Staff Profile
Dr Ricardo Martins Gouveia
New Harvest Research Fellow / Research Associate
- Email: ricardo.gouveia@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: +441912418852
- Personal Website: https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/ricardogouveia/
- Address: Biosciences Institute
International Centre for Life
Central Parkway
Newcastle
NE1 3BZ UK
Personal biography
I was awarded my Licenciatura degree in Biology (hons.) by the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, in 2004.
From 2005 to 2009, I was a Ph.D. Fellow studying Biochemistry at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal, where I investigated the role of cell adhesion molecules from the L1 protein family on stem cell differentiation and function, as well as on cancer progression and treatment.
From 2012 to 2014, I joined the University of Reading, UK, as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, working with Professor Che Connon and Professor Ian Hamley to develop new smart materials for tissue engineering and templating. This BBSRC- and EPSRC-funded research was particularly focused in creating better corneal bio-prosthetic substitutes.
In 2014, I moved with the Connon Group to its newly-established lab in the Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, UK. I focused my research on the influence of matrix biomechanics in stem cell behaviour and corneal homeostasis, a project supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC-UK), and whose main results have been published in Nature Communications. I am currently building on these discoveries to develop a new treatment for corneal burns, in partnership with the prestigious LV Prasad Eye Institute in India.
At present, I am applying my technical and fundamental expertise in tissue engineering and cell biology to generate new methods and products for healthcare and food. In 2018 I was awarded the first-ever Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from New Harvest, a US-based organisation supporting science internationally. This position has allowed me to develop my independent research, and translate my knowledge in tissue bio-fabrication to the field of Cellular Agriculture i.e., developing structured muscle tissues in vitro as a new way to produce animal-free cultured meat.
I am also the acting Chief Scientific Officer for 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd, a spin-out company I co-founded in 2019 aiming to deliver new corneal transplant solutions.
Personal webpage (with links)
Overview
My research is mainly focused on the development of new materials with applications in Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering.
In particular, I am interested in creating smart culture templates that provide human stem/progenitor cells a suitable environment to attach, grow, and recapitulate tissue-specific differentiation and morphogenesis events in vitro.
The ultimate goal of my work is to find new and better strategies to create artificial live tissues that are, for all practical purposes, indistinguishable from their natural counterparts. For that I use bottom-up approaches, where cells are instructed to re-create native-like tissues by finely controlling their responses to their surrounding mechanical, topographical, and chemical environment.
Despite being mostly applied research, my interest also dwells in exploring the fundamental basis of cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions, as well as the use of small molecule supplements to regulate cell phenotype.
This cross-talk between applied and fundamental research provides a valuable feedback, simultaneously creating new challenges and original solutions.
Research highlights
- Understanding the effects of mechanotransduction and regulatory molecular mechanisms underlying the response of human epithelial stem cells to substrate compliance.
- Production of native-like, scaffold-free corneal and skin tissues using smart tissue culture templates. These self-releasable tissues are solely comprised of human adult stromal stem cells and their own matrix.
- Uncovering the role of all-trans Retinoic Acid in human corneal stroma biology in health and disease.
Module Code | Module Title | Role |
---|---|---|
MMB8022 | Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine | Lecturer |
- Miotto M, Gouveia RM, Ionescu AM, Figueiredo F, Hamley IW, Connon CJ. 4D Corneal Tissue Engineering: Achieving Time-Dependent Tissue Self-Curvature through Localized Control of Cell Actuators. Advanced Functional Materials 2019, 29(8), 1807334.
- Gouveia RM, Lepert G, Gupta S, Mohan RR, Paterson C, Connon CJ. Assessment of corneal substrate biomechanics and its effect on epithelial stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Nature Communications 2019, 10, 1496.
- Connon CJ, Gouveia RM. Autogenous Biofabrication of Nativelike, Scaffold-Free Human Skin Equivalents Using a Smart, Enzyme-Degradable Tissue Templating Coating. ACS Applied Bio Materials 2019, 2(2), 838–847.
- Gouveia RM, Vajda F, Wibowo JA, Figueiredo F, Connon CJ. YAP, ΔNp63, and β-Catenin Signaling Pathways Are Involved in the Modulation of Corneal Epithelial Stem Cell Phenotype Induced by Substrate Stiffness. Cells 2019, 8(4), 347.
- Gouveia RM, González-Andrades E, Cardona JC, González-Gallardo C, Ionescu AM, Garzon I, Alaminos M, González-Andrades M, Connon CJ. Controlling the 3D architecture of Self-Lifting Auto-generated Tissue Equivalents (SLATEs) for optimized corneal graft composition and stability. Biomaterials 2017, 121, 205-219.
- Miotto M, Gouveia R, Abidin FZ, Figueiredo F, Connon CJ. Developing a Continuous Bioprocessing Approach to Stromal Cell Manufacture. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2017, 9(47), 41131-41142.
- Figueiredo GS, Bojic S, Rooney P, Wilshaw SP, Connon CJ, Gouveaia RM, Patterson C, Lepert G, Mudhar HS, Figueiredo FC, Lako M. Gamma-irradiated human amniotic membrane decellularised with sodium dodecylsulfate is a more efficient substrate for the ex vivo expansion of limbal stem cells. Acta Biomaterialia 2017, 61, 124-133.
- Gouveia RM, Koudouna E, Jester J, Figueiredo F, Connon CJ. Template Curvature Influences Cell Alignment to Create Improved Human Corneal Tissue Equivalents. Advanced Biosystems 2017, 1(12), 1700135.
- Kirkham S, Hamley IW, Smith AM, Gouveia RM, Connon CJ, Reza M, Ruokolainen J. A self-assembling fluorescent dipeptide conjugate for cell labelling. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 2016, 137, 104-108.
- Lepert G, Gouveia RM, Connon CJ, Paterson C. Assessing corneal biomechanics with Brillouin spectro-microscopy. Faraday Discussions 2016, 187, 415-428.
- Gouveia RM, Connon CJ. Collagen scaffolds for corneal regeneration. In: Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine in Ophthalmology: Second Edition. Cambridge: Elsevier Inc, 2016, pp.151-177.
- Abidin FZ, Gouveia RM, Connon CJ. Application of retinoic acid improves form and function of tissue engineered corneal construct. Organogenesis 2015, 11(3), 122-136.
- Gouveia RM, Hamley IW, Connon CJ. Bio-fabrication and physiological self-release of tissue equivalents using smart peptide amphiphile templates. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 2015, 26(10), 242.
- Foster JW, Gouveia RM, Connon CJ. Low-glucose enhances keratocyte-characteristic phenotype from corneal stromal cells in serum-free conditions. Scientific Reports 2015, 5, 10839.
- Connon CJ, Foster JW, Gouveia RM. Low-glucose Enhances Keratocyte-characteristic Phenotype from Corneal Stromal Cells in Serum-free Conditions. In: Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology (ARVO 2015). 2015, Denver, Colorado, USA: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
- Gouveia RM, Castelletto V, Hamley IW, Connon CJ. New Self-Assembling Multifunctional Templates for the Biofabrication and Controlled Self-Release of Cultured Tissue. Tissue Engineering. Part A 2015, 21(11-12), 1772-1784.
- Miotto M, Gouveia RM, Connon CJ. Peptide Amphiphiles in Corneal Tissue Engineering. Journal of Functional Biomaterials 2015, 6(3), 687-707.
- Gouveia RM, Abidin FZ, Connon CJ. Retinoic Acid Improves Keratocyte Phenotype in a 3D Model of the Corneal Stroma. In: INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE. 2015, 12300 TWINBROOK PARKWAY, ROCKVILLE, MD 20852-1606 USA: ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC.
- Dehsorkhi A, Gouveia RM, Smith AM, Hamley IW, Castelletto V, Connon CJ, Reza M, Ruokolainen J. Self-assembly of a dual functional bioactive peptide amphiphile incorporating both matrix metalloprotease substrate and cell adhesion motifs. Soft Matter 2015, 11(16), 3115-3124.
- Castelletto VV, Gouveia RJ, Connon CJ, Hamley IW, Seitsonen J, Nykanen A, Ruokolainen J. Alanine-rich amphiphilic peptide containing the RGD cell adhesion motif: a coating material for human fibroblast attachment and culture. Biomaterials Science 2014, 2(3), 362-369.
- Foster JW, Jones RR, Bippes CC, Gouveia RM, Connon CJ. Differential nuclear expression of Yap in basal epithelial cells across the cornea and substrates of differing stiffness. Experimental Eye Research 2014, 127, 37-41.
- Castelletto VV, Gouveia RJ, Connon CJ, Hamley IW, Seitsonen J, Ruokolainen J, Longo E, Siligardi G. Influence of elastase on alanine-rich peptide hydrogels. Biomaterials Science 2014, 2(6), 867-874.
- Gouveia RM, Jones RR, Hamley IW, Connon CJ. The bioactivity of composite Fmoc-RGDS-collagen gels. Biomaterials Science 2014, 2(9), 1222-1229.
- Gouveia RM, Castelletto V, Alcock SG, Hamley IW, Connon CJ. Bioactive films produced from self-assembling peptide amphiphiles as versatile substrates for tuning cell adhesion and tissue architecture in serum-free conditions. Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2013, 1(44), 6157-6169.
- Castelletto V, Gouveia RJ, Connon CJ, Hamley IW. New RGD-Peptide Amphiphile Mixtures Containing a Negatively Charged Diluent. Faraday Discuss 2013, 166, 381-397.
- Castelletto V, Gouveia RJ, Connon CJ, Hamley IW. Self-Assembly and Bioactivity of a Polymer/Peptide Conjugate Containing the RGD Cell Adhesion Motif and PEG. European Polymer Journal 2013, 49(10), 2961–2967.
- Gouveia RM, Connon CJ. The effects of retinoic acid on human corneal stromal keratocytes cultured in vitro under serum-free conditions. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 2013, 54(12), 7483-7491.