Research

Currently, the main focus of my work is the elucidation of mechanisms of cellular defense against radiation insult. I focus on UV and ionizing radiation, specifically X-rays. I develop my work at the Macromolecular Crystallography Unit, in the team of Célia Romão. In the MX Unit, we perform structural studies mainly focused on macromolecules using X-ray crystallography, although we have recently started expanding to cell tomography and single particle analysis by cryogenic electron microscopy.

My research interests are the fundamental understanding of cell pathways related to stress resistance and disease. At the moment, I study the bacteria D. radiodurans in order to unveil the macromolecular and regulatory mechanisms that help this organism survive radiation-induced oxidative stress. These mechanisms seem to involve not only protein players, but also metal homeostasis and post-translational modifications of the proteome for a fast response. Some of these mechanisms are common to eukaryotes.

During my PhD, I studied the human protein RuvBL2. The RuvBL1/2 complex acts as ATP-regulated chaperone for the formation of large complexes, such as R2TP. Separately, RuvBL1 and RuvBL2 play various roles during development and disease. They are involved in oncogenesis, metastisation and cancer cell resistance to radiation treatment.