Personal Presentation

Maria Helena Fernandes got her PhD degree at Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, UK, in 1986. Since 1998, she is professor of “Pharmacology and Therapeutics” at the Faculty of Dentistry, U. Porto, Portugal. She is the Principal investigator of the Laboratory for Bone Metabolism and Regeneration (www.bonelab.net), and has authored more than 180 manuscripts (ISI WoS). The current research work aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the metabolic regulation of the bone tissue and the differentiation pathways of cells with an active role on the bone remodeling process. Furthermore, it also concentrates on the evaluation of new pharmacological approaches for the enhancement of bone tissue regeneration. A major research activity concerns the evaluation of the biological response to biomaterials for bone related applications following in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo characterization, in a multidisciplinary research network, by presenting valid comments regarding materials' design and surface modifications.

She is an integrated member of the FCT “Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry - Clean Technologies and Processes”, LAQV/REQUIMTE, being responsible for the Thematic Line “Health & Wellbeing”.