Sandra Casimiro

I obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology from Universidade de Lisboa, 2007; and joined Luis Costa Lab at iMM, where I am now Senior Staff Scientist, in the same year. In 2008 I was trained in Animal Research at Utrecht University, obtaining my FELASA-C Coordinator-Researcher certification. In 2009, I was awarded a prestigious Short Term EMBO Fellowship for an internship at Theresa Guise Lab (UVA, USA) where I was trained in rodent models of bone metastasis. Currently Senior Staff Scientist, my research focus is the therapeutic RANK pathway blockade in breast cancer. I use PDX, xenograft and allograft models, to study the biology of RANK pathway in vivo, as well as for therapeutic studies; having over 14 years of hands-on experience. My work is supported by competitive grants (PI of 7 projects, 335K EUR), including: Pfizer RFP (2021), FCT project (2018), Pfizer/LPCC Grant (2017), Fundo iMM - Laço Clinical Research Grant (2016), Oncology Research Award Terry Fox Foundation/LPCC (2014). I published 46 papers (plus 1 under revision), h-Index 13 and over 740 citations. I have strong mentoring and supervision skills, with 2 PhD, 25 MSc, and 15 Graduation students. My institutional responsibilities include iMM Biobank Scientific Committee and Review Panel of the iMM Rodent Facility Animal Welfare Committee. At the academic level, I am Invited Assistant Professor of Oncobiology at Lisbon School of Medicine since 2016 (regular lecturer since 2009), and Executive Coordinator and regular lecturer of Oncobiology Master Course since 2012.