Sara C. Pereira, M.Sc.

Short Biography

Sara C. Pereira holds a BSc degree in Biochemistry, obtained at the Faculty of Sciences (FCUP), and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, in 2017. In October 2019, she completed her master's MSc degree in Applied Biochemistry, with a specialization in Biomedicine, at the School of Sciences, University of Minho (UM). Her master’s thesis was developed at ICBAS, under the supervision of Dr. Marco G. Alves, and Prof. Sandra Paiva (UM). She was a research technician on the project: "TRaitor - Tracking TRAnsgenerational epigenetic inheritance of metabolic diseases transmitted via overweight or obese fathers” (PTDC/MEC-AND/28691/2017) at ICBAS, under the supervision of Dr. Marco G. Alves, from 2020 to 2021. In 2021, she was awarded a PhD fellowship by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Currently, she is a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences doctoral program at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, under the supervision of Prof. Pedro F. Oliveira, Prof. Dr. Mariana P. Monteiro, and Prof. Dr. Alberto Barros.

Fellowships and Prizes

2022 - ESCI Poster Award at the 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of ESCI, 8-10th June 2022, Bari, Italy.

2022 - ESCI Travel Grant to attend the 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of ESCI, 8-10th June 2022, Bari, Italy. 

2021 – 4-year PhD fellowship, in the field of Clinical Medicine and Health Sciences by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

2020 - "SPMR Research Award" from the Portuguese Society of Reproductive Medicine (SPMR).

2019 - 3rd prize for best Poster Presentation, "Expression of Obesity-related genes is altered by Leptin-Ghrelin stimuli, in Human Sertoli Cells", VII AEICBAS Biomedical Congress, 14-17 March 2019, CHUP, Porto, Portugal. 

Proceedings in Peer-reviewed Journals

13. Pereira SC, Monteiro MP, Barros A, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2022) Identification of obesity-related genes-associated proteins in human seminal fluid extracellular vesicles. 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of European Society for Clinical Investigation, 2022, 8-10 June, Bari, Italy https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.13796

12. Moreira MV, Pereira SC, Guerra-Carvalho B, Carrageta DF, Pinto S, Barros A, Silva BM; Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2022). Can hyperoside supplementation of sperm media be beneficial for the preservation of mitochondrial activity and sperm metabolism under an oxidative stress condition? 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of European Society for Clinical Investigation, 2022, 8-10 June, Bari, Italy. https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.1379

11. Moreira MV, Pereira SC, Pinto S, Barros A, Silva BM, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2022). Hyperoside sperm medium supplementation: a potential strategy to counteract reactive oxygen species. Endocrine 2022, 2022, June, Milan, Italy (ISSN 1479-6848)

10. Marques M, Braga PC, Pereira SC, Alves MG (2022). The impact of chromium picolinate in Diabetic Nephropathy. IJUP 2022, 4-6 May, Porto, Portugal (ISBN 978-989-746-329-7)

9. Fomichova O, Pereira SC, Braga PC, Bernardino RL, Alves MG (2022). The impact of chromium picolinate on Sertoli cells’ viability. IJUP 2022, 4-6 May, Porto, Portugal (ISBN 978-989-746-329-7)

8. Pedro O. Corda, Joana Vieira Silva, Sara Pereira, Alberto Barros, Marco G. Alves, Margarida Fardilha. (2021) “Arylsulfatase A (ARSA): a potential quality biomarker for sperm cryopreservation”. WebRePRO - I Reproductive Sciences & Fertility Virtual Summit, Online. 26th-27th July 2021 (online meeting).

7. Moreira MV, Pereira SC, Barros A, Pinto S, Silva BM, Alves MG, Oliveira PF (2021). Impact of hyperoside supplementation on the quality of human sperm. I WebRePRO, 26-27 July (online meeting).

6. Moreira M, Pereira SC, Barros A, Pinto S, Silva BM, Alves MG, Oliveira PF. Impact of hyperoside supplementation on the quality of human sperm. IJUP 2021, 5-7 May, Porto, Portugal (ISNB: 978-989-746-295-5)

5. Pereira SC, Martins AD, Barros A, Pinto S, Oliveira PF, Alves MG. (2021) Obesity-related transcripts abundance in human spermatozoa influence the outcome of medical-assisted reproduction treatments. II Symposium on Applied Biochemistry, Braga, Portugal. https://doi.org/ 10.21814/1822.70576

4. Pereira SC, Martins AD, Moreira BP, Bernardino RL, Barros A, Sousa M, Paiva S, Oliveira PF, Alves MG. Identification of obesity-related genes in Sertoli cells and human spermatozoa. XX Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Histología e Ingeniería Tisular. https://doi.org/10.14670/HH-sehit19

3. Pereira SC, Martins AD, Moreira BP, Bernardino RL, Barros A, Sousa M, Paiva S, Oliveira PF, Alves MG. Ghrelin and Leptin stimuli alter the expression of Obesity-related genes in Human Sertoli Cells. 12th Meeting of Young Researchers of University of Porto. 2019. ISBN: 978-989-746-203-0

2. S.C.F. Pereira, M. Almada, B.M. Fonseca, L. Midão, J. Maia, N.A. Teixeira, G. Correia-da-Silva, Endocannabinoids induce placental trophoblast reticulum stress, Porto Biomedical Journal, Volume 2, Issue 5, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbj.2017.07.103

1. Almada M, Maia J, Pereira S, Fonseca B, Teixeira N, Correia-da-Silva G. P-239 - Underpinning the endocannabinoid 2-AG induced-apoptosis in trophoblast cells: the role of oxidative stress. Free Radical Biology and Medicine. 2018;120:S117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.04.386

Book chapters

Publications

13. Carrageta DF, Pereira SC, Ferreira R, Monteiro MP, Oliveira PF, Alves MG. Signatures of metabolic diseases on spermatogenesis and testicular metabolism. Nat Rev Urol, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-024-00866-y

12. Santos-Pereira, M.; Pereira, S.C.; Rebelo, I.; Spadella, M.A.; Oliveira, P.F.; Alves, M.G. Decoding the Influence of Obesity on Prostate Cancer and Its Transgenerational Impact. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4858. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15234858

11. Correia AS, Pereira SC, Morais T, Martins AD, Monteiro MP, Alves MG, Oliveira PF. Obesity-Related Genes Expression in Testes and Sperm Parameters Respond to GLP-1 and Caloric Restriction. Biomedicines. 2022 Oct 17;10(10):2609. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10102609

10. Corda PO, Silva JV, Pereira SC, Barros A, Alves MG, Fardilha M. (2021). Bioinformatic Approach to Unveil Key Differentially Expressed Proteins in Human Sperm After Slow and Rapid Cryopreservation. Front Cell Dev Biol, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.759354

9. Pereira SC, Esperança IF, Pinto S, Barros A, Sousa M, Alves MG, Oliveira PF (2022) Pregnancy Achievement by Medical Assisted Reproduction Is Correlated to the G Protein-Coupled Receptor 30 mRNA Abundance in Human Spermatozoa. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 3240. DOI: 10.3390/app12073240

8. Moreira MV, Pereira SC, Guerra-Carvalho B, Carrageta DF, Pinto S, Barros A, Silva BM, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2022) Hyperoside Supplementation in Preservation Media Surpasses Vitamin C Protection Against Oxidative Stress-induced Damages in Human Spermatozoa. Cell Physiol Biochem 2022;56(S1):1-23. DOI: 10.33594/000000487

7. Pereira SC, Esperança IF, Pinto S, Barros A, Sousa M, Alves MG, Oliveira PF. (2021) "Association of GPR30 transcript abundance in human spermatozoa with outcomes of assisted reproduction”. Research@UA 2020 (2021): p-63.

6. Pereira SC, Oliveira PF, Oliveira SR, Pereira ML, Alves MG (2021). Impact of Environmental and Lifestyle Use of Chromium on Male Fertility: Focus on Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress. Antioxidants, 10(9), 1365. doi:10.3390/antiox10091365

5. Pereira SC, Martins AD, Monteiro MP, Pinto S, Barros A, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2021). Expression of obesity-related genes in human spermatozoa affects the outcomes of reproductive treatments. F&S Science. doi:10.1016/j.xfss.2021.03.004 

4. Pereira SC, Martins AC, Moreira BP, Bernardino RL, Barros A, Monteiro MP, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2021) Obesity-related genes are expressed in human Sertoli cells and modulated by energy homeostasis regulating hormones. Journal of Cellular Physiology, . doi:10.1002/jcp.30230

3. Pereira SC*, Crisóstomo L*, Sousa M, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2020) Metabolic diseases affect male reproduction and induce signatures in gametes that may compromise the offspring health. Environmental Epigenetics, 6. doi:10.1093/eep/dvaa019

2. Crisóstomo L, Pereira SC, Monteiro MP, Raposo JF, Oliveira PF, Alves MG (2020) Lifestyle, metabolic disorders and male hypogonadism – A one-way ticket? Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 110945. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2020.110945

1. Braga PC*, Pereira SC*, Ribeiro JC*, Sousa M, Monteiro MP, Oliveira PF, Alves MG. Late-Onset Hypogonadism and Lifestyle-Related Metabolic Disorders (2020) Andrology. doi:10.1111/andr.12765

*equal contribution