Maria Inês Almeida is a Team and Project Leader at i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), and a Professor at the University of Porto. Her goal is to use ncRNA-based molecular bioengineering to advance novel diagnostics and therapies for various diseases, with a particular focus on the musculoskeletal system. In recent years, her research interests have expanded to include cancer, regenerative medicine and psychiatry.

M.I.Almeida graduated in biology from the University of Minho, following an internship in the LUMC, The Netherlands. She obtained her PhD in Health Sciences in 2012, with a thesis developed at the University of Texas, MDAnderson Cancer Center, USA. During her PhD, she contributed to unravelling novel ncRNA therapeutic strategies in different tumor types. Among her major achievements, she proved for the first time that “-5p” and “-3p” strands of miR-28 have distinct in vivo effects. This finding has direct consequences for the design of miRNA therapies. In 2017, this work received the Prof. Teixeira da Silva Research Incentive Award.

In 2013, she joined i3S/INEB as a FCT Post-Doctoral Fellow and expanded her research on ncRNA to the area of regenerative medicine. Her post-doctoral studies focused on investigating how modulation of ncRNAs promotes bone regeneration mechanisms. She also spend a year as a visiting researcher in the US. By bridging the knowledge acquired during her PhD on the ncRNAs in cancer with the novel expertise on bone biology acquired during the Post-Doc, she created a new line of research at i3S. In 2017, her work was recognized by Honor for Women in Science awarded by L´Oreal/UNESCO/FCT and, in the same year, she became a Project Leader at i3S. In 2018, she was awarded a Junior Researcher position at i3S/INEB. In 2021, she became the coordinator of the RNA Bioengineering Team at the i3S TMI Group. Since 2019, she is an Assistant Researcher at i3S/UP and an invited Professor at the University of Porto.

In the last decade, she independently secured funding for 17 projects from national and international sources (8 as PI), established collaborations with EU countries and the US, implemented 6 clinical partnerships, supervised 15 PhD/MSc students, 2 postdoc, and 12 trainees, received 5 innovation awards and holds a patent. She was nominated to the Management Committee of an EU Cost Action, serves as an invited expert for EU EIC and MSCA projects, is for MSCA-DN, has organized academic courses, received a pedagogic innovation award, and participated in thesis committees. M.I.Almeida was selected by the Nacional Agency for Science and Technology (“Ciencia Viva”) to integrate the book “Women in Science” (2019), which highlights 100 most recognized Portuguese women across generations and research fields.