Celso A. Reis is the Head of the Glycobiology in Cancer group at i3S/Ipatimup, University of Porto, where he leads an international multidisciplinary team.  He has published 226 peer-reviewed papers, with over 12800 citations and with H-index of 55 (Scopus). His publications include papers in journals such as: Cancer Cell, Nature Cell Biology, Int. J. Cancer, Cancer Research, Nature Reviews in Cancer, PNAS, JBC, JACS, BBA, FEBS Lett, Molecular Cellular Proteomics, Oncogene, Cancer Letters, Mucosal Immunology, Cellular Immunology, Journal Clinical Investigation, among others.

Celso A. Reis research focus on the role of glycosylation in human cancer. He has addressed the molecular mechanisms controlling glycosylation in cancer cell biology, more specifically the role of glycosyltransferases regulating the biosynthesis of glycans in cancer. These included the role of sialyltransferases leading to the biosynthesis of terminal sialylated glycan antigens expressed by cancer cells, such as ST6GalNAc determining the aberrant expression of the simple O-glycan Sialyl-Tn antigen, and the ST3Gal-transferases and Fucosyltransferases controlling the expression of sialyl-Lewis antigens.

Celso A. Reis has contributed for determining the role of these glycosylation modifications and the consequences to cancer cell biology, including the mechanisms regulating cancer invasion, metastasis and tumour glycoimmunology. CR has also addressed the application of glycoconjugates as biomarkers in human cancer and pre-neoplastic lesions, and the application of novel unique monoclonal antibodies to clinical samples.

Currently, Celso A. Reis aims to develop novel strategies to detect and characterize cancer, and to be able to improve cancer treatment based on the identification of the key glycans controlling cancer cell communication, glycans that can be used as markers for cancer patient stratification, as well as glycans and glycoconjugate that can be used as novel targets in cancer therapy.