Tânia Morais is an Assistant Researcher at the Centro de Química Estrutural, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (CQE-FCUL). She earned her degree in Chemistry in 2007 and completed a Master's in Chemistry with a specialization in Chemistry, Health, and Nutrition in 2008, both from FCUL. In 2013, she obtained her PhD in Chemistry, specializing in Inorganic Chemistry, from the University of Lisbon, focusing on the development of ruthenium organometallic compounds for cancer therapy. 

Following her PhD, she began a postdoctoral fellowship at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular (Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa) and CQE-FCUL, working on peptide-metal conjugates for targeted therapies. Her work was recognized in 2014 when she received the "Portuguese Young Chemist Award" from the Portuguese Chemical Society. In 2015, Tânia was a visitor postdoc researcher at Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), Barcelona, Spain under a Marie Sklodowska-Curie project, which allowed her to acquire important know-how in peptide synthesis. Tânia Morais is co-founder of a FCUL proto-company named "HATIcancer". In 2019, Tânia won a junior contract in the frame of CEEC Individual 2017 program and started an independent research at CQE-FCUL where she develops smart metal-peptide conjugates for targeted therapy, merging her know-how in organometallic chemistry with her expertise in peptide chemistry.  In 2023, she was promoted to Assistant Researcher through CEEC Individual 5th edition program at CQE-FCUL. 

Tânia research focuses on the design rational design, development, and study of inorganic, organometallic, organic, (bio)nanomaterial, and hybrid drug candidates, intended to be used for applications in healthcare. Aimed particularly at therapy and theranostics of metastatic cancers, these efforts prioritize the discovery of molecules with novel mechanisms of action, improved therapeutic efficacy, and reduced side effects. 

Fellowships and Awards

2024 American Chemical Society Peer Reviewer Recognition 

2024 Distinguished as a Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2023 outstanding reviewer  

2024 Best Poster Communication 

           Inorganic & Bioinorganic Chemistry Conference 2024  (2024IBiCC). 

2024 Best Flash Communication 

         4th Chem & Biochem meeting, Lisbon, Portugal 

2024 Honorable Mention for Oral Communication 

         CQE Days 2024, Lisbon, Portugal

2022 Individual Support to Scientific Employment Stimulus

           3rd Edition, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

2022 Best Oral Communication 

           CQE Days 2022, Lisbon, Portugal 

2017 Individual Support to Scientific Employment Stimulus

           1st Edition, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

2015 1st prize - ScienceIN2Business Initiative 

           TecLabs for Translational Research. 

2014 Portuguese Young Chemist Award 2014 

          Award for the best doctoral thesis in chemistry (PYC-Gradiva/SPQ)

2014 Postdoctoral Fellowship

           Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

2013 Best Poster Communication 

           Drug Discovery & Therapy World Congress, Boston

2009 PhD Studentship 

           Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)