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Miguel Seabra discusses the changing landscape of science funding in Portugal

Miguel Seabra was recently featured on «Mentes Brilhantes» (Rádio Observador), where he discussed the challenges and prospects for scientific funding in Portugal, particularly following the restructuring of the national research funding agency, FCT. Watch the full interview here.

PRESS •  FEV 20, 2026

ESGCT 32nd Annual Congress

Luísa Lemos and Cláudia Carvalho presented posters at the ESGCT 32nd Annual Congress in Seville, Spain. Luísa presented her research on gene supplementation for Choroideremia using lipid nanoparticles and mRNA, while Cláudia shared her preliminary PhD work on gene editing.

CONFERENCES  •  OCT 7-10, 2025

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Neuro-Ophthalmology Congress: From Bench to Bedside, and Back

Pedro Antas presented our lab’s latest research at the Neuro-Ophthalmology: From Bench to Bedside, and Back Congress, held at the Champalimaud Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal. His talk showcased preclinical results on gene supplementation and gene editing using nonviral mRNA delivery in Choroideremia models, and introduced our upcoming project to establish a personalized pipeline for validating gene editing tools for Choroideremia.

CONFERENCES  •  SEP 19, 2025

11th YES Talk: A Lens into the Future

Pedro Antas was an invited speaker at the 11th YES Talk, held in Porto. During his presentation, he discussed the current landscape of gene-based therapies for inherited retinal diseases and highlighted our lab’s preclinical work on gene supplementation and gene editing for Choroideremia, showcasing the potential of nonviral mRNA approaches for next-generation retinal therapies.

CONFERENCES  •  MAR 15 , 2025

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4th Annual mRNA-Based Therapeutics Summit

Miguel Seabra will be speaking at the 4th mRNA-Based Therapeutics Summit Europe (28th-30th Jan 2025, Frankfurt, Germany)!  Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the latest advances in mRNA therapeutics.
Read more: https://ter.li/welq6g. 

CONFERENCES  •  JAN 14, 2025

Miguel Seabra receives Career Award from the Portuguese Biochemical Society

The Portuguese Biochemical Society has presented a Career Award to our Group Leader, Miguel Seabra, during the XXII National Congress of Biochemistry in Aveiro (Portugal). 

HONORS & AWARDS  •  OCT 24, 2024

Miguel Seabra honored with the 2024 European Society for Pigment Cell Research Award

Miguel Seabra has been distinguished with the European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR) Award at the recent 25th annual meeting in Marseille (France). This honor recognizes his significant contributions to skin pigmentation research.

HONORS & AWARDS  •  OCT 18, 2024

ARVO 2024 Annual Meeting

Luísa Lemos attended the ARVO 2024 Annual Meeting in Seattle (Washington, USA), presenting a poster on our latest findings in low-cost nonviral mRNA gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases. The insightful talks and valuable networking with fellow scientists, physicians, and industry leaders inspired new ideas and collaborations.

CONFERENCES  •  MAY 9, 2024

4th International Choroideremia Congress

Miguel Seabra had the priviledge of participating in the 4th International Choroideremia Congress in Monpellier (France). This event brought together 25 leading experts, patients, and families to foster collaboration and share groundbreaking research on choroideremia.

CONFERENCES  •  MAY 18, 2024

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Cláudia Carvalho completed her Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering

Congratulations to Cláudia Carvalho on her outstanding Master's thesis defense, achieving a final grade of 20/20. In her project, titled "Non-viral mRNA gene therapy for Inherited Retinal Diseases," she showed that non-viral mRNA delivery restored functional REP1 protein expression in iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium cells from choroideremia patients, showcasing the safety and efficiency of this therapeutic approach. Cláudia's next steps will focus on enhancing endosomal escape and advancing to in vivo validation.

EDUCATION  •  APR 29, 2024

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Luísa Lemos receives Randy Wheelock Research Award 

A big congratulations to Luísa Lemos on winning the Randy Wheelock Research Award 2023 for her project "Pathways of Retinal Pigment Epithelium Degeneration in Choroideremia". In this study, Luísa aims to identify key molecular pathways underlying cell death in Choroideremia, potentially uncovering novel therapeutic targets for intervention. 

HONORS & AWARDS  •  APR 29, 2024

20th International Symposium on Retinal Degeration

Miguel Seabra and Ana Fonseca attended the 20th International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration in Torremolinos (Andalusia, Spain). During this event, Miguel delivered a talk on NRF2 dysfunction, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Meanwhile, Ana presented a poster showcasing our research on isogenic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium models for choroideremia.

CONFERENCES  •  OCT 27, 2023

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Miguel Seabra among the World's Top 2% Scientists

Miguel Seabra is among the most cited researchers worlwide, ranking in the top 2% according to Stanford University. Notably, Miguel is included in both the career-long list and the 2022 year impact list, reflecting the exceptional quality of his scientific contributions. 

HONORS & AWARDS  •  OCT 4, 2023

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Miguel Seabra and Pedro Antas receive Throssell-Hillier Families Research Award

We are proud to announce that researchers Miguel Seabra and Pedro Antas have received the Throssell-Hillier Families Research Award by the Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF) and Choroideremia Research Foundation Canada (CRFC). This funding will support their study on CRISPR-Based Gene Editing for Choroideremia, aiming to develop innovative treatments for patients with nonsense mutations — a genetic alteration affecting about one-third of those with the condition. For more information on the CRF and its research initiatives, visit curechm.org.

HONORS & AWARDS  •  MAY, 2021

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Seabra Lab wins prestigious Fight For Sight Award 2021

In May 2021, researchers Miguel Seabra and Pedro Antas won the prize awarded by the renowned British organization Fight For Sight. Their award-winning project, titled "Mechanisms of Cell Death in Choroideremia," will be conducted in collaboration with Clare Futter’s group at the Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London. Read more here. 

HONORS & AWARDS  •  MAY, 2021