NIMSBinars Paula Videira slide

October 15 

We had an honor to host Prof. Paula Videira, from NOVA FCT, who was talking about

‘Glycosylation in Cancer and Rare Diseases: Integrating Mechanisms to Advance Precision Medicine’.

Short Bio

I am Paula Videira, leader of the Glycoimmunology Research Group at UCIBIO, Associate Professor with habilitation in Immunology and Glycobiology at the Life Sciences Department of NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NOVA-FCT, PT). I am highly motivated to comprehend the intricate roles of glycans in diseases, dedicated to translating Glycosciences into innovative glycan-based immunotherapies, centered on patient needs. In the past few years, our efforts were fruitful in several ways: We published 108 research papers and four patents (as PI) describing various roles of glycans, in several top-ranked journals (e.g. BBA, Molecular Oncology); a featured immunology article; 11 invited reviews, and 2 clinical guidelines. Me and my students have presented unpublished data in several international conferences (e.g. EuroCarb, SSIEM, AAI, PEGS). We secured funding for research and to spin-off our technology, through coordinating 18 projects including prestigious EU grants (Twinning, MSCA, EJPRD), prizes and research agreements with biopharmaceuticals. I belonged to the Scientific council of COST, and I am currently part of the IAB of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and RD-Portugal, editorial board of Scientific Report, guest editor and reviewer of several journals and international research applications. I co-founded the CDG&Allies-PPAIN, a patient-centric network, that gathers professionals and patient associations worldwide to foster research and awareness on rare diseases of glycosylation. In 2019, I co-founded the spin-off CellmAbs, a biopharmaceutical developing immuno-oncology agents for tumour glycans. Awarded several times, CellmAbs secured investments and closed in 2024 a historic negotiation with a big pharmaceutical to step our technology into clinics. In 2024, I co-founded Valvian a novel biopharmaceutical centered on AI-driven novel immune therapies.