Docente
Elizabeth De Abreu Lopes

Resume

Elizabeth A. Lopes is a medicinal chemist and Invited Assistant Professor with broad expertise in organic synthesis, analytical methods, molecular modeling, and flow analysis. She holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacy from the University of Lisbon, where her doctoral research focused on the design and synthesis of novel scaffolds and p53 reactivators targeting cancer and malaria. Her work led to the discovery of potent bioactive compounds and contributed to advanced hit-to-lead optimization strategies. With hands-on experience in leading European research laboratories, Elizabeth has developed innovative synthetic routes, synthesized and characterized a wide range of bioactive small molecules, and established structure–activity relationships to improve therapeutic efficacy. Her computational chemistry skills include molecular docking, molecular dynamics, target fishing, and ADME prediction, using platforms such as Schrödinger Suite, MOE, and PyMOL. She is also highly skilled in flow analysis techniques and has performed drug quantification and pharmacokinetic studies using sequential injection lab-on-valve systems. Elizabeth has authored over 10 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals and has presented her research at more than 25 national and international conferences. She has been involved in several interdisciplinary projects spanning antimalarial drug discovery, cancer therapies, and pharmacokinetics, gaining valuable experience at the interface of chemistry and biology. She has also served as a reviewer for reputed scientific journals. Before her current academic appointment, Elizabeth was a postdoctoral researcher in a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she focused on the optimization of the synthesis of two intermediates of antituberculosis drugs via flow chemistry, guided by machine learning and artificial intelligence. This experience strengthened her expertise in AI-driven approaches to drug development and sustainable synthesis. Currently, as an Invited Assistant Professor, she is actively engaged in academic teaching and mentoring, while continuing her research in drug discovery and development, cheminformatics, machine learning, and AI-driven strategies to accelerate therapeutic innovation.

Graus

• Licenciatura
  Chemistry
• Mestrado
  Bioorganic Chemistry
• Doutoramento
  Pharmacy

Publicações

Artigo em revista

• 2023-03-04, Antimalarial drugs: what’s new in the patents?, Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents
• 2023, Hybrid molecules of protoflavones and spirooxindole derivatives with selective cytotoxicity against triple-negative breast cancer cells, RSC Medicinal Chemistry
• 2022-11, Discovery of MDM2-p53 and MDM4-p53 protein-protein interactions small molecule dual inhibitors, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
• 2022-06, Discovery of spirooxadiazoline oxindoles with dual-stage antimalarial activity, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
• 2022-01, Mutant p53 reactivator SLMP53-2 hinders ultraviolet B radiation-induced skin carcinogenesis, Pharmacological Research
• 2020-09-02, Potency and Selectivity Optimization of Tryptophanol-Derived Oxazoloisoindolinones: Novel p53 Activators in Human Colorectal Cancer., ChemMedChem
• 2019, Small molecules targeting mutant p53: A promising approach for cancer treatment, Current Medicinal Chemistry
• 2018, An update on MDMX and dual MDM2/X inhibitors, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Tese / Dissertação

• 2024-07-18, Doutoramento, Development of indole-based scaffolds to Tackle Cancer and Malaria
• 2017-10-11, Mestrado, Spirooxadiazoline oxindoles: synthesis and evaluation of anticancer and antimalarial activities

Capítulo de livro

• 2021, Pharmacological treatment of malaria , Antiprotozoal Drug Development and Delivery, Springer
• 2020, Synthesis of Spirooxindoles by Multicomponent Reactions, Synthetic Approaches to Nonaromatic Nitrogen Heterocycles, 1, 1, Wiley-Blackwell