Prof. Margarida Fardilha
Coordinator
About
Margarida Fardilha (MF) is an Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro (UA), and Coordinator of Fardilha’s Laboratory – iBiMED, UA.
She graduated in Biochemistry from the University of Porto in 1996 and obtained her PhD in Biology from UA in 2004, where she investigated protein complexes regulating sperm function using the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system. She completed her Habilitation in Biomedicine at UA in 2018.
Her academic career began in 2006 as an Invited Assistant Professor, progressing to Assistant Professor in 2016 and achieving her current position as Associate Professor with Habilitation in 2024.
MF has extensive experience in teaching and pedagogical innovation, having coordinated or lectured more than 40 undergraduate and postgraduate courses in biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular biomedicine, and genetics. She has pioneered student-centred learning approaches such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Team-Based Learning (TBL), Spaced Learning (SL), and Research-Based Learning, and was distinguished with the 1st Prize for Best Pedagogical Practices at UA (2021). She has also played a central role in curriculum development, medical education, and accreditation processes.
She is actively engaged in scientific management and networking, serving as a Board Member of the Portuguese Biochemistry Society and participating in multiple international initiatives, including the EPIC Consortium for Pedagogical Excellence and ECIUn+ project. She also co-leads Communities of Practice on Inquiry-Based Learning and Internationalisation at Home.
Beyond academia, MF is committed to science communication and public engagement, having chaired the 2024 National Congress of Biochemistry and contributed to reproductive health awareness through the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (IRHEC), where she is a member of the steering committee.
Research interests
Margarida Fardilha is studying the role of the Phosphoprotein Phosphatase 1 (PPP1) in male-related disorders.
PPP1 is one of the most conserved phosphatases and is involved in many crucial cellular processes. Its specificity and activity depend on its regulatory partners, the PPP1-interacting proteins (PIPs).
MF is particularly interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with male infertility and prostate cancer, aiming to identify molecular targets suitable for diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and male contraception. Her research focuses on identifying and characterising PPP1 and PIPs interactomes in male reproductive-related tissues using Y2H, M2H, and biochemical validation methods. She also investigates protein complexes with potential as therapeutic targets or diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and develops molecular tools to selectively target PPP1/PIPs complexes.
Her ultimate goal is to translate basic molecular research into clinical applications, bridging laboratory discoveries with patient care.
Selected publications
Magalhães, J., Ascensão, A., Padrão, A. I., Aleixo, I. M., Santos-Alves, E., Rocha-Rodrigues, S., … Fardilha, M. Can exercise training counteract doxorubicin-induced oxidative damage of testis proteome? Toxicology Letters. 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2017.08.010
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Silva, J. V., Cruz, D., Gomes, M., Correia, B. R., Freitas, M. J., Sousa, L., … Fardilha, M. Study on the short-term effects of increased alcohol and cigarette consumption in healthy young men’s seminal quality. Scientific Reports, 2017. DOI: 10.1038/srep45457
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Bastos, P., Freitas, M. J., Gomes, A., Vitorino, R., & Fardilha, M. Unravelling the Power of Omics for the Infertile Ageing Male. Current Pharmaceutical Design. 2017.
DOI: 10.2174/1381612822666161018155247
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Freitas, M. j., Vijayaraghavan, S., & Fardilha, M. Signaling mechanisms in mammalian sperm motility. Biology of Reproduction. 2017. DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.116.144337
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Silva, J. V., Yoon, S., De Bock, P.-J., Goltsev, A. V., Gevaert, K., Mendes, J. F. F., & Fardilha, M. Construction and analysis of a human testis/sperm-enriched interaction network: Unraveling the PPP1CC2 interactome. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects. 2017.
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2016.11.041
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Silva, J. V., Freitas, M. J., Correia, B. R., Korrodi-Gregório, L., Patrício, A., Pelech, S., & Fardilha, M. Profiling signaling proteins in human spermatozoa: Biomarker identification for sperm quality evaluation. Fertility and Sterility. 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.06.039
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Silva, J. V., Freitas, M. J., Felgueiras, J., & Fardilha, M. The power of the yeast two-hybrid system in the identification of novel drug targets: building and modulating PPP1 interactomes. Expert Review of Proteomics. 2015. DOI: 10.1586/14789450.2015.1024226
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Korrodi-Gregório, L., Esteves, S. L. C., & Fardilha, M. Protein phosphatase 1 catalytic isoforms: Specificity toward interacting proteins. Translational Research. 2014.DOI: 10.1016/j.trsl.2014.07.001
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Fardilha, M., Esteves, S. L. C., Korrodi-Gregório, L., Pelech, S., da Cruz e Silva, O. A. B., & da Cruz e Silva, E. Protein phosphatase 1 complexes modulate sperm motility and present novel targets for male infertility. Molecular Human Reproduction. 2011. DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gar004
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Fardilha, M., Esteves, S. L. C., Korrodi-Gregório, L., Vintém, A. P., Domingues, S. C., Rebelo, S., … Da Cruz E Silva, E. F. Identification of the human testis protein phosphatase 1 interactome. Biochemical Pharmacology. 2011. DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2011.02.018