Paulo A. Ferreira was born in Coimbra, in 19^th September 1964. He is a professor and researcher in biomedical sciences, and currently his research program is broadly focused on the role of genes and protein complexes in the etiology and molecular causes of neuropathologies linked to diabetes, metabolic deficits, intracellular transport, and blindness; mechanisms that lead to the degeneration (death) of neurons; and exploration of new therapeutic approaches to cure or delay the onset of diseases based in rational approaches.

At the moment he is a Jules and Doris Stein Research to Prevent Blindness Professor in the departments of Ophthalmology, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the Duke University Medical Center

He took his degree in Biology both in USA and Portugal; he did four years (1982-86) at the University of Porto, Portugal, and then moved to Jacksonville State University, USA, where he obtained a BSc in Biology (with honors and distinction) in 1988, and completed his Licenciatura in Biology (with 17 values out of 20) by the University of Porto. In 1993, he completed his PhD in Neuroscience at the Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana, USA, with William Pak, PhD; Then, he became a Research Postdoctoral Fellow and Instructor at the U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA between 1994 and 1997.  In 1997, he became an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; and was promoted to associate professor at the same institution in 2001. He moved to Duke University in 2005, where he became the Jules and Doris Stein Research to Prevent Blindness Professor (with tenure) at the Duke University Medical Center in the departments of Ophthalmology, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.

He first went to the USA in 1986 because he had an offer of a complete scholarship from Jacksonville State University to finish his degree in Biology and he was not pleased with the academic and research system in Portugal. In 1988 he was also accepted for a PhD with a full scholarship at the Purdue University.  During his graduate and postdoctoral studies he was also supported by fellowships from NATO and Science (E.C./Portugal).

His first serious work was in transcription factors/gene regulation during the summer of 1987 and with a scholarship from Universities of Tennessee Centers of Excellence/Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In the following year (1988) he was accepted with a full fellowship for a PhD at the Purdue University which led to the development of new projects, one of which he continued during his postdoctoral training at the Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas), where he also started developing new ideas for other projects. In 1997 he moved to the Medical College of Wisconsin and developed new and independent lines of research, which are to this date funded by grants from the National Institute of Health and several private institutions.

During his training period he published six papers as first author in journals like Nature, Proc. Natl. Acad, Sci. USA, J. Biol. Chem., etc., and to this date, he has (co)published several more manuscripts in leading journals as the senior (corresponding) author with his research team and collaborators.

While in the USA, he has changed research institutions four times. First, he moved from Jacksonvile to Purdue, then from this to Southwestern, followed to the Medical College of Wisconsin and finally, to Duke University, where presently he still is. There were other minor moves, which resulted from short periods of training in several institutions like at the Karolinska Institut (Sweden) and Dana Farber Cancer Center/ Harvard Medical School. His mobility goals during the training period were primarily due to a will to broaden his knowledge and scientific network. After that his mobility was linked to reasons to become an independent and leading investigator and to achieve the optimal professional and personal (family) conditions.

He is an independent researcher since 1997 and at this time has two major projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, Prevent Blindness Foundation, Fight for Sight, American Foundation for Aging Research/ GlaxoSmithKline. His team is composed of seven members but it is in expansion since he moved. He is also an ad hoc reviewer for several organizations such as the National Science Foundation in the areas of Integrative Biology and Neuroscience and Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, of The Wellcome Trust (U.K.), and of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal for the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. In addition, he is a member of several scientific societies such as the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Society for Cell Biology, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Biochemical Society, Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Society for Neuroscience.

His ultimate goal is to understand the molecular and cellular basis of certain human diseases that have serious impact in health, quality of life and in the society (particularly the ones linked to neurological problems). He also aims at developing therapeutic approaches towards curing or delaying the onset of these diseases. Finally, another goal is to train research and medical students and fellows in becoming engaged in the discovery enterprise (research), independent investigators and thinkers.

He is mostly known because he identified new genes and proteins that, upon genetic lesions, underlie neurodegenerative diseases and pathways linked to these (e.g. Leber congenital amaurosis, retinitis pigmentosa, and allied disease), and metabolic diseases, such as hyperglycemia (diabetes and complications thereof). He has also achieved a better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis linked to these diseases and associated molecular and cellular phenotypes.

He was never invited to return to Portugal but he has received several invitations from other European countries like England, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland.

AWARDS

1986 - 1988       International House Program, full academic scholarship; Jacksonville State University

1988                 Graduation with distinction and honors, Jacksonville State University

1989/1991         N.A.T.O. Predoctoral Science Fellowship

1991/1993         SCIENCE Predoctoral Fellowship (E.C.)

1993                 A.H. Ismail Interdisciplinary Program Doctoral Research Award, Purdue University

1993/1994         N.A.T.O. Postdoctoral Science Fellowship

1996                 Fellowship, The Dan Charitable Trust Fund for Research in Biological Sciences (Japan)

1998/1999         Research Award in Visual Sciences (unsolicited), The Karl Kirchgessner Foundation

2005/present     Jules and Doris Stein Research to Prevent Blindness Professor Award, Research to Prevent Blindness, New York, NY.

Email: ferre044 at mc.duke.edu