Degree: Doctor

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CIQUP

Bio

Alexandra Gaspar graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto 2007. She completed her MSc studies at the University of Lisbon and, in 2013, concluded her PhD studies at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. Her scientific career focuses on public health and well-being, with an emphasis on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutic solutions resourcing to new bioactive chemical compounds. Spanning over 15 years in the field of medicinal chemistry, Alexandra Gaspar has actively contributed to multiple funded research projects in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. She was the principal investigator of the "Trojan Horse" project (EXPL/MED-QUI/1156/2021) and has also collaborated on several other funded research projects. Her scientific outputs include co-authoring 3 national patents, one international patent application, 3 chapter books (one as the corresponding author), more than 50 peer-reviewed papers (4 as the corresponding author, 11 as the first author, and 10 as co-first author), and 15 conference proceedings. Alexandra Gaspar’s works have garnered several scientific distinctions, resulting in an h-index of 24 and a citation count of over 2500 (from WoS). In 2022, she was recognized as one of the "World's Top 2% Scientists" by Stanford University (USA) in the sub-field of medicinal chemistry. Alexandra Gaspar has also actively participated in various initiatives to contribute to the research community and share knowledge globally. She has been involved in Erasmus initiatives such as the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) and COST Actions. She has organized scientific conferences, served as a moderator, and presented over 30 oral presentations and more than 70 poster communications at international and national scientific events. Additionally, she takes part in (co)supervising undergraduate and graduate students and contributes as a lecturer in various curricular units, such as Medicinal Chemistry and advanced methods in Structural Analysis. She also serves as a referee and guest editor for several journals in the field of Medicinal Chemistry.

Publications
Showing 5 latest publications. Total publications: 58
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1. Unveiling RNA ligands: Harnessing NMR for hit generation, Gaspar, A Garrido, JMPJ in EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, 2026, ISSN: 0223-5234,  Volume: 304, 
Review,  Indexed in: crossref, scopus, wos  DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2025.118495 P-01A-TG5
Abstract In recent decades, there has been extraordinary progress in the discovery of biomacromolecules essential for the occurrence and progression of diseases, providing new and more effective perspectives for drug discovery. The discovery and development of new drugs are vital to healthcare, as most existing drugs target protein-based biomolecules such as enzymes and receptors. Nevertheless, only a small part of the genome encodes for proteins, while a large portion is transcribed into RNA. Moving beyond proteins, RNA is emerging as a promising target, offering a vast, largely unexplored chemical space for therapy. The knowledge gained from applying Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to protein-target-based drug discovery can play a key role in advancing the discovery of RNA-targeting drugs. NMR can significantly contribute not only to determining RNA structures but also to uncovering new small molecules with potential as drugs through innovative mechanisms of action. This review aims to explore an emerging field of research that uses RNA as a therapeutic target, focusing on how NMR can contribute to the discovery of hit-to-lead compounds and provide information on ligand-RNA interactions to drive the optimisation and eventual clinical application of these compounds.
2. Drug Development for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease: Where Do We Go Now?, Sequeira, L Benfeito, S; Fernandes, C; Lima, I; Peixoto, J; Alves, C; Machado, CS; Gaspar, A Borges, F; Chavarria, D in PHARMACEUTICS, 2024, ISSN: 1999-4923,  Volume: 16, 
Review,  Indexed in: wos, crossref, unpaywall, scopus  DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16060708 P-010-NPQ
Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a set of progressive, chronic, and incurable diseases characterized by the gradual loss of neurons, culminating in the decline of cognitive and/or motor functions. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are the most common NDs and represent an enormous burden both in terms of human suffering and economic cost. The available therapies for AD and PD only provide symptomatic and palliative relief for a limited period and are unable to modify the diseases' progression. Over the last decades, research efforts have been focused on developing new pharmacological treatments for these NDs. However, to date, no breakthrough treatment has been discovered. Hence, the development of disease-modifying drugs able to halt or reverse the progression of NDs remains an unmet clinical need. This review summarizes the major hallmarks of AD and PD and the drugs available for pharmacological treatment. It also sheds light on potential directions that can be pursued to develop new, disease-modifying drugs to treat AD and PD, describing as representative examples some advances in the development of drug candidates targeting oxidative stress and adenosine A2A receptors.
3. Microencapsulation of the Biocide Benzisothiazolinone (BIT) by Inclusion in Methyl-β-cyclodextrin and Screening of Its Antibacterial and Ecotoxicity Properties, Silva, VFM; Silva, A; Garrido, EMPJ Borges, F; Gaspar, A Garrido, JMPJ in TOXICS, 2024, ISSN: 2305-6304,  Volume: 12, 
Article,  Indexed in: crossref, scopus, wos  DOI: 10.3390/toxics12090674 P-017-0TF
Abstract The excessive use of biocides has considerable environmental and economic impacts; this is why new technologies have been sought to decrease the concentration levels applied in an effort to reduce the use of these substances. Microencapsulation using cyclodextrins has been widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a way of reducing the concentrations of the active substance necessary to achieve a biological effect and/or eliminate its irritating or toxicological effects. In this study, the inclusion complexation behavior and binding ability of benzothiazolinone (BIT) with different beta-cyclodextrins (beta-CD, HP-beta-CD, and Me-beta-CD) was investigated. The intermolecular interactions were examined through UV and FTIR spectroscopy, DSC, 1D 1H NMR, and 2D ROESY. The highest stability constant was observed for the BIT/Me-beta-CD inclusion complex (299.5 +/- 2.9 M-1). Antibacterial activity was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and the results revealed that the BIT/Me-beta-CD inclusion complex displays a higher antibacterial activity than BIT. The acute toxicity of the biocide and inclusion complex was also examined using the photobacterium Aliivibrio fischeri. Although BIT exhibited higher toxicity than the inclusion complex, further investigation is needed due to the quorum quenching effect of beta-CDs. The data found suggest that BIT microencapsulation can increase its aqueous solubility and can be used as an effective tool to improve its chemical, biological, and ecotoxicological properties.
4. Biological and Medicinal Properties of Natural Chromones and Chromanones, Gaspar, A Garrido, EMPJ Borges, F; Garrido, JMPJ in ACS OMEGA, 2024, ISSN: 2470-1343, 
Review,  Indexed in: scopus, wos, crossref, unpaywall  DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c00771 P-010-F4M
Abstract Emerging threats to human health require a concerted effort to search for new treatment therapies. One of the biggest challenges is finding medicines with few or no side effects. Natural products have historically contributed to major advances in the field of pharmacotherapy, as they offer special characteristics compared to conventional synthetic molecules. Interest in natural products is being revitalized, in a continuous search for lead structures that can be used as models for the development of new medicines by the pharmaceutical industry. Chromone and chromanones are recognized as privileged structures and useful templates for the design of diversified therapeutic molecules with potential pharmacological interest. Chromones and chromanones are widely distributed in plants and fungi, and significant biological activities, namely antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, etc., have been reported for these compounds, suggesting their potential as lead drug candidates. This review aims to update the literature published over the last 6 years (2018-2023) regarding the natural occurrence and biological activity of chromones and chromanones, highlighting the recent findings and the perspectives that they hold for future research and applications namely in health, cosmetic, and food industries.
5. 4-Oxoquinolines and monoamine oxidase: When tautomerism matters, Mesiti, F; Maruca, A; Silva, V; Rocca, R; Fernandes, C; Remiao, F; Uriarte, E; Alcaro, S; Gaspar, A Borges, F in EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY, 2021, ISSN: 0223-5234,  Volume: 213, 
Article,  Indexed in: crossref, scopus, wos  DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113183 P-00T-CGB
Abstract 4-Oxoquinoline derivatives have been often used in drug discovery programs due to their pharmacological properties. Inspired on chromone and 4-oxoquinoline chemical structure similarity, a small series of quinoline-based compounds was obtained and screened, for the first time, toward human monoamine oxidases isoforms. The data showed the N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxamide 10 was the most potent and selective MAO-B inhibitor (IC50 = 5.30 +/- 0.74 nM and SI: >= 1887). The data analysis showed that prototropic tautomerism markedly influences the biological activity. The unequivocal characterisation of the quinoline tautomers was performed to understand the attained data. To our knowledge, there have been no prior reports on the characterisation of quinolone tautomers by 2D NMR techniques, namely by H-1-N-15 HSQC and H-1-N-15 HMBC, which are proposed as expedite tools for medicinal chemistry campaigns. Computational studies on enzyme-ligand complexes, obtained after MM-GBSA calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, supported the experimental data.