Sandra Vaz obtained her Ph.D. from the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), by studing the modulation of GABA transporters in astrocytes by the neurotrophic factor, BDNF. Subsequently, she pursued a postdoctoral position at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM), Lisbon, focusing on the role of astrocytes in synaptic plasticity. Currently, she holds the position of Assistant Professor at FMUL and serves as a Research Team Leader at Neurosciences Unit at iMM in Lisbon. She has a solid reputation in the field of astrocytes, with her research focusing on the “tripartite synapse”, particularly the regulation of synaptic activity by astrocytes under physiological and pathophysiological conditions, in particular in Absence Epilepsy and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Thus, she has developed solid expertise in the field of astrocyte-neuron communications and become an expert in GABA transporters, BDNF/TrkB signaling, and modulation of the adenosinergic system in both astrocytes and neurons. Many of her projects have been driven by her interest in cellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling and taken advantage of her knowledge of patch-clamp recordings, excitatory postsynaptic potentials, and microelectrode array (MEA) system recordings as proven by her publication record.
Cargos
(2023 – to date) Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
(2022 – to date) Treasurer of Portuguese Society of Pharmacology
(2022 – to date) Member of the Board of the Portuguese Glial Network
(2023 – to date) Council Member of the Mediterranean Neuroscience Society
(2018 – 2019) Member of the Steering Committee of Postdoctoral Association (PDA) of iMM
Área de Investigação
Astrocyte-Neuron Communication
Calcium signalling
Synaptic transmission and plasticity
Cannabinoids
Neurotrophins
Neuropharmacology
Disease models: Absence Epilepsy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
