Keynote speaker: Joana Guedes
hosted by Ester Coutinho
Joana Guedes is a Biochemist and Researcher at the Center for Innovation in Biomedicine and Biotechnology at the University of Coimbra (UC). She holds a PhD in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine, developed in collaboration with the Center for Immunology & Inflammatory Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital. During her PhD, she explored the mechanisms underlying immune cell dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease models. During her postdoctoral research, she worked at the Laboratory of Neuronal Circuits and Behavior at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (UC). Her main research goal is to understand how immune cells and factors influence the development of neuronal circuits, and how immune dysfunction is related to neuropsychiatric conditions. Her most significant contribution focused on the role of childhood allergies in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She discovered that IL-4 is essential to define a critical window of
postnatal maturation of the cerebellum, a brain region highly susceptible to type 2 immune dysfunction. Her current research focuses on understanding how type 2 immunity influences the maturation of neuronal circuits. Joana Guedes has published in high-impact journals such as Neuron and Nature Communications, has received 10 scientific awards, is a member of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, and is a Review Editor of Frontiers in Neural Circuits and Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience.
