CARDIOVASCULAR AUTONOMIC FUNCTION
Cardiovascular Autonomic Function (CAF) unit is the natural evolution of a long lasting productive collaboration between research teams of complementary competences within the Universidade de Lisboa. These teams span several domains of expertise with special emphasis on biomedical instrumentation, biological signal processing, physiology and clinical cardiology.
Strategically, CAF positions itself at the first stage of translational research for the purposes of monitoring, diagnosis, prophylactic support, surgical instrumentation and guidance and therapeutic action. Currently, CAF has eight projects under development at different stages of maturity and is under a certification process.
RESEARCH TEAM
Rocha, Isabel, PharmD. PhD
GROUP LEADER
Isabel Rocha has as her primary area of research the human physiology with a particular focus on the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular function. Other research interests include urinary bladder regulation, respiratory control, physiology under extreme conditions, biological signal processing, biomedical engineering, medical education together with a particular interest in strategic management of organizations for which she received advanced training in INDEG Business School in Lisbon. She is author of over 150 publications in peer reviewed journals and is member of several scientific societies. Currently is an Associate Professor with Habilitation in Medical Physiology at the Lisbon School of Medicine, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal and coordinator of the Cardiovascular Autonomic Function group of the Cardiovascular Centre of the University of Lisbon.
E-mail: isabelrocha0@gmail.com
Geraldes, Vera, PhD
Post doctoral Researcher
Vera Geraldes, PhD in Medical Physiology , is assistant professor in Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon and post-doctoral researcher in Cardiovascular Autonomic Function group where she has executive leadership functions. She is author of several full papers with peer-review and received two international prizes: in 2011 (Federation of European Physiological Societies) and in 2012 (Portuguese Society of Hypertension) for her work on hypertension and central sympathetic areas. She has a particular research interest in the autonomic cardiovascular control and other mechanisms of blood pressure control, central cardio respiratory interaction and biological signal processing.
E-mail: verageraldes@yahoo.com
Gomes da Rosa, Michele, PhD
Michele dos Santos Gomes da Rosa graduated in physiotherapy in 2003, having specialised in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy. She subsequently completed a Master’s degree in electrical engineering in 2008 (PUCRS), with research developed in the area of Aerospace Biomedical Engineering, followed by a doctorate in Health Sciences in 2014, with research linked to Clinical Medicine (PUCRS). She is a member of the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH) and the Riograndense Society of Bioethics.
Innovation and technology transfer act as the motivating factors for her studies in academic research. Michele focuses on human physiology evaluations in ground-based simulations of the space environment and has participated, for example, in the development of research related to cardiorespiratory resuscitation in microgravity, and to human gait in hypogravity environments, such as found on the Moon and Mars.
In addition to her academic-scientific activities in space physiology, Michele stands out for her organisation and implementation of telehealth projects, involving actions in education, research, and medical care in remote and deprived areas of Brazil. She has participated in telehealth missions for many years, guiding the collection of data, such as medical histories, performing ECGs and obtaining photographic images of skin lesions, with their subsequent transmission for second opinion by a remote expert.
These activities encompass the areas of telecardiology, teleodontology, teledermatology, telesurgery and telegerontology.
Michele also has expertise in the development and implementation of validation processes for medical protocols, and in the evaluation of electro-medical technologies, as well as in the study of the usability of biomedical equipment and devices, especially in embedded telemetry systems.
Since 2015, Michele has acted as Administrative Coordinator of the Microgravity Research Centre (MicroG), PUCRS, attending various national and international scientific events, congresses and symposia for meetings and presenting research papers.
Michele has several publications in scientific journals focused on space science, aviation medicine, aerospace physiology, telehealth and eHealth.
Email: milkasg@gmail.com
Laranjo, Sérgio, MD PhD
PhD student
MD, graduated from Lisbon University, Portugal (2007) and currently Pediatric Cardiologist at the St Marta Hospital (Lisbon) and research fellow at Cardiovascular Autonomic Lab of Faculty of Medicine CAF/CCUL (Lisbon) where he is finishing is PhD thesis. Dr. Laranjo has a particular interest in autonomic cardiovascular control and central cardiorespiratory interaction. Working at CAF, he developed new non-invasive mathematic methods of autonomic function assessment. In 2012, he completed a Pediatric Clinical Cardiac – Electrophysiology Fellowship at Leiden University Medical Center (supervision Prof. Dr. Nico Blom) He currently works on the autonomic influences on cardiac arrythmias as well as on ANS and electrophysiological imbalanced on cardiomyopathies. Member of the EFAS Education Committee, Dr. Laranjo has been involved in several editions of the European School of Autonomic Medicine as well as in doctoral programs teaching at the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon. At the European level, he is, since 2012, the Portuguese liaison-member for the European Association of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC).
E-mail: sergiolaranjo@gmail.com
Meira Cruz, Miguel, DDS, MSc
Miguel Meira e Cruz have completed a degree on Dental Medicine and on Sport Related Health Sciences, is Post Graduated in Neurosciences and Sleep Medicine and Master (MSc) in Sleep Sciences. With his currently main focus in Clinical Chronobiology and Sleep Medicine, Prof. Meira e Cruz is certified European Somnologist – Expert in Sleep Medicine (European Sleep Research Society).
As a clinician, Dr. Meira e Cruz is dedicated to Oral Medicine and Surgery, but have a major active interest on Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Meira primary area of research is Clinical Chronobiology and Sleep Disorders integrated with Cardiometabolic Function, Pain and Autonomic Regulation. He is author of 2 books, 7 book chapters and several peer reviewed publications on Clinical Chronobiology, sleep physiology and Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Miguel Meira e Cruz is Invited Lecturer in Sleep Physiology and Sleep Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon
Email: mcruz@medicina.ulisboa.pt
Shvachiy, Liana
Liana Shvachiy, Human Biologist (2015) and Master in Neurosciences (2018), and currently a PhD student.
She performed her bachelor internship in Institute of Pharmacology and Neurosciences at the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon being integrated into the project named “Neuroprotective action of a Kyotorphin derivative in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease”. Since February 2016 she is working as a researcher in Cardiovascular Autonomic Function Lab at the Cardiovascular Centre of University of Lisbon, working on the project named “Comparative study on the physiological dynamics evoked by different profiles of lead exposure”.
She performs animal experimentation, which includes behavioral tests, surgery and microsurgery, techniques of anesthesia and in vivo evaluation of the autonomic nervous system, molecular analysis, immunohistochemistry and histology . She is also the NEVERMIND H2020 project manager, organizing and controlling the patient’s inclusions and follow up during the study and medical system management.