Ana Pego

Ana Paula Pêgo got her Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, in 2002. In 2003, she moved to INEB – Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, where she became a Principal Investigator in 2012. In 2015, INEB joined the i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (Universidade do Porto), where Ana Paula Pêgo leads the nanoBiomaterials for Targeted Therapies (nBTT) Group.

By using nanomedicine strategies, the nBTT Group aims to provide, in situ and in a targeted manner, the required signals to promote nervous tissue regeneration. The research on new biomaterials for application in neurosciences includes the development of new polymers for the design of alternative drug delivery systems, the preparation of nerve grafts for spinal cord injury treatment, and the design of brain tissue-engineered platforms for therapeutic targets discovery and drug testing. Societal and ethical issues concerning Regenerative Medicine and NanoMedicine are also areas in which Ana Paula Pêgo is involved. She received several distinctions, including the Neuroscience Awards by SCML (the most prestigious national award in the field).

Pêgo is very proud of her mentoring/supervision duties, which actively contribute to the training of the next generation of bioengineers. To date, more than 100 students (PhD, MSc, and BSc) have been supervised by her.

She has been appointed the Scientific Director of the Bioimaging Centre for Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapies of INEB, and she is an Invited Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto.