Research Overview

The FAS Lab is located in the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal. Our antibody engineering research group is affiliated with the Microbiology and Immunology Lab at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon. We apply rational design and molecular evolution approaches – such as in vivo phage display selections, functional screenings and next generation sequencing analysis – to develop future generations of therapeutic antibodies.

Based on these integrated approaches, we aim to develop a new generation of “smart bomb antibodies” against challenging targets and unmet diseases. For this purpose, our lab is mainly working with antibody fragments (Fab and scFv) and single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) as therapeutic scaffolds in the areas of infectious diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders.

NEWS

New Project Funded: Precision Therapy for Breast Cancer Using Comparative Oncology

We have been awarded a new project entitled “Development of Highly Specific and Potent Degrader-Antibody Conjugates for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Treatment” (Ref. LISBOA2030-FEDER-00918600).

This project aims to develop next-generation targeted therapies for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) by combining advanced antibody engineering with PROTAC technology. Using our rabbit-derived single-domain antibody platform we will create Degrader-Antibody Conjugates (DACs) with high precision and potency.

By integrating a comparative oncology approach with feline and human TNBC models, the project bridges veterinary and human medicine, paving the way for future clinical translation in both species.

Next week Frederico Aires da Silva will be attending the PEGS Europe in Barcelona to present our work entitle “In Vivo Phage Display Selections and Rabbit Derived Single-Domain Antibodies as a Promising Platform to Develop Highly Specific and Potent Therapeutic Antibodies”. Please meet Frederico to know more about our work.

SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting disease, COVID-19, caused economic and global health crises. Vaccination is the main strategy to reduce its spread. However, with the emergence of new variants, new therapeutic strategies are urgently required. Thus, in this project, we aim to develop a novel class of neutralizing antibodies for the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

(read more)