Rui Ferreira Marques
Research
The colorectal cancer immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment is shaped by interactions between cancer, immune, stromal cells, and the extracellular matrix. My research focuses on CCL18, a chemokine with poorly described functions that we found to be upregulated in colorectal cancer and specifically expressed by macrophages.
As a PhD student, I am interested in the role of CCL18 in enhancing the aggressiveness of colorectal tumors. More specifically, my aim is to characterize the macrophage populations that produce CCL18, and how this chemokine can act on the tumor microenvironment, particularly on tumor cells. To do this, I apply bioinformatic pipelines on bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics data with R and Python languages. Uncovering the role of CCL18 on colorectal tumors can be an important step for adding a new and strong candidate for targeted therapies in these patients.
Curriculum Vitae
In 2021, I completed my bachelor's in biomedical sciences at the University of Aveiro, in Portugal. Two years later I obtained my Master’s Degree in Health Sciences program from the Health and Life Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), from the University of Minho, Portugal. My Master’s project, named “Characterization and biological impact of medulloblastoma immune profile”, was developed under the supervision of Dr. Rui Manuel Reis in partnership with his team from the Cancer Hospital of Barretos in Brazil and the Tumor and Microenvironment Interactions (TMi) team from the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), in Porto. For this, I developed transcriptomic analysis skills with R through online courses, help from colleagues, and other available sources. Additionally improved my cell culture skills and developed and characterized 3D spheroid models using cell lines. This project resulted in my first published scientific article. With an awarded a grant for the project "Role of CD24, an immune checkpoint, in the biology and therapy of medulloblastoma" I became a research fellow at ICVS. In 2024, I was awarded an FCT Doctoral Fellowship for the project “Unravelling the Role of CCL18 in Promoting Colorectal Cancer Aggressiveness,” under the supervision of Dr. Maria Oliveira from i3S, Porto, and Dr. Noel de Miranda and Dr. Jessica Roelands from LUMC.
