Carla Lopes

Neurodegeneration
neuroinflammation
Mitochondria dysfunction
Extracellular vesicles
hiPSC derived models
DNA damage
cellular signalling

Carla Lopes graduated in Biomedical Engineering (2010) and earned her PhD in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine in 2015 from the University of Coimbra . She is currently an Assistant Researcher at the Translational Neurogenetics group at ICVS. Her research investigates the mechanisms by which mitochondrial dysfunction and cell-secreted extracellular vesicles drive neuroinflammation and disease progression in age-associated neurodegenerative disorders. By integrating EV biology with human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neuronal and glial models, she identified a previously unrecognized pathway linking mitochondrial oxidative stress, lysosomal dysfunction, and the extracellular release of oxidized nuclear and mitochondrial DNA via EVs, leading to microglial activation in Parkinson’s disease. Carla has authored 26 peer-reviewed publications and is committed to advancing translational neuroscience research. Beyond her scientific work, she is actively involved in teaching, mentoring, and science outreach. She designs interactive educational activities for high school and university students on stem cells, mitochondria, ageing, and neurodegenerative diseases, promoting hands-on learning and critical thinking while fostering scientific curiosity among younger generations.

Carla Lopes

Neurodegeneration
neuroinflammation
Mitochondria dysfunction
Extracellular vesicles
hiPSC derived models
DNA damage
cellular signalling

Scientific Highlights

Articles

Tavares, H.*, Gonçalves, O.*, Gaspar, R., Beatriz, M., Deus, C. M., Benfeito, S., Cágide, F., Borges, F., Seibler, P., Klein, C., Esteves, A. R., Cardoso, S. M., Raimundo, N., Milosevic, I., Pinheiro, P., Oliveira, P., & Lopes, C. (2025). Micronuclear collapse under oxidative stress drives amphisome-mediated export of DNA in Parkinson’s disease. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.11.30.691376

Beatriz, M., Rodrigues, R. J., Vilaça, R., Egas, C., Pinheiro, P. S., Daley, G. Q., Schlaeger, T. M., Raimundo, N., Rego, A. C., & Lopes, C. (2023). Extracellular vesicles improve GABAergic transmission in Huntington’s disease iPSC-derived neurons. Theranostics, 13(11), 3707–3724. https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.81981

Beatriz, M., Vilaça, R., Anjo, S. I., Manadas, B., Januário, C., Rego, A. C., & Lopes, C. (2022). Defective mitochondria-lysosomal axis enhances the release of extracellular vesicles containing mitochondrial DNA and proteins in Huntington’s disease. Journal of Extracellular Biology, 1(10), e65. https://doi.org/10.1002/jex2.65

Deus, C. M., Tavares, H., Beatriz, M., Mota, S., & Lopes, C. (2022). Mitochondrial damage-associated molecular patterns content in extracellular vesicles promotes early inflammation in neurodegenerative disorders. Cells, 11(15), 2364. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11152364

Lopes, C.*, Ferreira, I. L.*, Maranga, C., Beatriz, M., Mota, S. I., Sereno, J., Castelhano, J., Abrunhosa, A., Oliveira, F., De Rosa, M., Hayden, M., Laço, M. N., Januário, C., Castelo Branco, M., & Rego, A. C. (2022). Mitochondrial and redox modifications in early stages of Huntington’s disease. Redox Biology, 56, 102424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2022.102424

Beatriz, M., Vilaça, R., & Lopes, C. (2021). Exosomes: Innocent bystanders or critical culprits in neurodegenerative diseases. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 9, 635104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.635104

Lopes, C., Tang, Y., Anjo, S. I., Manadas, B., Onofre, I., de Almeida, L. P., Daley, G. Q., Schlaeger, T. M., & Rego, A. C. C. (2020). Mitochondrial and redox modifications in Huntington disease induced pluripotent stem cells rescued by CRISPR/Cas9 CAGs targeting. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 8, 576592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.576592

Book Chapter

D’Acunzo, P., Levy, E., & Lopes, C. (2026). Modern techniques for studying extracellular mitochondria and mitochondria-derived extracellular vesicles. In C. Lopes & P. C. da S. Pinheiro (Eds.), Translational and Applied Bioenergetics, Extracellular Mitochondria in Health and Disease (pp. 33-57). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-29283-5.00003-0

Lopes, C. (2026). Conclusions and future perspectives. In C. Lopes & P. C. da S. Pinheiro (Eds.), Translational and Applied Bioenergetics, Extracellular Mitochondria in Health and Disease (pp. 177-179). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-29283-5.00008-X

Lopes, C. (2025). Imaging mitochondrial axonal transport in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons. In C. M. Palmeira & P. J. Oliveira (Eds.), Mitochondrial Bioenergetics: Methods and Protocols (3^rd Ed., Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2878, pp. 201-209). Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4264-1_10

Lopes, C., & Raimundo, N. (2024). Mitochondria-lysosome crosstalk, in disease and in health. In A. S. Reichert (Ed.), The Dynamic Nature of Mitochondria: From Ultrastructure to Health and Disease (pp. 96-110). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003221180

Awards

Scientific Contribution Award 2025 at the 2^nd World Congress on Targeting Extracellular Vesicles, Valencia, Spain

FCT Mobility Programme 1^st edition

EMBO Scientific Exchange Grant (University of Groningen)