Sofia Azeredo Pereira is an Associate Professor with tenure and Group Leader of the Renal, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Pharmacology Laboratory at iNOVA4Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal. Her research focuses on translational pharmacology, integrating biomedical sciences, clinical research and engineering to develop innovative approaches for kidney, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. She completed postdoctoral training at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Slotervaart Hospital in Netherlands, experiences that strengthened her expertise in clinical pharmacology and therapeutic drug monitoring. She has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and is the principal inventor of patent WO2019229565, a novel HDL-targeting therapeutic strategy. Her work has led to biomarkers and novel targets of resistant hypertension, early-phase clinical trials and biomarkers in nephrology and cardiovascular medicine. She is deeply committed to mentoring young scientists and translating mechanistic discoveries into clinically meaningful advances that improve patient care. Currently research is focused in Reno-cardiac disease, peritoneal dialysis, kidney stones and Medical Education in Pharmacology area.

Diretor do Serviço de Cardiologia, ULS de Entre o Douro e Vouga | Professor Catedrático Convidado, Departamento de Ciências Médicas, Universidade de Aveiro | Professor Auxiliar Convidado, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra | Secretário-Geral da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia (2025-2027).

José António Belo is Full Professor and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Executive Director–Research Support Structure, at NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA Lisboa. He also leads the Stem Cells and Development Lab, iNOVA4Health at NMS. He provides advanced expertise in cardiovascular translational research. His team has been involved in the generation and study of animal and cellular models of disease, namely the generation and utilization in vitro of hiPSC-derived 3D cardiac organoid models to gain insights into disease pathogenesis. Integrating preclinical disease models, patient-derived data, and advanced molecular and imaging tools, he focuses on developing and validating biomechanism-based therapeutic and diagnostic interventions for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). By investigating cell-cell signalling pathways, molecular regulators of cardiomyocyte differentiation and proliferation, cardiac remodelling, and endothelial dysfunction, the group studies new targets for precision prevention and treatment.