Amália Jurado obtained her Degree in Biology, M.Sc. in Cell Biology and Ph.D. in Biochemistry in the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Her research has been focused on biological membranes and, as leader of the Group “Membrane Toxicity” at the Centre for Neurosciences and Cell Biology (2002-2010), her research was devoted to understanding how lipid collective properties govern bilayer structure, influence membrane functioning and are affected by the incorporation of foreign molecules. In 2011, she joined the Group “Vectors and Gene Therapy” at the same Centre and her contribution regards the definition of architecture parameters that endow non-viral nucleic acid delivery systems with transfection competence, through biophysical studies.
Lipidomics and Biophysics, exploring different topics: i. Membrane lipid composition and biophysical properties involved in cell malfunctioning and disease; ii. Lipid membrane structure and dynamics in relation to drug research; iii. Membrane lipid composition changes and membrane structure remodeling induced by diet in mammals and by environmental stress in bacteria; iv. Interaction of non-viral drug vectors with cell membranes.
Biochemical toxicology, with emphasis in: i. Development of in vitro assays for toxicity assessment alternative to animal use; ii. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the cytotoxic effects of xenobiotics with interest in pharmaceutics and agrochemical industries, using different model systems; iii. Study of the alterations of the homeostatic equilibrium of biological systems induced by membrane-active xenobiotics and nanostructures and establishment of structure-activity relationships.
