The Institute of Biochemistry (IBq) was created in 1982 by a group of lecturers and researchers from the Institute of Physiological Chemistry (IQF), founded in 1965.

The structural merger of the two institutes took place in 1999, on the occasion of the retirement of the Director of the IQF, Professor Carlos Manso, and the lecturers and researchers of the IBq moved to the facilities of the IQF under the leadership of the founder of the IBq, Professor Martins e Silva. Professor Carlota Saldanha was Acting Director of the IBq between 2001 and 2007. In 2004, the IBq moved to the current premises at the Egas Moniz Building. Professor Miguel Castanho has been the Director of the IBq since 2007.

The overriding objective of this Institute is to contribute positively and actively to teaching and research of excellence. To this end, the Institute of Biochemistry provides modern Medical Biochemistry education in terms of content and teaching.

The scientific research conducted at the Institute of Biochemistry is of international quality standards and is actively connected with teaching, acting as an engine of development of pedagogical practice, both in undergraduate and postgraduate education.

Currently, the IBq is involved in the Integrated Master Degree in Medicine, in the Organic and Functional Systems Modules (Modules II.I and II.III), in the Nanomedicine elective subject, in the Introduction to Pedagogy Traineeship, in the Laboratory Research Traineeship, and in the subject Metabolism and Endocrinology (Integrated Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering).

The Institute of Biochemistry collaborates actively with other institutes in the field of Organic and Functional Systems, as part of a modular and integrated education provision, aligning with the models of teaching and learning used in major international medical schools.

The Institute of Biochemistry comprises four distinct research units, each associated with the Institute of Molecular Medicine (Associate Laboratory):

– The Angiogenesis Unit, led by Professor Susana Constantino, studies the molecular and cell mechanisms that regulate the formation of new blood cells. 

Team:
Susana Constantino | Auxiliary Professor
Raquel Nunes | Postdoctoral Fellow
Augusto Ministro | Ph.D. Student
Paula Oliveira | Ph.D. Student
Filipa Marques | Ph.D. Student
Adriana Correia | Master Degree Student
Ana Rita Simões Pereira | Master Degree Student
Carolina Cardina | Master Degree Student
Liliana Carvalho | Laboratory Technician  – The Biomembranes Unit is led by Professor Nuno C. Santos and studies the biochemical and biophysical processes that occur at the level of the membranes of human cells and membranes of viral (HIV and Dengue virus) or bacterial pathogens. Great emphasis is placed on the study of: i) molecules which have the membranes of viruses, bacteria and fungi as therapeutic targets; ii) the binding of fibrinogen to the erythrocyte membrane and its relevance as a cardiovascular risk factor; iii) new methods of diagnosis in the areas of Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine.

Team:
Nuno C. Santos | Associate Professor with Aggregation
Sónia Gonçalves Abreu | Assistant Researcher
Filomena Carvalho | Auxiliary Professor
Ivo Martins | FCT Researcher
Axel Hollmann | Postdoctoral Fellow
Margarida Rodrigues | Ph.D. Student
André Faustino | Ph.D. Student
Ana Filipa Guedes | Ph.D. Student
Marcelo Augusto | Ph.D. Student
Bárbara Gomes | Ph.D. Student
Gabriela Guerra | Research Fellow
Mário Felício | Research Fellow
Patrícia Silva | Master Degree Student
Ana Martins | Master Degree Student
Susana Gregório | Master Degree Student
Vanessa Artilheiro | Medical Student
Teresa Freitas | Laboratory Technician – The Physical Biochemistry Unit, coordinated by Professor Miguel Castanho, is dedicated to the study of non-covalent interaction of molecules, with emphasis, today, on the protein-protein interaction and the lipid-protein-peptide interaction. This unit also works on the development of in vitro tests that allow replacing tests involving animal experiments, while maintaining clinical significance.

Team:
Miguel Castanho | Full Professor
Ana Salomé Veiga | FCT Researcher
Diana Gaspar | Postdoctoral Fellow
Sónia Sá Santos | Postdoctoral Fellow
Vera Neves | Postdoctoral Fellow
Sandra Pinto | Postdoctoral Fellow
João Freire | Ph.D. Student
Tiago Figueira | Ph.D. Student
Luís Flores | Master Degree Student
Antónia Pinto | Research Fellow
Inês Rego Figueiredo | Medical Student
Liliana Carvalho | Laboratory Technician – The Microvascular Biology and Inflammation Unit, coordinated by Professor Carlota Saldanha, has the general objective, at the level of microcirculation, of studying the processes that mediate inflammation and its resolution. Specific objectives include the study of: (1) the action of specific mediators, such as fibrinogen and hydrogen peroxide, in the different stages of recruitment of neutrophils by microvascular endothelial cells, particularly in the processes of rolling, adhesion, dragging and migration to tissues; (2) numerical simulation models to describe the interaction of neutrophils with the vascular wall in specific hemorheological and haemostatic mediators for identifying biomechanical mediators; (3) the action of nitric oxide as a pro and anti-inflammatory mediator in erythrocytes as effector of its bioavailability in microcirculation; (4) mediators and effector cells in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases.

Team:
Carlota Saldanha | Associate Professor with Aggregation
Ângelo Calado | Auxiliary Professor
Ana Santos Silva-Herdade | Assistant, Ph.D. Student
Patrícia Napoleão | Postdoctoral Fellow
Sofia de Oliveira | Ph.D. Student
Nuno Alexandre Santos | Master Degree Student
Sara Beijinho | Master Degree Student
Ekaterina Potapova | Master Degree Student
Giulia Andolina |ERASMUS Student
Rita Esteves | Volunteer Researcher
Sara Moleirinho | Volunteer Researcher
Teresa Freitas | Laboratory Technician
Sources:
www.biochemistry-imm.org
www.fm.ul.pt
www.imm.fm.ul.pt
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