Senior researcher
Técnico, Lisboa | 1. Department of Bioengineering and iBB – Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; 2. Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal., Portugal
Ana Fernandes-Platzgummer (PhD 2011) is a Research scientist at the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences- Técnico Lisboa, since 2016. AFP was a pioneer in establishing the expansion of mouse embryonic stem cells on microcarriers in stirred reactors in serum-free conditions. Currently her research has been focused on the establishment of platforms for the large-scale expansion of adult stem cells, namely mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) from different sources, under dynamic culture conditions. In 2015, AFP had her first funded project as PI, focused on the development of a prototype bioreactor for the maximization of UCB HSPC growth rates and final cell yields. This would boost their clinical use in adults, since the therapeutic utility of this cells has been limited to pediatric patients. Considering the vast potential and anticipating the imminent entry of EVs into clinical trials, with the consequent need for clinically relevant quantities as trials progress towards larger patient numbers, her present and future research will focus on the development of an innovative, scalable and cost-effective platform for its production. Currently, within the scope of her second FCT-funded project as PI, she expects to develop a manufacturing process for EVs derived from MSC, as these cells have been extensively studied in several clinical trials, and thus MSC-derived EVs are expected to be the first EV-based product to reach clinical trials. Recognizing the interdisciplinarity of her research, she has established several national and international collaborations, driven by the need to involve other professionals with different backgrounds and access to alternative approaches, in order to acquire expertise beyond that which her research group covers. AFP strongly believes that bioprocess engineering approaches offer the adequate tools to develop and optimize cost-effective and scalable platforms, integrating both upstream and downstream processes, to produce cell and cell-derived therapeutic products.