Catia Gomes, PhD
Assistant Research Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics
- Phone
- (317) 278-6323
- Address
-
NB 400
MMGE
IN
Indianapolis, IN
Bio
Dr. Gomes received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Évora, Portugal and later obtained a master’s degree in Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine from NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal and her PhD in Pharmacy – Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. While obtaining her PhD, she identified and characterized an abnormal population of toxic astrocytes in an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis mouse model, and used directly converted astrocytes from ALS patient's fibroblasts as a platform to characterize this population in humans and screen for potential therapeutic agents.
In 2020, Dr. Gomes began her postdoctoral training with a focus on the development and establishment of disease models based on the use of patient-derived human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Dr. Gomes is currently an Assistant Research Professor at the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, and her current projects focus on disease modeling using patient-derived hPSC to study mechanisms of neurodegeneration as well as neuron-glia interactions. Dr. Gomes is very interested in the development of new disease models and platforms for drug discovery projects that will allow a more accurate screening of therapeutic agents for future translation into the clinic.
Key Publications
Gomes C, VanderWall KB, Pan Y, Lu X, Lavekar SS, Huang KC, Fligor CM, Zhang C, Cummins TR, Meyer J. Astrocytes modulate neurodegenerative phenotypes associated with glaucoma in OPTN(E50K) human stem cell-derived retinal ganglion cells. Stem Cell Reports. 2022 Jul 12;17(7):1636-1649.
Lavekar S, Harkin J, Hernanddez M, Gomes C, Shruti P, Huang KC, Puntambekar S, Lamb B, Meyer J. Development of a three-dimensional organoid model to explore early retinal phenotypes associated to Alzheimer’s disease. Sci Rep. 2023; 13: 13827.
Fligor CM, Harkin J, Lavekar SS, Harkin J, Shields PK, VanderWall KB, Huang KC, Gomes C, Meyer J. Extension of retinofugal projections in an assembled model of human pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids. Stem Cell Reports. 2021.
Gomes C, Cunha C, Nascimento F, Ribeiro JA, Vaz AR, Brites D. Cortical Neurotoxic Astrocytes with Early ALS Pathology and miR-146a Deficit Replicate Gliosis Markers of Symptomatic SOD1G93A Mouse Model. Mol Neurobiol 2019; 56(3), 2137-2158.
Gomes C, Sequeira C, Barbosa M, Cunha C, Vaz AR, Brites D. Astrocyte regional diversity in ALS includes distinct aberrant phenotypes with common and causal pathological processes. Exp Cell Res. 2020 Jul 30; 112209.
Gomes C, Sequeira C, Likhite S, Dennys C, Kolb S, Shaw P, Vaz AR, Kaspar B, Meyer K, Brites D. Neurotoxic Astrocytes Directly Converted from Sporadic and Familial ALS Patient Fibroblasts Reveal Signature Diversities and miR-146a Theragnostic Potential in Specific Subtypes. Cells. 2022 Apr 1;11(7):1186
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | PhD | University of Lisbon |
| 2012 | M.Sc. | University NOVA of Lisbon |
| 2010 | BSC | University of Evora |
Dr. Gomes’ current area of research focuses on the development and establishment of disease models based on the use of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to study mechanisms of neurodegeneration as well as neuron-glia interactions.
Dr. Gomes clinical interests include the development of new disease models and platforms for drug discovery projects that will allow a more accurate screening of therapeutic agents for future translation into clinic.