Sofia Benfeito

Sofia Benfeito completed the Degree and M.Sc. in Chemistry in 2010 and 2012, respectively, at the University of Porto, Portugal. In July 2018, she completed her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Toxicology specialty at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto, under the guidance of Prof. Fernanda Borges and Prof. Fernando Remião. In the latter five years, she was a team member in different projects with research work based on the design and development of multi-target agents for neurodegenerative diseases using different synthetic methods and the subsequent evaluation of physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity in non-cellular and cellular models. She also has the experience in permeability studies to evaluate the capacity of the new chemical entities to permeate the blood-brain barrier.

She is currently working as a Researcher on development of concise and diversity-libraries of heterocycle catechol mimics, and optimization of lead compounds aimed to develop potent COMT inhibitors for neurological disorders associated with dopamine depletion.