Joana Santiago
About
Joana Santiago holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences in Histocellular Pathology (2015, Higher School of Health Technologies of Lisbon, Portugal) and a MSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology (2017, University of Aveiro, Portugal). She recently concluded her PhD in Biomedicine (2024, University of Aveiro and NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal) performed in collaboration with the Institute of Endocrinology of Prague (Prague, Czechia) and the Centro Hospitalar do Baixo Vouga (Aveiro, Portugal). Her project aimed to study the transcriptome and proteome of subfertile men in specific conditions, including advanced age and exposure to BPA, to recognize potential biological markers of sperm quality decline and poor fertility.
In the past years, Joana was a Principal Investigator of a European Proteomics Infrastructure Consortium (EPIC-XS) funded project, performed in collaboration with Professor Jana Vitku, from the Institute of Endocrinology of Prague (Prague, Czechia), and participated as a team member actively engaged in the execution and management of 7 other funded projects. In 2025, Joana had her first FCT project which aims to establish a biomarker panel and develop a prototype diagnostic device for use in male infertility management.
Joana is also involved in pedagogical activities, being an Invited Assistant Professor and guest lecturer in classes from the BSc in Biomedical Sciences and MSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Aveiro.
Her research interests comprise male fertility and reproduction, ageing, biomarkers, sperm biology, RNAs and protein-protein interactions.
Publications
Papers
Santiago, J., Silva, J. V., Santos, M. A. S., and Fardilha, M. (2021). Fighting Bisphenol A Induced Male Infertility: The Power of Antioxidants. Antioxidants, 10(2), 289. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10020289
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Silva, J. V., Freitas, M. J., Santiago, J., Jones, S., Guimarães, S., Vijayaraghavan, S., … Fardilha, M. (2021). Disruption of protein phosphatase 1 complexes with the use of bioportides as a novel approach to target sperm motility. Fertility and Sterility, 115(2), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.08.013
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Silva, J. V., Santiago, J., Sousa, M., Oliveira, P. F., and Fardilha, M. (2021). New evidences of ubiquitin–proteasome system activity in human sperm. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research, 1868(3), 16–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2020.118932
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Santiago, J., Santos, M. A. S., Fardilha, M., and Silva, J. V. (2020). Stress response pathways in the male germ cells and gametes. Molecular Human Reproduction, 26(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/molehr/gaz063
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Santiago, Silva, Fardilha, Santiago, J., Silva, J. V, and Fardilha, M. (2019). First Insights on the Presence of the Unfolded Protein Response in Human Spermatozoa. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(21), 5518. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215518
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Santiago, J., Silva, J. V, Alves, M. G., Oliveira, P. F., and Fardilha, M. (2018). Testicular Aging: An Overview of Ultrastructural, Cellular, and Molecular Alterations. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 00(00), 1–12.
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Book chapter
Santiago, J., Patrício, D., and Silva, J. V. (2020). Testicular Signaling: Team Work in Sperm Production. In Silva J., F. M., and F. M (Eds.), Tissue-Specific Cell Signaling (1st ed., pp. 225–255). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44436-5_8