My clinical research interest since 1995 has been in the area of bone metastases (BM). In a collaborative project between Hospital de Santa Maria, in Lisbon, and Dr. Allan Lipton Lab, at Penn State University, USA, our group has tested the clinical value of type I bone collagen fragments to monitor treatment response in patients with BM, showing that these are useful biochemical biomarkers of response in clinical trials testing new BM-directed drugs. We have also disclosed the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in osteoclast-independent mechanisms of bone degradation, and are particularly interested in testing the role of MMP-1-derived collagen fragments as growth/survival factors in cancer cells.

Over the years, we have been collaborated with Prof. Rakesh Kumar, former chairman of Department of Molecular & Cellular Oncology at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, USA, in research projects focusing breast cancer, in the Global Cancer Genomics Consortium activities, and presentely in the Breast Cancer in Young Women Consortium, where I am part of the Board of Directors.

I am the Head of the Translational Oncobiology Lab at the Institute of Molecular Medicine. The main goal of my Lab is to improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms implicated in tumor progression at metastatic site (using bone metastases as paradigm) and to unravel molecular signatures of organotropism through identification of “leader gene signatures” common to the primary tumor and corresponding metastases (using colorectal cancer as a model). We are also focused on the identification of therapy resistance mechanisms in metastatic setting, as well as in finding new therapeutic strategies to overcome such resistance. Additionally, it is our aim to interpret the dynamics of metastatic cancer progression, through a comprehensive analysis of clonal evolution and host immune and humoral responses.

Clinical practice is a major component of my professional activity and an inspiring setting to develop clinical and translational research. Since 1993, I have practiced Medical Oncology at Hospital de Santa Maria, where I have served as Director of Oncology for the past 19 years.

I am deeply involved in clinical research at the Oncology Department of Hospital de Santa Maria, where I direct the Clinical Research Center since 2016. During 2023, our department had 85 active clinical trials covering most tumor types. Recently, a START CENTER FOR CANCER CARE Unit, dedicated to phase I clinical trials, opened at Hospital de Santa Maria, under my Medical Direction.

As Associate Professor at Lisbon School of Medicine (FMUL) − University of Lisbon, I coordinate the Clinical Oncology and Oncobiology curricular units, the latter being a new learning unit aiming to teach clinical Oncology through molecular medicine.