Inês Cardoso Pereira elected EMBO Member
The European Molecular Biology Organization has just announced the election of 64 new members. Inês Cardoso Pereira PI and Vice-dean at ITQB NOVA and Director of the LS4Future Associated Laboratory, is one of two Portuguese researchers on this list. The scientist now joins ITQB NOVA PIs Mariana Gomes Pinho, Cecília Arraiano and Maria Arménia Carrondo in the prestigious organization. Claudina Rodrigues-Pousada, ITQB NOVA PI who passed away recently, was also a member of the organization. “The nomination of Inês Cardoso Pereira is a recognition of her outstanding track in the bioenergetics of microbes”, says Cláudio M. Soares, Dean of the institution. “We are very proud to see researchers from ITQB NOVA being recognized by EMBO”.
“An election to the EMBO Membership recognizes outstanding achievements in the life sciences”, says Maria Leptin, Director of EMBO. “The new members will provide expertise and guidance that will help EMBO to further strengthen its initiatives”. The association has over 1800 renowned researchers, including almost 100 Nobel prize winners. Two dozens of those researchers come from Portugal.
"Being elected an EMBO member is a great honor. The organization gathers top researchers in life sciences, and I’m very proud to join many scientists I greatly admire”, says Inês Cardoso Pereira. “I thank all my students and collaborators, who played an essential role in the work that is now recognized. I would also like to remember Professor Claudina Pousada, who sadly passed away recently. She was a great source of inspiration in her devotion to science and tireless in promoting Portuguese researchers internationally, including with EMBO.”
The researchers are elected by peers, in recognition of their work in areas such as cell biology, immunology and molecular medicine, among others. In 2021, Inês Cardoso Pereira was elected along with Karina Xavier, Principal Researcher at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, ITQB NOVA Alumna and daughter of our founder António Xavier. Both institutions are based in Oeiras, a municipality that has developed a Science and Technology Strategy grounded on a partnership with the local research institutions. This election also recognises the importance of basic research in life sciences and the importance of recruiting and supporting the best researchers in Portugal.
EMBO was created in 1963, when it brought together an initial group of 150 researchers to promote excellence in life sciences in Europe and beyond. The main goals of the organisation are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, to stimulate the exchange of scientific information and to help build a research environment where scientists can do their best work.
About Inês Cardoso Pereira, ITQB NOVA PI
Inês Cardoso Pereira is Vice Dean and Full Professor at ITQB NOVA, where she leads the Bacterial Energy Metabolism laboratory. She is also the Director of the LS4Future Associated Laboratory, which brings together researchers from ITQB NOVA, IGC, iBET, IPOLisboa and CEDOC/NMS.
Her lab is dedicated to the study of the physiology of anaerobic microorganisms, and to the application of biological systems in biocatalysis for the production of green hydrogen and CO2 capture, contributing to a circular economy. Her research has a strong focus on environmental microorganisms that are important for the Sulphur cycle and components of the gut microbiota. Her group’s work has led to a revision of the metabolic pathways involved in the dissimilative reduction of sulphate, a process with great environmental impact. In parallel, and with a more applied focus, they have also studied redox enzymes of anaerobic bacteria and the use of these enzymes or of the bacteria themselves in biohybrid systems for the production of Hydrogen and the reduction of CO2 from electricity or sunlight.
Inês Cardoso Pereira holds a degree in Applied Chemistry from the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT NOVA). She has a PhD from Oxford University, where she worked in the team led by Jack Baldwin on the study of the biosynthesis of antibiotics. Upon her return to Portugal she joined ITQB NOVA, where she worked as a post-doc in the team of the Institute's founder, António Xavier and Miguel Teixeira. She later went on to lead her own laboratory. She coordinated ITQB NOVA's PhD programme from 2008 to 2014, when she became Vice Dean of the institution.
When she is not engaged in managing ITQB NOVA or doing research, Inês Cardoso Pereira enjoys playing Padel, travelling and spending time with her family and friends.
