Eduarda Manuela Forte Rodrigues is a researcher at the Polytechnic of Porto's Institute of Engineering (ISEP).
She completed her Master's degree in Oncology at the University of Porto's Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences in 2020. In 2024, she joined ISEP as a Research Fellow, contributing to the project "Following up cancer biomarkers with new biomimetic optical systems" (2024–2025), funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
Her research focuses on developing advanced optical systems for cancer biomarker detection, utilizing molecularly imprinted polymers, fluorescent sensors, and quantum dots. She has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles in international journals, including "Optical immunosensor panel using quantum dot-antibody conjugates for highly sensitive detection of carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19-9)", published in Analytica Chimica Acta in 2025.
Ana Xu is a Research Fellow at the Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP). She completed her Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at ISEP in 2025 and holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, completed in 2018.
Her research focuses on developing advanced biosensors for cancer biomarker detection, particularly using quantum dots and molecularly imprinted polymers. She has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles, including publications in Analytica Chimica
Acta and Sensors International. Ana Xu has also presented her work at scientific conferences, such as the Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces and the iBiMED Symposium. She is currently involved in the FCT-funded project "Following up Cancer Biomarkers with New Biomimetic Optical Systems" (2024–2025), which aims to advance diagnostic tools for cancer detection.
Rafael Catarino Castro is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, within the LAQV/REQUIMTE research unit. He completed his Integrated Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the same institution in 2019.
His research focuses on developing photoluminescent sensors using quantum dots and carbon dots, employing chemometric analysis for the detection of analytes relevant to environmental and pharmaceutical fields. He has published 27 articles in
international peer-reviewed journals, with 20 as first author, and has presented his work at 37 national and international conferences. He is a member of the FOODSENS project, funded by Interreg Europe, aimed at reducing food-related risks. In addition to his research, he teaches laboratory classes in Quality Control and Analytical, Clinical, and Forensic Toxicology, and
theoretical classes in Nanotherapeutics and Nanodiagnosis in the Integrated MSc in Bioengineering. His interests include nanomaterials, chemometric analysis, and analytical chemistry.
Dr. David S. M. Ribeiro is a Researcher at the Laboratory of Applied Chemistry (LAQV), REQUIMTE, Faculty of Pharmacy,
University of Porto. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a focus on Analytical Chemistry from the University of Porto in 2012. Since 2019, he has been a researcher at LAQV REQUIMTE.
His research centers on the synthesis and characterization of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with binary and ternary arrangements (e.g., CdTe and AgInS₂ QDs) and carbon dots (CDs). His work has led to 58 publications in international peer-reviewed journals, several oral presentations, and poster communications at national and international conferences. He has been involved in organizing national conferences and has participated in several funded projects, notably "Nanoquímica" and "FOODSENS—Transferência de Tecnologias para reduzir riscos alimentares". Since 2014, Dr. Ribeiro has been a lecturer
at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, in the areas of Nanotherapeutics and Nanodiagnosis.
His research interests include nanomaterials, semiconductor quantum dots, carbon dots, chemiluminescence, photoluminescence, and chemometric analysis.
Dr. Ana Margarida Piloto is a researcher currently serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow at ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto.
Her academic journey includes completing her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Minho, where she focused on developing photo-labile protecting groups for neurotransmitter amino acids.
Dr. Piloto has been leading research projects, with a strong focus on cancer biomarker detection and biosensor technologies, and
has recently secured several research grants, including the FCT-funded project "Following up Cancer Biomarkers with New Biomimetic Optical Systems" (2023–2025), and another under the MPr-2023-12–SACCT call, titled "Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Optical Cancer Biomarker Sensing", which received €250k under the COMPETE 2030–FEDER program. She also served as Co-Principal Investigator for the Self-Signalled Biosensors Integrated in Flexible Biomaterial Dressings for Chronic Wound Management project (2022–2023).
Her expertise lies in the development of advanced optical systems for detecting cancer biomarkers, using molecularly imprinted polymers, fluorescent sensors, and quantum dots. She has contributed to multiple publications and conference posters, focusing on biomarker detection methods for diseases like cancer, with an emphasis on optical immunosensors and polymer-based technologies.