOTEL ****
Rua Maria Feliciana, 100 – São Mamede de Infesta | 4465-283 Matosinhos – Porto
Website (link: https://www.axishoteis.com/pt/Axis-Hoteis/Hoteis/Axis-Porto/O-Hotel.aspx)
Phone: (+351) 229 052 000
E-mail: reservas@axisporto.com
Walking distance: 15 minutes

Accessible by subway from Porto city center

HOTEL PORTO MOOV CENTRO **
Praça da Batalha 32, 4000-101 Porto
Website (link: https://hotelmoov.com/)
Telephone: (+351) 220 407 000
E-mail: porto@hotelmoov.com
Average time: 20 minutes

LEGENDARY PORTO HOTEL ***
Praça da Batalha, 127-130 | 4000-102 Porto
Website (link: https://www.legendaryportohotel.com/)
Telephone: (+351) 223 392 300
E-mail: legendaryportohotel@continentalhotels.eu
Average time: 20 minutes

PÃO DE AÇUCAR HOTEL ***
Rua do Almada, 262 | 4050-032 Porto
Website (link: https://paodeacucarhotel.pt/)
Telephone: (+351) 222 002 425 / 222 011 589
E-mail: info@paodeacucarhotel.pt
Average time: 15 minutes

PORTO TRINDADE HOTEL ****
Rua de Camões, nº 129 / 131 | 4000-144 Porto
Website (link: https://www.portotrindadehotel.com/)
Telephone: (+351) 222 061 520
E-mail: geral@portotrindadehotel.com
Average time: 15 minutes