Dr. João Borges

Dr. João Borges is a Junior Research Fellow and Principal Investigator of a R&D project at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, Portugal. He graduated and received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Porto in 2008 and 2013, respectively. From 2013-2018, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Universities of Minho and Aveiro. His research interests include the rational molecular design, synthesis, and development of biomimetic supramolecular biofunctional materials to interface with living systems. In particular, he has been developing soft multicomponent self-assembling biomaterials to be used as bioinstructive matrices to direct cell fate and as platforms for controlled drug delivery. João is the recipient of several honors and awards. In 2019, he has been distinguished by IUPAC as an outstanding younger chemist, being featured in the Periodic Table of Younger Chemists as the representative of the element Rubidium. He has been also actively involved in the preparation, implementation and management of several grant proposals funded at national and EU levels, teaching/mentoring activities, as well as in science outreach and public engagement activities. He has been the Co-Chair of the International Symposium on Bioinspired Macromolecular Systems (ISBMS, Aveiro, 2017), and member of the organizing committees of several national and international scientific conferences.

Besides his academic activity, he has been serving on young chemists’ networks at a national, European, and international level, extensively supporting the networking activities among younger chemists and effectively working to advance the dissemination and understanding of Chemistry worldwide. In this regard, he has been a Board Member of the Young Chemists Group (GQJ) of the Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ) between 2016 and 2018 and a Portuguese Delegate and Member of the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN) between 2017 and 2020. Currently, he is a Member of the Networks (since 2017) and Global Connections (since 2019) teams at the EYCN and Member of the Executive Board of the International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN), being the Chair of the Conference Presence Committee.