Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto
Rua Alfredo Allen, 208 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Phone: +351 226 074 900
Email: info@i3s.up.pt
Our group works at the interface of immunology, cancer and glycobiology, using a combination of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches.
The group’s research has been published in a number of high-impact publications over the years.
The group’s research explores several topics related to the impact of glycans on inflammation, autoimmunity and cancer.
OUR GROUP MAIN LINES OF RESEARCH:
The exploitation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which glycans contribute to amplify immune response in chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.
OUR GROUP MAIN LINES OF RESEARCH:
The investigation of how cancer-specific glycosignatures regulate the immunological networks in cancer.
Pinho’s Lab has recently published a landmark study on colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) in the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis! Therein, we demonstrate that a progressive increase in N-glycan branching at the T cell surface not only accompanies CAC development but also debilitates T cell function during carcinogenesis.
Pinho´s Lab was honoured to receive the Best Paper Award 2025 at the Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Immunology (SPI – Sociedade Portuguesa de Imunologia), which took place in Lisbon last April.
Pinho’s Lab has recently been distinguished by the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience, receiving funding for a groundbreaking research project dedicated to harnessing glycans to improve immunotherapies for colorectal cancer (CRC).