Freitas Lab

Renata Freitas leads a research team at I3S-Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, integrated into the Cell Growth and Differentiation group, and she is an invited professor at ICBAS-Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (University of Porto) since 2013. Her team investigates the role of developmental genes in embryonic development, morphological evolution, and cancer, aiming to uncover the molecular mechanisms associated with these processes. In the past, she uncovered developmental mechanisms in lampreys and sharks (e.g. Nature 2006) and explored the role of HOX genes in morphological evolution (e.g. Developmental Cell 2012). Currently, she is discovering targets and mechanisms affected by HOX gene deregulation in breast cancer (e.g. BBACAN 2020, Biomedicines 2021) and pursuing her interest in developmental biology (e.g. Genetics 2020, Scientific Reports 2021). Moreover, she is also conducting bioassays to test novel drugs for breast cancer therapy.