Professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering and researcher at the Chemistry and Toxicology of Bioactive Molecules group, Alexandra Antunes received, in December last year, the Long-Range Research Initiative (LRI) Innovative Science award for her research in the area of early detection of cancer.

You first studied at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa and Universidade Nova de Lisboa. When did your connection to Técnico start?
I had a route a little different than usual: I had not yet finished my doctorate and I got a job in the industry. I worked for Bial for about two years, and when I decided that what I really liked was to be connected to the academic world, I came to Técnico to develop my post-doctoral research in 2004. In 2006 I left for Nova, and returned two years later.

What was your career path?
I actually wanted to study biochemistry, but I entered in a very troubled year and decided to ensure an entry in chemistry instead. I ended up liking it and went on in that area, and actually what I do today is a branch of chemistry very attached to biochemistry.

Then you did a master’s in organic and industrial chemistry and a PhD in organic chemistry. What do you do now?
I work in molecular toxicology linked to chemical toxicology: the toxicology induced by chemical agents. My first steps in this area were during my master’s degree, and then during my post-doctoral phase, but since I’ve been at Técnico this is the area in which I work. I came here specifically to develop this area.

What does this area have that is so interesting?
It is the opportunity to apply my basic knowledge of organic chemistry in a very direct way. Right now I have several projects in which, for example, I’m monitoring patients. I’m working directly with hospitals, I monitor patients… The possibility to see my science fully applied.

When you decided to re-connect to the academic world, did you manage to stay connected to the industry?
No, it is a non-industrial application. In the industry we are required to do research according to company policies. Here I am completely free to choose my path and that freedom is a great asset. R

You received, in December, the LRI Innovative Science award. What are the innovations that led to this recognition?
The award refers to a branch of what I’m doing. What I have been doing is developing what we call biomarkers, which are markers that allow us to connect both patient exposure to the drug as well as correlate the exposure to adverse effects. If we can connect these, we can try to understand how we can minimize those effects. This award is not especially dedicated to drugs, but to chemical agents in general, and is very focused on carcinogenesis induced by chemical agents.

Can you explain?
It recognizes the development of early cancer biomarkers (cancer induced by chemical agents) and the development of a predictive test of the carcinogenic power of chemical agents. For this to happen, I will explore a new hypothesis: to monitor the interaction of chemical agents with key proteins.
What is the relevance for everyday life?
I do not know if people in general have this notion, but human exposure to chemical agents is a major cause of cancer. These new biomarkers that I am developing will enable the monitoring of human exposure to a specific chemical agent. They will also allow the characterization at a much earlier stage of the carcinogenic potential of each agent.

Do you think that chemistry will play a key role in the study of the prevention and treatment of cancer in the coming years?
Yes, chemistry, biochemistry… it is in the hands of the chemists that lies much of this therapeutic development. And in terms of prevention, in the field where I am working… where it is not so common to see chemists.

It is not?
Most people working in the field of toxicology are not chemists. They are biochemists. In this country, we must be the only group of chemists working in this area.

What did it mean to win this award?
For now, immense pride. But the most important thing was to have the international recognition of the value of my work. In recent years I have struggled a lot to implement my science. I wrote more than twenty project proposals and none of them were subsidized by Portuguese funds. By the way, this same project had already been submitted to the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and was refused, so… to have won was the validation of all my work.

And in practice?
On an international basis, it meant more than money. I think it will help me in European networking, which is very important to launch my international career. As it is a cash prize [worth 100,000 euros], it will enable me to develop the whole project. I will call to work with me other people from other institutions, particularly since this is cutting-edge work and at Técnico we do not have people with all the right qualifications. It will enable me to create a multidisciplinary team.