Cellular aging means the progressive decline of several molecular mechanisms that protect DNA, proteins, and organelles from damage, resulting in a gradual loss of cellular functions and ultimately in cell death.
Our group's goal is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of aging that lead to degeneration in age-related diseases of the retina, with a particular emphasis on proteostasis. Our purpose is to use that knowledge to develop new therapeutic approaches for early interventions on diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
As models, we use human-based cellular models, retinal porcine explants, and retinal organoids. Also, we work to translate our findings to the clinics in close collaboration with ophthalmologists and involvement in clinical studies and clinical trials.
Projects
- 2025-2028 – Dancing genomes – mapping chromatin’s material properties with retinal development & disease
Funded by Human Frontier Science Program (RGP2025)
Project Leader: Michael Robson (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany)
Co-Principal Investigators: Anders Hansen (Dept. of Biological Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, USA); Dr. Davide Michieletto (School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, UK); Sandra Tenreiro (NMS|UNL, Portugal).
Multidisciplinary project involving Biomedical, Biological Engineering and Physics experts aiming to uncover how the physical properties of chromatin, the structure that organizes DNA, impact its biological functions.
- 2025-2028 – Metabolic Driven Regenerative Mechanisms in the Retina
Funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (LISBOA2030-FEDER-00874100/15085).
Principal Investigator: António Jacinto (NIMSB, Portugal)
Co-Principal Investigator: Sandra Tenreiro (NMS|UNL, Portugal)
Collaborative project aiming to dissect regenerative mechanisms allowing for the recovery of photoreceptors in the human retina.
- 2022-2025 - NRF2 as a novel therapeutic target in early and intermediate age-related macular degeneration-NASCENT
Funded by ”La Caixa” Foundation (HR22-00569)
Project Leader: Miguel Seabra
Principal Investigator: Antonio Cuadrao, UAM, Spain.
Collaborative project dissecting pharmacological repurposing strategies targeting NRF2 for early interventions in Age-related macular degeneration.
Publications
- Falcão AS, Pedro ML, Tenreiro S, Seabra MC. Targeting Lysosomal Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress in Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Antioxidants (Basel). 2025;14(5):596. Published 2025 May 16. doi:10.3390/antiox14050596
- de Lemos L, Antas P, Ferreira IS, et al. Modelling neurodegeneration and inflammation in early diabetic retinopathy using 3D human retinal organoids. In Vitro Model. 2024;3(1):33-48. Published 2024 Mar 25. doi:10.1007/s44164-024-00068-1
- Teixeira J, Lumack do Monte Z, Tenreiro S, et al. Citicoline eluting hydrogels for therapeutic contact lenses intended to treat neurodegenerative diabetic ocular diseases. Int J Pharm. 2024;667(Pt A):124908. doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124908
- Fonseca AF, Coelho R, da-Silva ML, et al. Modeling Choroideremia Disease with Isogenic Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Stem Cells Dev. 2024;33(19-20):528-539. doi:10.1089/scd.2024.0105
- Flores R, Fradinho AC, Pereira RS, et al. Identifying Imaging Predictors of Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration Progression. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023;12(7):22. doi:10.1167/tvst.12.7.22
- Dias SB, de Lemos L, Sousa L, et al. Age-Related Changes of the Synucleins Profile in the Mouse Retina. Biomolecules. 2023;13(1):180. Published 2023 Jan 15. doi:10.3390/biom13010180
- Cabral D, Ramtohul P, Kaden TR, Tenreiro S, Seabra MC, Freund KB. Hyperpigmented epiretinal membrane in macular telangiectasia type 2: imaging characteristics and correlation with transretinal pigment migration. Eye (Lond). 2023;37(9):1856-1860. doi:10.1038/s41433-022-02260-7
- Flores R, Carneiro Â, Neri G, et al. Choroidal Vascular Impairment in Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Diagnostics (Basel). 2022;12(5):1290. Published 2022 May 22. doi:10.3390/diagnostics12051290
- Escrevente C, Falcão AS, Hall MJ, et al. Formation of Lipofuscin-Like Autofluorescent Granules in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium Requires Lysosome Dysfunction. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2021;62(9):39. doi:10.1167/iovs.62.9.39
- Flores R, Carneiro A, Serra J, et al. CORRELATION STUDY BETWEEN DRUSEN MORPHOLOGY AND FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE. Retina. 2021;41(3):555-562. doi:10.1097/IAE.0000000000002881
Prizes and Awards
- 2nd Best Poster Award from PNEV2025 meeting to Luana Macedo
- 1st Best Oral Presentation at iMED 2023 to Olga Carreira
- 1st Best Poster Award from iMED 2022 to Marta Cação
- Charneco da Costa Award 2022 from Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia
Open Positions
Open Position at Sandra Tenreiro Lab
Looking for a motivated candidate to apply for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships for the project:
Innovating diabetic retinopathy disease models: dissecting pathophysiology and pioneering therapeutic strategies
Research Grant (BI), for the conduct of R&D activities by a graduate with a Master degree enrolled in a course non-leading to an academic degree- Notice No. SF/2025/17-
There is an open call for applications for a Research Grant (BI), for the conduct of R&D activities by a graduate with a Master degree enrolled in a course non-leading to an academic degree, under reference SF/2025/17 in the scope of the PI - IF - Dancing Genomes project, at the institution Faculdade de Ciências Médicas|NOVA Medical School (FCM|NMS) from Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNL), supported by income from the above mentioned project, financed by the Human Frontier Science Program Organisation, under the following conditions:
Field of study: Biomedicine
Link for EURAXESS: Notice SF/2025/17
Colaborations
- Agnieszka Rybak-Wolf, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center, Germany
- Alexandre Quintas, Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Egas Moniz, Lisboa. Portugal
- Ana Paula Serro, IST, Portugal
- António Cuadrado, Faculty of Medicine Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
- António Jacinto, NIMSB, UNL, Portugal
- Claudia Nunes dos Santos, NIMSB, UNL, Portugal
- Cristina Barrias, i3S, Portugal
- Federico Herrera, Faculty of Sciences, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
- Miguel Seabra, NMS, UNL, Portugal
- Michael Robson, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center, Germany
- Mireya Plass, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
- Nuno Matela, FCUL, Portugal
- Paula Macedo, NMS, UNL, Portugal
- Paulo Pereira, NOVA Medical School, UNL, Portugal
- Rita Oliveira, NMS, UNL, Portugal