UCB has completed its acquisition of Ra Pharmaceuticals, priced at about $2.3 billion, meaning that zilucoplan —…
Joana Carvalho, PhD
Editorial Associate Director of Resource Pages
Joana holds a BSc in Biology, a MSc in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology, and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Her work has been focused on the impact of non-canonical Wnt signaling in the collective behavior of endothelial cells — those that make up the lining of blood vessels — found in the umbilical cord of newborns. In addition to several research fellowships, she was awarded two Erasmus scholarships to conduct part of her studies in France. She has also authored several research papers published in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. Joana joined Bionews in 2018, starting as a science writer, then moving to a science editor position in 2020, and to editorial associate director of resource pages in 2025.
Education
- PhD, Biomedical Sciences, specialty of Molecular and Cellular Biology
- MSc, Evolutionary and Developmental Biology
- BSc, Biology, speciality Evolutionary and Developmental Biology
Certifications
- ICH Good Clinical Practice E6 (R2)
Published Works
- Non-canonical Wnt signaling regulates junctional mechanocoupling during angiogenic collective cell migration. eLife · 2019
- YAP and TAZ regulate adherens junction dynamics and endothelial cell distribution during vascular development. eLife · 2018
- Endothelial cell dynamics in vascular remodelling. Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation · 2016
Professional Accomplishments
- Awarded 2 Erasmus scholarships, several research fellowships, a scholarship conference award, and an honorable mention.
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Articles by Joana Carvalho, PhD
Scientists have created — in a lab dish — a three-dimensional model system made of human neurons and muscle cells…
People with refractory myasthenia gravis — those whose symptoms persist after treatment — are more likely to…
Ra Pharmaceuticals announced the first patient enrolled in RAISE, the company’s Phase 3 clinical trial assessing the effectiveness…
Physicians should keep in mind that severe exacerbations in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) might be triggered by the…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to zilucoplan, Ra Pharmaceuticals‘ lead candidate…
Scientists discovered that patients with myasthenia gravis have a unique metabolic profile that can be used to diagnose the…
Despite being relatively rare in toddlers, juvenile myasthenia gravis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of children showing…
Despite the support from basic health insurance, those in China living with rare diseases, such as myasthenia gravis (MG),…
Muscle cells of myasthenia gravis patients produce large amounts of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) — a…