Pedro P. Cunha

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PostDoc Researcher

Overview

My main research ambition is to contribute to the treatment of human disease. Throughout the years, my academic background and career choices have enabled me to conduct translational research, always with that goal in mind. During my BSc in Biochemistry and MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Coimbra, I was trained to think about scientific problems from a molecular to an organismal level. During my MSc work, I worked on the targeted delivery of nucleic acids to sensitise cancer cells to chemotherapy. During my PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK), I explored how metabolic shifts modulate and are affected by immune cell activation and function. As a visiting researcher at the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), I focused on modulating cellular metabolism with gene editing to improve immunotherapeutic strategies for cancer. Currently, as a member of Filipe Pereira’s lab at CIBB, I intend to innovate their recentky developed dendritic cell reprogramming immunotherapy combining my background in (1) gene editing, (2) cellular metabolism, and (3) cancer immunology.

Publications

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Information about journal articles, updated at 15-12-2024, from platform CIÊNCIAVITAE.

A 2-hydroxybutyrate-mediated feedback loop regulates muscular fatigue

Brennan J Wadsworth; Marina Leiwe; Eleanor A Minogue; Pedro P Cunha; Viktor Engman; Carolin Brombach; Christos Asvestis; et al, eLife. 2024. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.92707.2 . 10.7554/eLife.92707.2 . eLife

Oxygen levels at the time of activation determine T cell persistence and immunotherapeutic efficacy

Pedro P Cunha; Eleanor Minogue; Lena CM Krause; Rita M Hess; David Bargiela; Brennan J Wadsworth; Laura Barbieri; et al, eLife. 2023. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.84280 . 10.7554/eLife.84280 . eLife

Lactate exposure shapes the metabolic and transcriptomic profile of CD8+ T cells

Laura Barbieri; Pedro Veliça; Paulo A. Gameiro; Pedro P. Cunha; Iosifina P. Foskolou; Eric Rullman; David Bargiela; Randall S. Johnson; Helene Rundqvist, Frontiers in Immunology. 14. 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1101433 . 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1101433 . Frontiers in Immunology

The two enantiomers of 2-hydroxyglutarate differentially regulate cytotoxic T cell function

Iosifina P. Foskolou; Pedro P. Cunha; Elena Sánchez-López; Eleanor A. Minogue; Benoît P. Nicolet; Aurélie Guislain; Christian Jorgensen; et al, Cell Reports. 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113013 . 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113013 . Cell Reports

Glutarate regulates T cell metabolism and anti-tumour immunity

Eleanor Minogue; Pedro P. Cunha; Brennan Wadsworth; Guinevere L. Grice; shiv kumar Sah-Teli; Rob Hughes; David Bargiela; et al, Nature Metabolism. 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00855-2 . 10.1038/s42255-023-00855-2 . Nature Metabolism

Vitamin B6 Metabolism Determines T Cell Anti-Tumor Responses

David Bargiela; Pedro P. Cunha; Pedro Veliça; Iosifina P. Foskolou; Laura Barbieri; Helene Rundqvist; Randall S. Johnson, Frontiers in Immunology. 13. 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.837669 . 10.3389/fimmu.2022.837669 . Frontiers in Immunology

Infiltration of tumors is regulated by T cell-intrinsic nitric oxide synthesis

Pedro P. Cunha; David Bargiela; Eleanor Minogue; Lena C.M. Krause; Laura Barbieri; Carolin Brombach; Milos Gojkovic; et al, Cancer Immunology Research. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-22-0387 . 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-22-0387 . Cancer Immunology Research

The two enantiomers of 2-hydroxyglutarate differentially regulate cytotoxic T cell function

Foskolou, I. P.; Cunha, P. P.; Minogue, E.; Nicolet, B.; Guislain, A.; Jorgensen, C.; Zandhuis, N. D.; et al, BioRxiv. 2022. https://publons.com/wos-op/publon/58339254/ . 10.1101/2022.08.18.504372 . BioRxiv

Lactate regulation of activation in CD8+ T cells

Barbieri, L.; Velica, P.; Gameiro, P. A.; Cunha, P. P.; Foskolou, I. P.; Bargiela, D.; Rundqvist, H.; Johnson, Randall S., BioRxiv. 2021. https://publons.com/wos-op/publon/58339252/ . 10.1101/2021.12.14.472728 . BioRxiv

Differentiation of glioblastoma stem cells promoted by miR-128 or miR-302a overexpression enhances senescence-associated cytotoxicity of axitinib

Cardoso, A.M.; Morais, C.M.; Pena, F.; Marante, T.; Cunha, P.P.; Jurado, A.S.; Pedroso de Lima, M.C., Human Molecular Genetics. 160 - 171. 3-4. 30. 2021. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85106069155&partnerID=MN8TOARS . 10.1093/hmg/ddab011 . Human Molecular Genetics

Modified hypoxia-inducible factor expression in CD8<sup>þ</sup> T cells increases antitumor efficacy

Veliça, P.; Cunha, P.P.; Vojnovic, N.; Foskolou, I.P.; Bargiela, D.; Gojkovic, M.; Rundqvist, H.; Johnson, R.S., Cancer Immunology Research. 401 - 414. 4. 9. 2021. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85104428121&partnerID=MN8TOARS . 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-20-0561 . Cancer Immunology Research

Oxygen regulation of TET enzymes

Matuleviciute, R.; Cunha, P.P.; Johnson, R.S.; Foskolou, I.P., FEBS Journal. 2021. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85099991597&partnerID=MN8TOARS . 10.1111/febs.15695 . FEBS Journal

Oxygen-Mediated Suppression of CD8+ T Cell Proliferation by Macrophages: Role of Pharmacological Inhibitors of HIF Degradation

Gojkovic, M.; Cunha, P.P.; Darmasaputra, G.S.; Barbieri, L.; Rundqvist, H.; Veliça, P.; Johnson, R.S., Frontiers in Immunology. 12. 2021. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85107036662&partnerID=MN8TOARS . 10.3389/fimmu.2021.633586 . Frontiers in Immunology

miRNA-31 Improves Cognition and Abolishes Amyloid-ß Pathology by Targeting APP and BACE1 in an Animal Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Cunha, Pedro, Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids. 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2020.01.010 . 10.1016/j.omtn.2020.01.010 . Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids

The S enantiomer of 2-hydroxyglutarate increases central memory CD8 populations and improves CAR-T therapy outcome

Iosifina P. Foskolou; Laura Barbieri; Aude Vernet; David Bargiela; Pedro P. Cunha; Pedro Velica; Eunyeong Suh; et al, Blood Advances. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002309 . 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002309 . Blood Advances

Glucosylceramide synthase silencing combined with the receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor axitinib as a new multimodal strategy for glioblastoma

Catarina M Morais; Pedro P Cunha; Tânia Melo; Ana M Cardoso; Pedro Domingues; M Rosário Domingues; Maria C Pedroso de Lima; Amália S Jurado, Human Molecular Genetics. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddz152 . 10.1093/hmg/ddz152 . Human Molecular Genetics

Acylation of the S4<inf>13</inf>-PV cell-penetrating peptide as a means of enhancing its capacity to mediate nucleic acid delivery: Relevance of peptide/lipid interactions

Morais, C.M.; Cardoso, A.M.; Cunha, P.P.; Aguiar, L.; Vale, N.; Lage, E.; Pinheiro, M.; et al, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Biomembranes. 2619 - 2634. 12. 1860. 2018. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85054439165&partnerID=MN8TOARS . 10.1016/j.bbamem.2018.10.002 . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Biomembranes

High-throughput screening uncovers miRNAs enhancing glioblastoma cell susceptibility to tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Pedro P Cunha; Pedro M Costa; Catarina M Morais; Inês R Lopes; Ana M Cardoso; Ana L Cardoso; Miguel Mano; Amália S Jurado; Maria C Pedroso de Lima, Human Molecular Genetics. 4375 - 4387. 22. 26. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddx323 . 10.1093/hmg/ddx323 . Human Molecular Genetics

MicroRNA modulation renders glioblastoma cells sensitive to chemotherapy

Cunha, P. P.; Costa, P.; Costa, R.; Custodia, C.; Branco, R.; Morais, C. M.; Cardoso, A. M.; et al, European Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2015. https://publons.com/wos-op/publon/11264927/ . European Journal of Clinical Investigation

MiRNA-21 silencing mediated by tumor-targeted nanoparticles combined with sunitinib: A new multimodal gene therapy approach for glioblastoma

Cunha, Pedro, Journal of Controlled Release . 2015. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168365915002205 . http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.04.002 . Journal of Controlled Release

All projects

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Information of exclusive responsibility of the researcher 15-12-2024 , from platform CIÊNCIAVITAE.

2023/02/14 - 2025/12/31

CInTech: Technological Hub for Innovation, Translation and Industrialization of Complex Injectable Drugs

C644865576-00000005

Post-doc

Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Inovação em Biomedicina e Biotecnologia

2022/04 - 2022/12

Hypoxia, HIF function and immunotherapy

CAN2018/808

Invited Scientist Fellow

Karolinska Institutet

Funders: Cancerfonden

2017/09 - 2022/12

Oxygen and the immune response

214283/Z/18/Z

Research Fellow

University of Cambridge Queens' College

Funders: Wellcome Foundation Ltd

2017/01 - 2017/08

Differentiation therapy toward glioblastoma stem-like cells

POCI-01-0145- FEDER-016390

Research Fellow

Universidade de Coimbra Centro de Inovação em Biomedicina e Biotecnologia

Funders: Autoridade de Gestão do Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização

2017 - 2022

The role of hypoxia in T cell function and Imunotherapy

SFRH/BD/115612/2016

PhD Student Fellow

University of Cambridge Queens' College

Funders: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

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