Dr. Cecília R.C. Calado

Dr. Cecília Ribeiro da Cruz Calado is a Portuguese biochemist, biotechnology researcher, and professor specializing in bioengineering, bioprocess engineering, biomedical applications, metabolomics, and drug and biomarker discovery. She has been a professor at ISEL since September 2014 and has held several academic leadership roles, including coordination of the BSc and MSc programmes in Biomedical Engineering and the institution's R&D laboratory in Health & Engineering. She has also served on ISEL's Pedagogical Council and Ethics Committee. Ciencia Vitae

She obtained her five-year degree in Biochemistry from the University of Lisbon in 1995, followed by an MSc in Biotechnology/Biochemical Engineering in 1998 and a PhD in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, in 2003. In 2022, she completed her Aggregation in Biochemistry at the University of Évora, a senior academic qualification in the Portuguese higher-education system. Her postdoctoral work at Instituto Superior Técnico involved integrated processes for the production of plasmid DNA vaccines and gene therapy. Ciencia Vitae

Her research combines analytical techniques for obtaining molecular fingerprints of biological systems with machine-learning methods. Her work includes the development of process analytical technology (PAT) for monitoring bioprocesses, discovery and development of drugs and vaccines, and identification of biomarkers for medical diagnosis and prognosis. Her research interests include bioprocess engineering, metabolomics, medical biotechnology, drug discovery, and biomedical engineering. iBB

Dr. Calado is also an integrated researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB) and is associated with the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy (i4HB). Her documented research includes projects involving rapid diagnosis of infections in critically ill patients, non-invasive kidney disease monitoring using sweat analysis, and antibiotic discovery platforms. iBB

She has supervised more than 100 students, including PhD, MSc, and BSc students, and has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on projects funded by Portuguese research and innovation agencies. She has also participated in international scientific publications involving metabolomics, FTIR spectroscopy, machine learning, biomedical diagnostics, and drug discovery. Sciforum

Her recent research includes work on biomarkers for delirium, critically ill patients, kidney transplantation, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial drug discovery. For example, she was a co-author of a 2024 study on discovering delirium biomarkers through minimally invasive serum molecular fingerprinting and a 2025 study comparing metabolomics platforms for biomarker discovery in critically ill patients.