ICVS researcher Céline Gonçalves has been awarded the L’Oréal Portugal Medal of Honor for Women in Science. This award, granted in partnership with the National Commission for UNESCO and the Foundation for Science and Technology, recognizes the achievements of scientists under 35 and supports innovative research projects with an impact on health and the environment.
The awarded project focuses on glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor in adults. With a very low survival rate and current methods that are challenging for monitoring, the research led by Céline Gonçalves aims to develop innovative, less invasive, more effective, and accessible ways to detect and monitor this disease.
The scientist’s approach involves studying small structures released by cells, called extracellular vesicles, which carry information about the state of these cells. By analyzing the vesicles present simultaneously in the tumor and in the blood of the same patients, the team aims to identify a combination of molecules—a “fingerprint” of glioblastoma—that enables disease detection and monitoring solely through a blood test.
Céline Gonçalves (photo by João Dias ICVS/EM)
“If we can reliably identify this molecular signature, it will represent a tool with enormous clinical potential: faster and earlier diagnoses, timely detection of relapses, and better capacity to adapt treatments to the individual response of each patient,” explains the researcher.
Beyond improving glioblastoma management, the project could pave the way for applying this methodology to other oncological diseases, promoting more personalized, patient-centered medicine.
The research is being conducted at the ICVS, in collaboration with Braga Hospital (ULS Braga) and the Clinical Academic Center – Braga (2CA-Braga). Its goal is to enable earlier diagnoses, more effective monitoring, and personalized therapies, ultimately improving patients’ quality of life.
Céline Gonçalves holds a Ph.D. in Health Sciences from the School of Medicine, University of Minho, and has built her career at the ICVS as a researcher and lecturer. She also highlights the challenges faced by women in science, particularly balancing personal and professional life: “Motherhood is still penalizing in a career where deadlines do not stop.”
This award represents not only recognition of her work but also a boost for continuing research that could have a real impact on the lives of many patients.
