Prof. Cecília Rodrigues, Ph.D.

Full Professor at Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFUL) and Director at iMed.ULisboa

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Cecília M. P. Rodrigues, PhD is Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Human Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Portugal, and Diretor of the R&D Unit Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa; http://imed.ulisboa.pt/). She directs the PhD Programme in Medicines and Pharmaceutical Innovation and the Master in Biopharmaceutical Sciences. Rodrigues graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Lisbon in 1992, and received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Lisbon in 1996, after PhD training at the University of Cincinnati, OH, USA, under the supervision of Kenneth D. R. Setchell, PhD. This was followed by postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota, MN, USA, under the supervision of Clifford J. Steer, MD. She is currently Full Professor at the University of Lisbon and leader of the research group Cellular Function and Therapeutic Targeting. Her central scientific interests aim at discovering novel mechanism-based molecular targets for therapeutic intervention, by focusing on signalling pathways involved in cell death, differentiation and proliferation. She uses experimental models of liver, gut and brain disorders involving inflammation, degeneration and regeneration, and tests therapeutic strategies at the preclinical level that may influence disease progression. Rodrigues has developed bile acids as a group of promising small molecule modulators of cell death/survival, protected by patents. She raised a total of 6.5 M€ in direct funding (2008-17). She has published 8 book chapters, ca. 200 indexed peer-reviewed papers (h-index: 42), and co-authored 4 global coverage patents.