Angelina Sa Palma

I am a Research Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon (FCT-NOVA), Portugal, and an integrated member of the UCIBIO (Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences). I am also an Honorary Research Fellow at Imperial College London. I obtained my degree in Biochemistry in 2001 from the University of Algarve, Portugal, and completed the PhD degree in Biochemistry in 2007 from ITQB-NOVA. RESEARCH MOTIVATION - Glycans are ubiquitous molecules and their structures and roles are highly diverse, representing a largely undiscovered resource for biological applications and novel therapeutic opportunities. As a Glycoscientist, my major goal is to uncover novel glycan-recognition systems and understand at the molecular level the protein-glycan interaction. Glycan microarrays are now state-of-the-art methods in modern Glycosciences research to identify novel glycan-binding proteins and pinpoint glycan function. The focus of my research has been on developing glycome-based microarrays for interrogating glycomes and proteomes leading to: 1) glycan ligand discovery and function; and 2) unraveling of glycan-recognition systems. These have been applied to study endogenous and microbial glycan recognition systems, glycan-mediated pathogen-host interactions and antibodies for cancer diagnosis and therapy. I am following structure-function integrative approaches combining glycan-microarrays with complementary methodologies such as X-Ray crystallography, NMR and other biophysical techniques. OUTPUTS OF SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY - 60 publications, including 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, 7 book chapters, and 13 conference papers (C=1744, WOS h-index 20, as of Feb 2020); 1 patent (2019); CRA with Siamab Therapeutics (2018); 13 Invited Lectures (international conferences, workshops, schools and seminars); 8 oral communications. FUNDING - 3 FCT individual fellowships/contract (PhD and Post-doc, FCT investigator); 8 FCT research grants (3 PI, 1 co-PI, 4 core CV); Santander Totta 2013 and Bluepharma 2014 Awards; 1 UCIBIO exploratory project (2018); total €560K. SUPERVISION - Trained and supervised 4 MSc students (2 ongoing); 6 PhD students (5 ongoing; 1 co-supervision; 2 will discuss Thesis in 2020) and 1 Junior Researcher (DL57/transitional rule contract, ongoing). THE JOURNEY INTO THE GLYCOSCIENCES FIELD Pre-doctoral studies - At the Laboratory of Glycobiology, ITQB-NOVA, under the Supervision of Dr. Julia Costa, I was trained in fundamentals of glycobiology and of glycosylation pathways in mammalian-, insect- and plant cells, and learned about the important role of glycans and their recognition in all domains of life, and also in health and disease processes. Post-doctoral studies - I joined the Glycosciences Laboratory of Prof. Ten Feizi (Imperial College London), first as a visiting scholar (2004-2005) during my Ph.D. and thereafter as a post-doctoral fellow (2007-2009), funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). While at the Glycosciences Lab, I developed pioneering work in designer glycan microarray approaches to study glycan recognition systems of biological and biomedical impact and in the setting-up of a state-of-the-art glycan-microarray system and in its application to glycan-ligand discovery. During this period I was trained in fundamentals of glycan chemistry, lectin- and immune-recognition, and methods for glycan analysis, including mass spectrometry to structurally characterize glycans. ESTABLISHMENT AS AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER - I returned to Portugal end 2009 and joined the protein crystallography group of Prof. Maria João Romão at FCT-NOVA. Here I implemented the glycan microarray technology combined with X-Ray crystallography to study endogenous lectin recognition systems (e.g. malectin, Dectin-1) and microbial glycan degradation of complex polysaccharides (bacterial cellulosomes). In 2013, I was awarded a 5-year Starting Grant under the highly competitive FCT Investigator international call, which allowed me to start my independent journey set-up a glycan microarray laboratory, supported by 2 research project grants from Portuguese FCT. This enabled me to train Master and Ph.D. students in Glycosciences, establish key collaborations and attract competitive funds to establish a line of research in Functional Glycobiology at UCIBIO. TEACHING - Since 2010, I have been enrolled in teaching Biochemistry and Metabolism at the Biochemistry Section of the Department of Chemistry at FCT-NOVA. I am a scientific advisor and teacher of the e-learning course Glycobiology and Glycochemistry. I hope to implement the Glycosciences discipline for the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs of Chemistry and Life Sciences Departments. I started in 2017 the Curricular Unit Glycobiology and Disease, which is given to the Master programs in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine.