Joana Serra
PhD Student
Research
Activities
Development of a cell/gene therapy for the treatment of Peripheral Arterial
Disease. The work is focused on genetic manipulation of Mesenchymal Stem
Cells (MSC) using non-viral vectors containing pro-angiogenic factors in
order to improve the therapeutic potential of those cells. Optimization of
development, production and purification of DNA-based vectors (plasmids and
minicircles) for MSC transfection with the goal of maximizing the angiogenic
ability of modified MSC.
Selected Publications
Serra, J., Monteiro, G., da Silva, C.L., Prazeres, D.M. "VEGF-overexpressing
mesenchymal stem/stromal cells for angiogenic therapies." MicroBiotec '15, Évora
Portugal, December 2015. (poster communication)
Serra, J., da Silva, C.L., Cabral, J.M.S. "Cultivation of human MSC as 3-D
aggregates to enhance their therapeutic potential." E3 forum - Education,
Employment & Entrepreneurship. Lisbon (Portugal). June 2013. (poster
communication)
E-mail (click on)