2026 Seminar Series | Programa Doutoral em Ciências Biomédicas
Data: 30 de abril
Hora: 12h00
Local de realização: Campus Universitário de Gandra - Sala 2002
ENTRADA LIVRE
TEMA:
“Cardio-Oncology: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed”
Speaker
Vera Marisa Costa, PhD
Anfitriã
Cristiana Soares Cardoso, MSc
(DCB PhD student)
Resumo da apresentação:
Cardio-oncology has emerged as a critical field addressing the cardiovascular complications associated with anticancer therapies. In last few years, we have investigated the cardiotoxic effects of both conventional and targeted anticancer agents—doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and mitoxantrone (classical chemotherapeutics), alongside sunitinib, imatinib, and sorafenib (targeted therapies)—using complementary in vitro and in vivo models.
Oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and energetic impairment were assessed in human cardiomyocyte-derived AC16 and H9c2 cells, with particular emphasis on timeand concentration-dependent effects. In parallel, in vivo models encompassing infant, adult, and elderly stages were employed to evaluate both short- and long-term outcomes, enabling the assessment of chronic cardiotoxicity within a novel paradigm based on clinically relevant dosing. Mechanistic insights were further strengthened through collaborative proteomic and metabolomic analyses, providing a systems-level characterization of drug-induced cardiotoxicity. Our findings indicate that different therapeutic classes are associated with distinct toxicity profiles, differentially affecting cellular metabolism, inflammatory responses, and redox homeostasis imbalance. While some agents induced more pronounced alterations, others elicited subtler but still biologically relevant changes in cellular function. Integrated analyses highlighted the involvement of mostly pathways related to inflammation, oxidative stress and broader metabolic remodelling. Overall, this work underscores the value of integrating in vitro and in vivo approaches with advanced omics technologies to elucidate the complex mechanisms underlying anticancer drug-induced cardiotoxicity. These insights may contribute to improved risk stratification and the development of more effective cardioprotective strategies in oncology.
Biography:
Vera Marisa Costa graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP) in 2004 and began her career in Community Pharmacy. Although this was a valuable experience, she pursued her long-term goal of a scientific career by returning to FFUP for a PhD in Toxicology, specialising in cardiotoxicity. In parallel, she initiated her teaching career, lecturing on pharmacology at UTAD and later toxicology at CESPU across several health-related programs. After completing her PhD, she further expanded her teaching experience in Occupational Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP). She was subsequently awarded two competitive postdoctoral fellowships, including one
co-supervised at Louisiana State University. Following additional research funding and positions, she later secured a tenure-track position at FMUP.
During her scientific career, though nonlinear, she established her independent research line in cardio-oncology, leading to the supervision of numerous Master’s and PhD students and collaborations across multiple institutions. Currently at FMUP, she has been invited to lecture internationally, participated in COST Actions, and contributed to European initiatives such as Erasmus+. She also serves as Senior Editor of Cardiovascular Toxicology and has acted as an evaluator for international funding agencies, including the European Commission. Beyond academia, she has contributed to initiatives such as UNICAN.EU and the EORTC and remains active in science outreach through Ciência Viva and Native Scientists programmes. She is also involved in national professional and research associations, like Ordem dos Farmacêuticos e ANICT.
