Eng. João Camões dos Santos

João Camões dos Santos completed the Master’s in Biological Engineering of Instituto Superior Técnico in 2022, with a master’s thesis focused on the development of isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to edit the genome of patient-derived cell lines. These cells would then be used to generate in vitro models of neurological diseases to study molecular mechanisms and perform drug screenings. After finishing the master’s degree, he started working as a research assistant at the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB-IST) carrying out the reprogramming and characterization of a new collection of somatic cells into hiPSCs, from patients with Angelman syndrome, a rare and debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder. In 2023, he started the PhD in Bioengineering from IST, working on the development of brain organoid models to study disease mechanisms and establish a therapeutic testing platform for Angelman Syndrome, using pluripotent stem cells. His main scientific interest areas are genetic engineering; gene therapies; stem cell-based disease modeling; organoids and neuroscience. Additionally, since 2021, he has been working as a teaching assistant at the Department of Bioengineering of IST since 2021, exploring his interest in educating others.