About me

Dr. Cláudia Valente de Castro holds a degree in Chemical Engineering with a specialization in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST, Lisbon, Portugal). She further advanced her expertise at IST by completing a PhD in Biotechnology. Following her doctoral studies, she pursued postdoctoral research in Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, both at Institute of Molecular Medicine (iMM, Lisbon, Portugal). Currently, Cláudia is an Assistant Researcher and an Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine University of Lisbon (FMUL, Portugal). She participates in both undergraduate (Medical Degree) and postgraduate courses. She is also the leader of the group NeuroID (Neurobiology of Inflammation and Degeneration). Her research focuses on neuroinflammatory pathways, particularly the NLRP3 inflammasome, as potential therapeutic targets for brain pathologies, such as Epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. Cláudia uses in vitro models, including primary cultures of neurons, astrocytes, and microglia, as well as ex vivo models like acute and organotypic slices. Her methodologies encompass a range of genomic and proteomic techniques, electrophysiological recordings, and confocal microscopy.