Past News

Francisco Ribeiro, PhD student, joined the Course on Neural Development and Plasticity, in the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, from 7 to 11 July. This summer school aims to discuss the most recent advances in circuit development, through lectures with top experts in the field, workshops and round tables. In this event, Francisco presented a talk about his ongoing work "Perineuronal net modulation and neural plasticity: focus on a syndromic autism spectrum disorder mouse model", and had the opportunity to discuss his project, share valuable insights and receive feedback from his peers.  

The DiVErSe Lab was present at the June edition of PubhD Coimbra, a science outreach initiative that joins PhD candidates from various scientific fields in an informal setting, the Liquidâmbar bar, to discuss their projects with the audience. Our Francisco Ribeiro took on this challenge and presented his project "Redes Perineuronais em Autismo / Perineuronal Networks in Autism", followed by a rich, curiosity-filled Q&A session with the public. Science is indeed only completed when shared with our peers and with the society. Stay tuned for the next DiVErSe outreach activity.

On 23rd June, our PhD candidate Mariana Lapo Pais has defended her dissertation "The Role of Tryptophan Metabolism in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex: a Possible Common Mechanism Underlying Epilepsy and Autism Spectrum Sisorder". Following a rich scientific discussion, the jury unanimously awarded Mariana the doctoral degree magna cum laude. This is a very proud moment for the DiVErSe lab, as we are excited to accompany the impact that Mariana's contributions have made to the field of neurodevelopment and neuronal metabolism. Congratulations, Doctor Mariana Pais!

The long awaited 4th edition of our Di(Y)VErSe Series took place on June 11. Our host for the afternoon was MSc student Diana Mota, who challenged her lab mates to let out their inner sculptors, and create beautiful pieces of art with molding clay and acrylic paint. Once again, our lab stood up for the challenge, and animals, key chains and jewelery trays took form from the clay. The Di(Y) Series is a unique initiative that provides a stress-free space for relaxation, creativity and community building. Stay tuned for the next one!

The Pint of Science is an annual science festival that aims to communicate scientific works and discoveries to the overall public, by bringing scientists to pubs, cafés and other public spaces, where they can share their research. This year, our PhD candidate Helena Ferreira had the honour of being invited to be a speaker at Pint of Science Coimbra and present her work "Sentir o Autismo". Helena got to discuss science with a full audience at Piano Negro bar, in the heart of Alta de Coimbra. Great work!

On 27th May, João Neves, PhD candidate at DiVErSe Lab, participated in the 9th Symposium of the Portuguese Glial Network, at the Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3s), Porto. João presented his ongoing PhD work with a poster entitled "Kisspeptin shapes microglia sex-dimorphic morphology in the hypothalamus", and had the opportunity to discuss his project with the Portuguese glial family. João found this a very fruitful meeting, and returned home with new insights for his research. Onward!

The week of 10th - 16th march 2025 marks the Brain Awareness Week, a worldwide campaign that aims to increase the public enthusiasm and support for brain research. In the spirit of BAW, our PhD candidate Helena Ferreira joined a group of colleagues from different labs and visited the José Falcão High School, where she talked about her PhD project to student of the 7th, 10th and 11th school years. What a pleasure to answer the curious questions of our next generation of neuroscientists!