Present position:
Principal Investigator, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Invited Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Investigation Institute (III), University of Coimbra, Portugal
Address and indicators:
Institutional address: CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, UC Biotech Building, Lot 8A, Biocant Park, University of Coimbra, 3060-197 Cantanhede, PORTUGAL
phone: +351-231-249-195, fax: +351-231-249-179
E-mail: pauloliv@cnc.uc.pt
PubmedID: Oliveira PJ
ResearchID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/H-1980-2011
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5201-9948
Education:
1999, University of Coimbra: “Licenciatura” (5-year BSc.) in Biochemistry
2003, University of Coimbra: Ph.D. in Cellular Biology (title of thesis: Cardiac Mitochondrial Function: Studies on the impact of disease conditions and on the protection afforded by carvedilol).
2003-2005, University of Minnesota, Duluth, USA: Post-Doc in Toxicology
2006, University of Minnesota, Duluth: Post-Doc in Molecular and Cellular Biology
Biographic Note:
Paulo Oliveira current research interests include the alteration of cardiac mitochondrial function by physical activity and diet, cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death caused by anti-neoplastic agents, mitochondrial alterations during cancer stem cell differentiation and carcinogenesis or rational designing of mitochondrial-directed agents.
During his scientific career, Paulo has advanced the state of art in several important areas, including understanding the mechanisms behind the selective cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin, an anti-cancer agent, which was shown to involve depletion of the adenine nucleotide translocator, oxidation of thiol groups in mitochondrial membranes and a primary disruption of calcium loading capacity. Also, Paulo provided seminal evidence showing that the cardioprotection afforded by the beta-adrenergic blocker carvedilol involves antioxidant protection of mitochondrial function. Paulo has been collaborating with colleagues at the University of Porto, Portugal, to demonstrate that endurance, acute or voluntary exercise in animal models prevents mitochondrial alterations due to the toxic effects of several drugs, as well antagonizes the mitochondrial phenotype involved in diseases such as diabetes and aging. More recent work demonstrates that diet, namely a formulation containing rapeseed oil, depresses hepatic mitochondrial bioenergetics, alters membrane composition and results in decreased susceptibility to the toxic effects of nimesulide and menadione. Also, in a recent submission, Paulo and his group demonstrated that differentiation of cancer stem cells is associated with a metabolic and mitochondrial remodeling, leading to increased mitochondrial capacity and increased susceptibility to mitochondrial-directed anti-cancer agents. One consequence is this is that differentiated cancer cells are more susceptible to mitochondrial-targeted therapies. This also shows that increasing mitochondrial capacity in cancer stem cells makes them more vulnerable for mitochondrial-targeted therapies.
During his tenure, Paulo has been supervisor or co-supervisor of more than 30 Ph.D. students, some of whom have already defended their Ph.D. theses. Paulo has also supervised Master (~20) and undergraduated (~20) students, as well as hosted several international students and Post-Docs. This is an important component of his career vision, since Paulo considers the formation of human resources a mandatory service to the community.
Paulo has supported a large group of researchers through numerous grants from the Foundation for Science and Technology, acting also a scientific coordinator of two H2020 funded projects (granting him close to 4 million euros).
Paulo has close to 210 peer-reviewed, full length publications. Paulo Oliveira has currently around 4000 citations, having an h-factor of 35 (source, Web of Knowledge). Paulo Oliveira is also author or co-author of 15 book chapters and was the guest editor of a special edition of Current Drug Targets. His CV also includes ~50 invited talks in Portugal and abroad, as well as about ~400 communications in scientific meetings (poster/selected oral). He has also received several prizes from his work on cardiac mitochondrial research (Portuguese Cardiology Society).
Paulo Oliveira has spent more than three years in aggregate working at the Medical School of the University of Minnesota, Duluth, USA, where he collaborated with several researchers and contributed to the publication of several peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is currently one of the most well-known Portuguese researchers in this area, collaborating with several collaborations in Europe, Africa and in the USA.
Paulo Oliveira is contacted frequently for consulting or manuscript (e.g. Nature Protocols, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, British Journal of Pharmacology, PLOS One, American Journal of Physiology or the Journal of Physiology, among others) and grant (Swiss, South African or Czech science funding bodies) peer-reviewing purposes. Paulo Oliveira has also been present in several Ph.D. and Master thesis defense juries in Coimbra, Porto, Aveiro, Braga and Lisbon, as well as in Oviedo, Spain.
Besides research, Paulo Oliveira is often involved in teaching at the Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, as well as in other Universities in Portugal and elsewhere. Of importance, he has maintained a consistent primary role in the organization of national and international scientific meetings, including the International Courses in Toxicology (2005-2010 in Coimbra) and the 2013 Annual Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation (Albufeira, Portugal). Also, Paulo is involved in the organization of mitochondrial workshops in several meetings, as well in science awareness activities. Since April 2013, Paulo Oliveira is also Vice-President for the European Society for Clinical Investigation having an important role in the management of the Society and of the Annual Meetings. In December 2014, Paulo was the President of the Organization of the XIX Meeting of the Portuguese Biochemical Society. Paulo Oliveira will organize in 2019 the Annual Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation in Coimbra, Portugal.
List of publications
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=oliveira+pj